The Metsähallitus Board of Directors has submitted a protection proposal to the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry as part of Finland’s commitment to safeguarding the remaining old-growth and natural forests. The total area of the forests located south of the Sámi Homeland and excluded from commercial use is equivalent to 45,000 football fields. The proposal enables Finland to take concrete steps towards EU biodiversity targets.
Metsähallitus proposes that more than 26,000 hectares of forests identified in its inventory as meeting the Government’s criteria for old-growth and natural forests be protected under the Nature Conservation Act. The proposal entails the establishment of a total of 530 new nature reserves or the expansion of existing ones.
In addition, sites with a total area of 11,000 hectares that meet the criteria but are small in size (less than 10 hectares) will be transferred to Metsähallitus’ landscape ecological network, and they will be immediately excluded from forestry operations. The network covers valuable nature and other special sites, such as streamside and brookside forests, springs and sunlit habitats on esker slopes. The inventories also discovered 7,600 hectares of new nature sites in accordance with the Metsähallitus Forestry Ltd’s Environmental Guide, which will also be transferred to the landscape ecological network.
As a result of the inventories, a total of 45,000 hectares of state-owned forests will be designated for protection and excluded from commercial use. This area is expected to grow as the inventories continue in the Sámi Homeland this year.
“This is a major nature conservation measure. The proposal significantly strengthens the efforts to safeguard forest biodiversity in Finland and allows us to take concrete steps towards the EU’s biodiversity targets,” says Juha Niemelä, Director General of Metsähallitus.
According to Director General Niemelä, the inventory of old-growth forests that are in their natural state, based on the Government Programme, has been an extensive and demanding task for Metsähallitus.
Over 100 professionals participated in the survey of areas proposed for protection
The protection proposal is based on extensive inventories carried out between 2024 and 2025 on state-owned lands south of the Sámi Homeland. In total, the field inventories covered more than 170,000 hectares across Finland.
During the two-year period, a total of 90 people were hired to assist Metsähallitus’ permanent employees in the inventories. So far, inventory costs have amounted to around EUR 3.35 million, and they have been covered by internal revenue generated from logging by Metsähallitus Forestry Ltd.
“The inventory has been an exceptionally major undertaking. During two field seasons, more than 90 inventory employees hired for the task have measured aspects such as the age of the forest and the volume of dead wood and assessed the forest’s history of commercial use. The inventories also made extensive use of spatial data and remote sensing data. This work provides a strong foundation for conservation decisions,” says Karoliina Niemi, Managing Director, Metsähallitus Forestry Ltd.
Field surveys will continue throughout this year in the Sámi Homeland, and protection proposals on forests meeting the criteria in these areas will be prepared after the inventory has been completed. The work will further improve understanding of the most valuable sites in state-owned forests and the related conservation needs.
Further information:
Juha Niemelä, Director General, Metsähallitus
+358 50 500 3681, juha.niemela@metsa.fi
Karoliina Niemi, Managing Director, Forestry Ltd, Metsähallitus
+358 50 567 9093, karoliina.niemi@metsa.fi
Read more:
Inventory of primary and old-growth forests 2024–2026