The board of Protect the Forest is elected at the annual meeting, which is the organization’s highest decision making body. The annual meeting takes place before the first of March each year.
You can contact the members of the board of Protect the Forest by clicking here and then selecting the person.
Viktor Säfve
Chairperson
Works with nature conservation and forest management and organizes natural and cultural events. Grew up in Norrbotten, but nowadays lives in the woods of Örebro County. Has been involved in forest issues during the 21st century in the network Protect the Forest and the local association Hjärtats Eko (the Echo of the Heart). Forest campaigner at Greenpeace in 2008. Other things: Drummer and forest wanderer.
Maria Westerberg
Vice-chairperson
Artist. Born in 1968, grew up, lives and acts in the forests of Värmland. “The forest is my confidant, my playmate, support and friend. On my walks, I find joy skipping among the branches, fairy tales sprinkled in the moss, the deepest of insights written in the bark and the humour bubbling out of streams. My assignment is to collect everything I find along the well-worn paths and in wood and words carve what wants to be carved. It's a game between the forest and me in a kind of wonderful color, a game in the deepest seriousness, a game composed of laughing wraiths. I think I believe that it is a love game between the forest and me. Welcome into our world…”
Kata Säfve Treasurer
I have been dedicated to the protection of the old-growth forest since I moved from a big city to the woods seven years ago. My picture of Sweden being a country with vast untouched fairy tale forests, was crushed. I associate to the author Sara Lidman’s description of a clear-cut as ”raped nature”. The nature lacks the right to be heard, therefore we have to plead its cause. I am the initiator of the Forest Festival and I am interested in how humans can respond to nature without overexploiting her. I think we can make a difference by moving the forest from the periphery of human consciousness closer to the center, by encouraging more people to take part of the nature, spreading information about what is happening in the forest and by organizing cultural events in the nature. I am studying to become a teacher of Swedish and arts. I also work extra in preschool and with children with disabilities.
Daniel Rutschman,
Secretary
Raised and still lives in Jokkmokk, Swedish Lapland. Works on a voluntary basis with nature conservation issues. Harbours a special love for the beautiful subalpine forests. Spent time traveling around the world for many years. Since youth has had a strong involvement for nature and justice. Loves hiking and campfires. Surprised and horrified over the boundless greed allowed to prevail, in which corporations and politicians in search of short-term and unfair maximization of profit exploit people, liquidate ecosystems, exterminate species and destroy the planet's climate.
“The forest is like an infinite temple, and each of its diverse manifestations of life is a worship.” Albert Viksten, 1923
Other Board members:
Amanda Tas
Member
Environmental scientist with focus on nature conservation biology. Former Greenpeace forest campaigner. Grew up in Sweden, Somalia and Zambia. Been involved in Greenpeace for years as activist and volunteer. Burning interest in environmental issues and is extremely worried about the situation of Swedish forests.
Josefine Gustafsson
Member
Biologist and nature educator. Grew up in the highlands of Småland, was active with Nature and Youth (Fältbiologerna) during the 80s and 90s. Studied in Lund and Umeå, previously worked at national administrative authorities (the Swedish Forest Agency and the County Administrative Board). Formerly active in the Gränna forest group and now lives in the city of Malmö. Her grandparents were small-scale forestry workers. Fell in love with the taiga at age 20, but is equally fond of the open oak pastures and pollarded ash. Would like future generations not to have to take care of even more depleted plantation forests than we have today.
Martin Hallberg Åkerberg
Member
Bird-fancier from Örebro, has since childhood had a great interest in nature, especially for birds and their feathers. Skilled nature guide from Tornedalen’s folk high-school and has attended the handicraft program at Vårdinge-by folk high school. Deals with handicraft, where feathers often are used. Works with pproducing organic linseed oil.
“I can breathe when I walk in the forest.”
Stig-Olof Holm
Member
Biologist, working as a associate professor t Umeå University. Lives in Baggböle outside Umeå. Has been involved in forest issues for a long time, established the organization FURA for the protection of sub-alpine virgin forests in the beginning of the 1980s. Owns forest north of Umeå. Wants to bring the idea up that not only the protection of forests should be increased but also that the forestry should be modified for the sake of coming generations.
