May 24, 2006. Mr. Jan Heino, director general of Finnish Metsahallitus (58), has been chosen assistant director-general and head for the forestry department of the United Nation’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

Timberlands

Jan Heino appointed director-general for FAO forestry department

May 24, 2006. /Lesprom Network/. Mr. Jan Heino, director general of Finnish Metsahallitus (58), has been chosen assistant director-general and head for the forestry department of the United Nation’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). “The appointment shows significant acknowledgement for Finland’s forestry sector and the country’s high competence in forestry, which are respected around the globe,” says Mr. Juha Korkeaoja, Finland’s minister of agriculture and forestry. “Finland has been very active in the FAO and other international forestry matters, and we are pleased that the FAO has expressed confidence in Finnish forestry competence, something which Jan Heino has demonstrated during his career.” Director general Heino resignes from the service of the state forest enterprise Metsahallitus at the end of June this year. Public applications for the position of managing director of Metsahallitus will be accepted in June. The Finnish government will appoint the managing director, and in the interim, director of forestry Hannu Jokinen will act as managing director. Mr. Heino sees his appointment as an important honour for Metsahallitus as well, where he has been director general since 2000. During Heino’s time at the helm, Metsahallitus has developed strongly in response to the new demands of the State Enterprise Act, and the market orientation of this state enterprise has further increased. “Metsahallitus is in good shape and has strengthened its position,” says Mr. Heino. “At the end of last year the state, which owns Metsahallitus, thoroughly examined its future prospects. The new strategic decisions approved by the government concerning the use of state forests provide a solid foundation for Metsaahallitus’s operations and future development.” Mr. Heino has previously acted as chairman of the Committee on Forestry, under the FAO, as well as chairman of the FAO’s European Forestry Commission. Metsahallitus has internationalized rapidly during Heino’s time in its service. He has held a key position in co-operating with European state-owned forestry organizations and was named chairman of the recently established European State Forest Association EUSTAFOR in Brussels. “With this new appointment I will now have to abandon that post,” says Mr. Heino. Metsahallitus is a state enterprise that administers more than 12 million hectares of state-owned land and water areas. Metsahallitus has the challenging responsibility of managing and using these areas in a way that benefits Finnish society to the greatest extent possible. The FAO was founded in 1945, and with 189 member states, it is the UN’s largest specialized agency. The FAO collects data on agriculture, forestry, fisheries and nutrition, provides guidance and carries out development work worldwide. The FAO has an important role in realizing the development goals of the UN’s Millennium Declaration and the 2002 world summit on sustainable development. In forest matters, important FAO tasks include monitoring global forest reserves, promoting national forest programmes and supporting the work of the UN’s forum on forests.