Forestry protest on April 25

On April 25, a demonstration in defense of Estonia's forests took place in Tallinn. Despite the cold and rainy weather, hundreds of people who care deeply about the forest turned out. Farištamo Eller and Joanna Käi delivered opening speeches in Tammsaare Park. The crowd then moved to Town Hall Square for a collective sing-along before proceeding to Freedom Square. There, speeches were given by Jan Kaus, Leo Filippov, Raul Rosenvald, Robert Pappel, Ingrid Nielsen, and Karl Birnbaum. Participants sang traditional *regilaul* (runic songs) led by Helena Trei, and later, Riste Sofie Käär and Meisterjaan performed.

The demonstration made it abundantly clear that the public does not support the government's plan to designate 70% of Estonia's forests as commercial forests. People want to protect and preserve Estonia's forests; they do not want them simply cut down for economic gain, nor do they want tens of thousands of nestlings killed by logging operations during the nesting season. In fact, it was already known prior to the demonstration that approximately 80% of Estonian residents support reducing logging volumes, yet politicians tend to listen to major industrial interests instead. The goal of the demonstration was to demand wise forest management from the government, specifically, that no more forest should be cut down than grows back.

Whose forest is Estonia's forest? It is our forest, belonging to us all.

What or who is "our forest"?

Estonians have often been described as a forest people. According to theories regarding the origins of Finno-Ugric peoples, our ancestors spent millennia migrating from the forest zone of the Urals to the Baltic coast. The forest was their natural habitat and has shaped our modern habits and mindset.

Following the last Ice Age, the tundra-like landscape of Estonia gradually gave way to forests, where ancient hunter-gatherers settled. The nature-oriented worldview of Estonians regarded the forest as a living organism imbued with power; later, it was also associated with forest spirits, beings one had to interact with upon entering the woods to avoid misfortune. Respect and reverence for the forest were ingrained in our ancestors.

Andrus Kivirähk’s work The Man Who Spoke Snakish (*Mees, kes teadis ussisõnu*) reflects this same idea of ​​communicating with nature, understanding it on a deeper level and possessing the ability to hear the forest and be heard by it. This highly topical work also aptly illustrates our current, profound alienation from our ancestral heritage, as we often view a lifestyle close to nature as odd or impractical.

Increasing settlement density during the 19th and 20th centuries led to a certain estrangement from the forest, and for some, the woods even became a source of fear. At the same time, the forest offered refuge from enemies during times of war, whether the adversary was a landlord, the church, the state, or a foreign conqueror. In the 19th century, the term "forest brother" (*metsavend*) came into use to describe those who had fled into the forest to escape various dangers. Beyond providing a sense of security and protection, the forest has historically served as a vital bearer of cultural heritage. Forest motifs appear in film, painting, music, and literature. Nor can we overlook the natural sacred sites familiar to us all, found in abundance across our land, such as sacred groves, holy trees, springs, sacrificial stones, offering sites, cross trees, and the like; there are thousands of them in Estonia. The World Conservation Congress of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has even designated the natural sacred sites of indigenous peoples as humanity’s oldest protected areas. They derive special significance and value from the associated intangible cultural heritage, which can even serve as a cornerstone of a region’s identity.

Thus, "our forest" is the very same forest that offered shelter and a sense of security to our ancestors; the very same forest that holds our sacred sites and cultural heritage. It is the forest that brings us peace today and has shaped our identity. Yet how can this also be the forest we ruthlessly cut down, the forest we no longer listen to and, with visions of euro signs before our eyes, proceed to destroy? 

Why are forests so important?

Forests are essential for life on Earth. Although they are often viewed primarily as carbon sinks and oxygen producers, their role is actually much broader. Forests directly influence both Earth's temperature and the freshwater cycle, thereby shaping the climate and living conditions across the planet. Naturally, forests also serve as a habitat, both for us and for hundreds of thousands of other species.

One of the most important functions of forests is their role in the global water cycle. It is estimated that at least 40% of terrestrial precipitation originates from evapotranspiration occurring in forests, the evaporation of water from the ground and plant leaves. Furthermore, forests influence cloud formation and the distribution of precipitation. Pollen, spores, and other biological particles released into the atmosphere act as condensation nuclei around which cloud droplets can form. Forests also affect the movement of water across continents. Vast forest areas help channel moist air from the coast toward the interior, supporting precipitation even far from the sea. Their loss can reduce rainfall and make the climate drier in certain areas. Thus, reduced forest cover can diminish precipitation and cloud formation even thousands of kilometers away.

At the same time, forests also influence temperature. In warmer regions, trees cool the environment through both shade and transpiration. A single tree can transpire hundreds of liters of water in a day. In cities, trees help mitigate the urban heat island effect. In colder and snowy regions, however, forests can have the opposite effect, as their darker surface absorbs more solar radiation than snow, thereby providing habitats for species that would otherwise be unable to live there.

Forests also regulate water resources. For instance, they improve soil structure, facilitating water infiltration into the ground and the replenishment of groundwater. Deforestation reduces the soil's capacity to retain water, which in turn increases the risk of flooding and depletes water reserves during dry periods. High-quality soil is also essential for successful agriculture!

The loss of forests can trigger dangerous feedback loops. Reduced rainfall and higher temperatures foster drought conditions, which in turn increase the risk of wildfires. Aerosols released by fires disrupt cloud formation and precipitation patterns, further exacerbating the problem.

The importance of forests extends beyond climate and water. They provide a habitat for approximately 80% of amphibian species, 75% of bird species, 68% of mammal species, and tens of thousands of plant species. Millions of people also depend on forests as a source of food, income, and fuel.

Forests cover approximately one-third of the Earth's land surface, yet their total area has declined in recent decades. Between 2000 and 2012, about 3.2% of the world's forests were lost. Deforestation signifies not only a loss of biodiversity but also directly impacts water availability, the climate, global biodiversity, and our own quality of life.

All this means that forests are not merely a source of economic gain but one of the pillars of life upon which our economy also rests. If we treat the forest merely as a raw material, we overlook its most important functions. The question is no longer how much forest we can cut down, but whether we understand how much we are actually giving up in the process.

| Let us be masters in our own land, not colonists who leave behind a ravaged landscape out of greed for money. Nature cannot be measured solely in monetary terms.