Swedish-Finnish forestry firm Stora Enso has announced the suspension of logging activities in areas around Finland which are subject to restrictions under the Water Act, Forest Act or Nature Conservation Act.
The move comes in the wake of reports last week that a logging machine belonging to the company repeatedly drove over a critical habitat for freshwater pearl mussels at Hukkajoki River in Suomussalmi, Kainuu, killing thousands of the extremely endangered animals.
A company statement released on Monday said logging would be suspended until "the operational guidelines, harvesting plans and risks related to these sites have been reassessed".
A spokesperson for the firm, Ingrid Peura, said the suspension applies to a few dozen sites, but the firm has not specified the sites or revealed how long its suspension of logging operations will last.
Peura told Yle that Stora Enso carries out an estimated 20,000 logging operations every year, so the decision to suspend activity at a few dozen sites is unlikely to have a huge bearing on the company's overall operations.
Stora Enso also said it would begin offering additional training to its employees, contractors and subcontractors on environmental policy and guidelines. The training will focus on compliance with environmental guidelines.
The company also said it had launched its own internal inquiry into the "environmental violation" that occurred at the Suomussalmi site.
"It is important that the negligence at Hukkajoki river in Kainuu came to light. Even the best rule and the most important principle is worthless if it is not applied in practice. We have already initiated a number of changes to ensure that nothing like this can happen again," Stora Enso president and CEO Hans Sohlström said.
Finland's Environment Minister Kai Mykkänen (NCP) told Yle on Friday that he discussed the damage at the Suomussalmi site with Stora Enso CEO Sohlström, saying that the firm will pay the bill for the damage it caused.
"Thank you to the volunteers and the experts and employees of Metsähallitus' nature services for the work done at the site, but the responsibility for paying for this does not belong to the taxpayers, but to the company," Mykkänen said.