Applications for forest conservation in Finland drop to one-third of last year’s figures

Applications for voluntary forest conservation in Finland have dropped to a third of last year’s figures. Private forest owners can receive support from the Finnish Forest Agency for the temporary protection of valuable natural sites. So far, only 500 applications have been submitted this year, compared to 1,500 approved last year.

The main reason for this decline is that the Forest Agency no longer assists forest owners with their support applications, a service it previously provided. Instead, the responsibility for preparing these applications has shifted to timber purchasing companies, forest service firms, and local forest management associations.

Jarkko Partanen, head of financing and inspection at the Finnish Forest Agency, states that industry stakeholders need to significantly increase the number of prepared applications; otherwise, there will be insufficient funding for these sites. Additionally, he emphasizes the need to enhance landowners’ knowledge about environmental support, so they can request it from industry representatives while managing other forestry matters.

The number of applications has also been affected by issues with the Forest Agency’s information systems. The application window opened in March, but processing has yet to begin due to these technical problems. Partanen explained that some stakeholders have delayed submissions because of the system issues.

For this year, €12 million is allocated for environmental support, but many funding decisions and payments will carry over to next year. Forest owners remain interested in voluntary conservation, as the agency continues to receive inquiries about environmental support. Partanen believes that landowners’ interest is at least on par with previous years and may have even increased slightly.