Other Protected Areas
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Note! The map only shows other protected areas
on state-owned land, not national parks, strict nature reserves etc.
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Other State-owned Protected Areas
Other protected areas owned by the state vary in character and conservation objectives. Some of these areas were established before the government outlined regulations for their nature conservation programmes. Some of the protected areas e.g. mires, herb-rich forests and old-growth forests, are outside of the areas included in nature conservation programmes
In the future these areas will grow in number and in importance, as the Nature Conservation Act states that nature conservation programmes can be realised as smaller protected areas. These protected areas have usually been and in the future will be established by statute. Some of the areas are kept untouched in their natural state while others are cared for in different ways.
Other state-owned protected areas are not only managed by Metsähallitus but also by the Finnish Forest Research Institute, the University of Helsinki and the Agricultural Research Centre.
In addition to the afore-mentioned areas there are areas on state-owned lands which Metsähallitus and the Finnish Forest Research Institute have established protected areas which have not been established under the Nature Conservation Act. Metsähallitus has established 24 of these small protected areas. Their combined area measures 800 hectares. When the Act on Metsähallitus came into effect at the beginning of 2005 this way of establishing protected areas was not possible anymore.
Privately-owned Protected Areas
Protected areas can be established on lands owned by municipalities, organisations or individuals when the land owner applies for permission from Finland’s environmental administration. There is a very diverse range of private protected areas from strict nature reserve type bird reserves to valuable estate parks. Sometimes these areas are directly connected to state-owned protected areas and share services with them.
At the beginning of 2005 there were 4,037 privately-owned protected areas and their combined area was 139,000 hectares. They are for the main part located in southern Finland.
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