Finland proposes over 500 new protected areas covering 45,000 hectares

The state-owned forest agency Metsähallitus has submitted a proposal to Finland’s Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry to establish 530 new nature reserves, removing 45,000 hectares of state-owned forests from commercial use, Yle reports.

The proposal follows a 2024–2025 survey involving over 100 experts and aligns with Finland’s progress toward the EU’s 2030 biodiversity targets, which aim to halt biodiversity loss and restore ecosystems. Under the plan, 26,000 hectares would receive full protection under government criteria, while another 19,000 hectares would join Metsähallitus’s ecological network, ending forestry operations there.

Juha Niemelä, the agency’s director general, called the initiative “a major conservation effort” in a statement.