Metsä Conservation Foundation was established due to the need to strengthen the state of nature and protect forests of high biodiversity in Finland.
Metsä Conservation Foundation is an independent organisation. The Foundation was established in 2025 by Metsäliitto Cooperative, a cooperative owned by approximately 90,000 Finnish forest owners.
In accordance with its rules, the Foundation permanently conserves forests of high biodiversity value and other valuable habitats associated with them. Through its operating model, the Foundation aims to help safeguard biodiversity and strengthen Finland’s natural ecosystems.
Through the Foundation, forest owners can receives financial compensation for the conservation of their diverse forests.
Governance
Metsä Conservation Foundation is registered in the Foundation Register of the Finnish Patent and Registration Office. The Foundation is an independent legal entity.
Metsä Conservation Foundation is managed by its Board of Directors. The Board of Directors ensures that the Foundation’s activities are properly organised, and that its purpose, as set out in its rules, is realised. The term of the Chair and the members of the Board of Directors is one year.
The Foundation's manager is responsible to the Board and carries out tasks assigned by the Board. The manager is the Foundation’s contact person and they handle all practical work.
The Foundation’s Conservation Committee is responsible for defining the conservation basis and proposing sites to be conserved to the Board from applications. Furthermore, the Committee verifies selected conservation sites via field visits and confirms sites conservational value.
