The calculation uses habitat hectares and different coefficients to determine the benefit to nature from the conservation of the Inari Collective Forest area. According to the calculation, the area is well suited as a forest compensation area for the Sakatti project, and its conservation is calculated to provide a net positive impact of 30% for nature. In May 2022, AA Sakatti Mining Oy purchased a 2,910-hectare compensation area from the Inari Collective Forest, which is part of the forest compensation of the Sakatti multi-metal mine project.
AA Sakatti Mining Oy has published a compensation calculation as part of the voluntary ecological compensation in the Inari Collective Forest. The company is committed to compensating for any natural damage caused by the planned multi-metal mine that cannot be avoided or reduced on-site. The calculation determines the benefit of the 2,910 hectares of the Inari community forest in such a way that it compensates for the damage caused by the mine to the Kuusivaara economic forest in Sodankylä.
The compensation is part of the forest compensation of the Sakatti multi-metal mine project. Compensation for swamps must be carried out separately by restoring and protecting the swamps. The share of wasteland located in the compensation area will also be presented later.
The forest is protected by overcompensating 30% of the damages
Sakatti multi-metal mine project causes natural damage mainly to forest and marsh ecosystems. The damage to forests arises from land under the process area, access road, and the power line, which creates the "footprint" of the project, as well as indirect disadvantages such as noise and dust. These disadvantages mainly affect the economic forest near Kuusivaara in Sodankylä.
The old forest of the Inari Collective Forest is a precious natural forest, which means that it is a good compensation area for the economic forest of Kuusivaara. As a high-quality forest, it has been attached to the international Intact Forest Landscape (IFL) classification in 2018. However, the Inari Collective Forest is a normal collective forest in the sense that its purpose is to make a living for its owners. As a result, the forest area has not been safe from operational pressures, which increases the compensation factors for the area.
The measure of nature damage is habitat hectare, which is used to calculate the balance between natural degradations and rebates. One hectare habitat requires compensatory measures over several hectares, as conservation and restoration bring a delayed benefit to nature. The coefficient informs the extent to which the compensatory measure must be carried out in order to compensate for the damage to one habitat hectare.
According to the calculation, in the primary implementation option of the project, the collective forest conservation area would provide compensation equivalent to approximately 72% of the forest compensation required by the Sakatti mine. For the forests of the mining project, the coefficient was calculated to be approximately 10. This is based on the protection of a forest with a good natural state (Metso-eligible) and a 30% overcompensation, i.e. the compensatory area produces a net positive impact for nature.
"Anglo American strives to overcompensate for the ecological harm it produces in all its new projects, which is why the Sakatti project also aims to produce a net positive impact for nature. It’s also important that the compensation is implemented proactively before the project is approved, which is in line with the objectives of the recent Nature Conservation Act," says Pertti Lamberg, CEO of AA Sakatti Mining Oy.
Following calculations will be made for the swamp areas and wasteland
Forest compensation in the Inari Collective Forest meets only part of the compensation needs of the project. Next, the company will start looking for a suitable swamp compensation area near Sodankylä to compensate for the damage caused to the marsh ecosystem. It should also be noted that a significant part of forest compensation can be carried out naturally in addition to swamp compensation since the marsh compensation areas presumably also come with forests.
The figures used in the calculation are estimates and may change as project planning progresses. For example, it is possible that more disadvantages can be reduced on-site than the primary realization alternative suggests, which is of course only positive. If this happens, the share of the Inari Collective Forest in forest compensation may prove to be higher than estimated in the calculation.
The calculation is made by ecoinformatics researcher Atte Moilanen and Ecology Professor Janne S. Kotiaho on behalf of AA Sakatti Mining Oy.