Nature credits: "You either jeopardise nature benefits or financial consistency " (S. Kuresoo, Fern)

In a joint statement published on 17/06/2025, forest-protector NGOs Fern and Canopée alert on the risks of "forest destruction caused by EU Nature credits pilot". In their evidence-based investigation on a forestry project in Hiiumaa island in Estonia, they demonstrate that the pilot project has destroyed the very biodiversity it was meant to protect.

"The Commission’s Estonian pilot project takes place on a land owned by MAIF, a French insurance company, which has contracted forestry investment firm France Valley to manage the site. Satellite data and expert field analysis show that since taking ownership of this land parcel, they approved at least 27 hectares of clear-cuts, often in ecologically sensitive forests, despite public claims that they do not engage in such activities. 

A site visit (by Indrek Tammekänd, a freelance forest ecologist), in early May 2025, found fresh and planned clear-cut sites in old-growth forests, woodland key habitats, Habitat Directive’s Annex I forest habitats, and sites of nationally protected sensitive species. The visit also revealed evidence of…