Richard Holmqvist
Member
Partly retired engineer. Lived in Stockholm 1945-2004, thereafter in Falun. Spent the last 18 working years as a scientist at STFI, a Research and Development company in the fields of pulp and paper. Nowadays a free writer, nature guide (birds), board member amateur and spare time politician in Falun.
"Without an employer I now do things I find important, not others. This includes the protection of the old-growth forests."
Rolf Lundqvist
Member
Born in 1944. Grew up in Enviken in Dalarna with the taiga as background. Worked with Dalarna region during the nationwide "virgin forest inventory" in 1979-81. Inspired by Olle Zackrisson, he became more and more involved with forest protection. Active in the Swedish Society for Nature Conservation (SSNC) Forestgroup in the early 1980s, co-editor of SSNC Yearbook "Mountain Forests". Also published in "The Possible Future of Earth" in the taiga theme issue in Swedish Botanical Journal (SBT-3 1992) and a long list of other publications after that. Eventually wrote his own books, eg "Fulufjället. National park in Dala mountains (2002). Now has the manuscript finished for a new book on Fulufjällen: "The rain disaster of 1997". Has also written a couple of books on historical engravings on trees to supplement his pension. All this accompanied by a roaring forest activism!
Björn Mildh
Member
Retired doctor, specialist in children’s internal deceases. Born in Finland in the archipelago of Åboland. Lives and has worked in Norrbotten since the beginning of 1970s. Engaged in nature conservation in the forest since the middle of 1990s. Motto: “Never give up”.
Employer: The old-growth forest.
Patrik Nygren
Member
Active forest conservationist for the past 18 years. Today a (passive) member of the board of Protect the Forest. Lives in a house in the forest, near the coast in Västerbotten.
Göran Rönning
Member
Works as an environmental and health protection inspector since the 1980s with shorter breaks as key habitat inventory specialist for the Swedish Forest Agency.
Motto: ”Keep your boots muddy.” – which is thedevice of Nature and Youth, which I learnt as a young striving field biologist. I have since I was a little spruce cone loved the forest and its plant and animal life, which time after time got more and more threatened by the interests of short-sighted forest exploiters. For the last 40 years I am specialized in the “soul of the forest”, thecapercaillie's courting and its practitioners, which are having increasing problems finding a sanctuary in the industrial forests of today. Nowadays capercaillie (great wood grouse) studies take more of my time. I have established the protection committee "Capercaillie observers", consisting of the formost professional expert group in Sweden, with great knowledge about capercaillies. The committee consists of about 10 persons from all over Sweden and Norway and they have studied capercaillies in the field for more than four decades.
I live in a red little house with white corners where the forest starts in the middle of Dalarna.
Jerry Skoglund
Member
Retired associate professor in forest ecology.Grew up in Västerås. Lived in Uppsala between 1968-2004. Now lives in Vittinge. Teacher degree 1974, PhD in ecological botany 1990, worked at Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences 1991-2008. Has developed and held courses in tropical ecology, plant ecology and natural forest ecology, among other scientific subjects. Secretary in the Swedish Plantgeographical Society 1986-2001.
Thomas Tidholm
Member
Author, poet, photographer etc.
Born in Örebro, raised in Stockholm. Resident in Arbrå, Hälsningland, since 1970, in a house close to the forest. Sheep feeder. Sometimes bee-keeper, sometimes moose-hunter, always bird-watcher. Always author. Active in the local Swedish Society for Nature Conservation in Bollnäs during the 1990s and in the forest group of Gävleborg. During my time here I’ve seen the forest transform from old peasant forests to plantations and stump fields.
Honorary member:
Anders Delin
Retired doctor, MD, specialist in surgery. Grew up in Stockholm and Hälsingland, 1984-2002 senior physician at Bollnäs sjukhus. Chairperson in the Swedish Society for Nature Conservation in Gävleborg County 1986-1996. Initiator and chairperson of Gävleborg Botanical Society 1981-2005, the initiator of the research field-trip to the outskirts of nature conservation in 1991 and of the network Protect the Forest in 2000.
