Metsä Conservation Foundation receives over 1,000 hectares of forest conservation proposals
Metsä Conservation Foundation received proposals covering more than 1,000 hectares of forest during its first application round for voluntary forest conservation in Finland. A total of 85 sites were submitted by forest owners from across the country, representing a broad variety of forest types and biodiversity-rich areas.
“I’m very pleased with the number of applications. Information about Metsä Conservation Foundation has reached forest owners well. The interest shows there’s demand for voluntary forest conservation,” said Shaheena Turak, Manager of Metsä Conservation Foundation.
The largest number of applications came from Lapland, North Ostrobothnia, North Karelia and South Savo. In terms of total area, Lapland accounted for the largest share of the proposed conservation sites. The forest areas offered for protection ranged in size from one hectare to more than 100 hectares.
Metsä Conservation Foundation was established to provide funding for the permanent protection of forests with high biodiversity value in Finland, while allowing forest ownership to remain with the landowner. The conservation process is initiated voluntarily by the forest owner.
Evaluation process under way
The foundation’s Conservation Committee will now begin evaluating the submitted sites. Forest owners who applied will start receiving information from June onwards regarding whether their forests will proceed to the next stage of the process. The best candidate sites will subsequently be inspected by the Conservation Committee before final decisions are confirmed by the foundation’s Board.
According to current estimates, the first conservation decisions are expected to be announced around the turn of the year.
“It’s clear that, unfortunately, we’ll not be able to protect all valuable offered sites, which means that even some good sites will not receive funding. Our goal is that in the coming years, the volume of conservation increases, and the foundation attracts more partners,” Turak added.
Supporting biodiversity protection in Finland
Metsä Conservation Foundation was established in 2025 by Metsäliitto Cooperative, the parent company of Metsä Group, to support additional protection of forests with significant ecological value.
The initiative is intended to complement Finland’s existing conservation network while promoting a broader range of voluntary protection methods and encouraging new stakeholders to participate in biodiversity conservation efforts.
