The “Metsähallitus Approach” to Address Biodiversity Loss in Public-business Partnership

Natural Heritage Services • 2006 • 1

The World Environment Center (WEC)

The “Metsähallitus Approach” to Address Biodiversity Loss

in Public-business Partnership

• Rauno Väisänen


Contents of Presentation

• Metsähallitus

• Natural Heritage Services

• Metsähallitus Forestry

• Lessons Learned

• Major Challenges


Metsähallitus – State-owned Land and Water Areas

• • More than half of the state-owned lands are managed forests

– forest land– poorly productive land– non-productive land


Metsähallitus – Some Key Figures 2004

Turnover, million euros 241

Operating Profit, million euros 71

Contribution to State Revenue, million euros 63

Volume, million m3 4,7

Person Years 2,158


Metsähallitus - a State Enterprise

Ministry of the Environment

Forestry

Board

Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry

Natural Heritage Services


Basic Facts on Finnish Protected Areas 1

• Management principles

– Primary aim is biodiversity conservation and maintenance of ‘naturalness’

– No inhabitants

– No logging

– Reindeer herding and subsistence hunting allowed in the north

• Financing

– Financed by the government

– Almost all publicly-owned and managed by Metsähallitus Natural Heritage Services

– Mostly based on nation-wide conservation

– programmes, full compensation to private land-owners


Basic Facts on Finnish Protected Areas 2

• Good baseline information

– Good Nordic scientific tradition

– National inventories (such as forest, fish and game)

– Environmental monitoring (such as water and air quality)

– Excellent Red Data Books utilising revised IUCN/SSC categories

– Extensive biotope and species inventories and monitoring going on

– Efficient GIS-based databases as a major tool in management planning


Basic Facts on Finnish Protected Areas 3Protected areas on Dec 31, 2005

Type

15,68314,903

3551,4067,344

24,330

69,929

Sq. km.No.

49412

719

1 523

Statutory protected areas Wilderness areas National hiking areas Other recreational areas Areas reserved in conservation programmes

Public water areas Not included in the above numbers

Total area managed Not all categories given above


Public Administration Duties

• management of statutory protected areas and other areas reserved for conservation

• protection and care of endangered species• management of wilderness areas,

recreational areas and other special areas• purchase of areas for conservation• free-of-charge hiking services for the public• customer services for Metsähallitus as a whole• public authority issues relating to nature protection• game, fisheries and off-road traffic• law enforcement• forest tree seed acquisition and security storage• duties related to floating infrastructure


National Parks of Metsähallitus

• A total of 34 national parks• Total area 8 789 sq. km.• Over 1 410 000 visitors in 2005


Natura 2000 Network in Finland

• Based mostly on the existing network of protected areas

• Founded on grounds set by the European Union

• Aims at safeguarding biodiversity within the European Union

• Finland a member of the European Union since 1995

• Natura 2000 Sites in Finland:– Total area 59,930 sq. km.– Total area on Metsähallitus lands

42,840 sq. km. (71 per cent)


Marine Protected Areas in Finland

• All of Finland’s BSPA sites have legal status as sites proposed for the European Union’s Natura 2000 network

• Or, as national protected sites, on state-owned or on private water or land areas

• All state-owned coastal waters (over 3 million hectares) are administered and managed by Metsähallitus

HELCOM BSPA sites

National marine and coastal protected areas

Natura 2000 marine sites

FINLAND



• Three regional units

• Four core processes– Nature conservation– Recreational use of nature– Protected area management

planning– Game and fisheries

• Personnel in 2005– Permanent 340 – Seasonal labour 690

• Work input in 2005– Person years 580



Deputy DirectorM-L Hintsanen

Director Rauno Väisänen

SOUTHERNFINLANDRegional DirectorStig Johansson

OSTROBOTHNIA

Regional DirectorArto Ahokumpu

LAPLAND

Regional DirectorJyrki Tolonen

Area ManagerPirjo Seurujärvi

Area ManagerJarmo Väisänen

Area ManagerAulikki Alanen

Area ManagerMatti Hovi

Area ManagerYrjö Norokorpi

Area ManagerErkki Virolainen

Area ManagerSamuli Sillman

Area ManagerSakari Kokkonen

Regional TeamsSuperintendents

Regional Teams Superintendents

Regional Teams Superintendents

ManagerMarkku Vickholm

ManagerOlavi Joensuu

ManagerAimo Saano

ManagerAnneli Leivo

PA MANAGEMENTPLANNING

GAME andFISHERIES

NATURECONSERVATION

RECREATION

P R

O C

E S

S E

S

DirectorMatti Määttä

DEVELOPMENTPROJECTS

STEERING UNITS

ADMINSTRATION

Area ManagerHannu Lehtonen

Area ManagerSeppo Manninen

Area ManagerErkki Turtinen

Area ManagerMika Laakkonen

Organisation as of Jan 1 2006



•Mission• We manage our areas in accordance with the best practices based on

research and experience to protect natural diversity and cultural values.

• We provide our customers with a possibility to recreation in and learning about nature.

• We create opportunities for nature tourism and sustainable regional development.

• We do cooperation on national and international level.

• We develop our service competence and the effectiveness and productivity of our operations.



•Vision 2010

• The favourable conservation status of species and habitats in our areas is safeguarded.

• Our services are appreciated and promote welfare of nature and man.


Financing of the NHS in 1990 - 2005


Financing of the NHS in 2005

Ministry of the Environment

European Union

Income

Other Funding1,01 me

34,36 me

6,47 me

1,88 me

5,25 me

Ministry of Labour3,08 me

Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry

Ministry of the Interior1,30 me

53,35 me Total Funding

64 %

2 %

10 %

4 %2 %

6 %

12 %


Ecosystem-oriented Biodiversity Conservation

• core areas

• biodiversity enhancement areas

• connectivity areas

• areas of structural development of commercial forests

Case: Malahvia


New Environmental Guide

• the amount of dead and decaying wood will be increased in commercial forests during the coming decades to 10 cubic meters per hectare and in commercial forests with special protection status to 20 cubic meters per hectare.

• buffer zones with specified forestry measures will be established around small (less than 1000 hectares) but ecologically valuable protected areas in Southern Finland, in order to support the functionality of the protected area.

• new low-impact harvesting methods will be developed to be used e.g. in areas with logging restrictions.

• high conservation value forests will usually be set aside or carefully managed in close collaboration with the NHS to maintain the ecological values of the site.


Benefits of Public-business Partnership

• positive impact on forestry policies and practicies

• "service company" identity of the NHS ›

• joint planning processes and tools

• efficient information management ›

• professional habitat restoration ›

• buffer against political turbulences

• good relationships with forest industries


Disadvantages of Organisational Structure

• public image of the NHS

• limitations of external communications of the NHS

• time-consuming negotiations


Global Goals and Local Actions

National organisation, global goals and local actions

• CBD Programme of Work on Protected Areas, climate change, sustainable development:

– how to translate the messages for ordinary citizens?

• Credibility at all levels

• Practitioner approach

• Cooperation with international NGOs and businesses


Major Challenges

• Spatial connectivity: ecosystem approach

• Baseline information

• Funding and productivity

Documents

The “Metsähallitus Approach” to Address Biodiversity Loss in Public-business Partnership