About Metsä Conservation Foundation

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.

Members of the Board of Directors

Chair, Vice-Chair of the Board of Metsäliitto Cooperative

Mikko Mäkimattila
Vice-Chair, Member of the Board of Metsäliitto Cooperative

Eija Pitkänen
Member, Stakeholder Engagement EVP, Metsä Group

Tomi Salo

Foundation Manager

Foundation Manager, Nature Expert, Metsä Group

Shaheena Turak

Conservation Committee

Chair, Professor, Head of Biodiversity Unit, University of Turku

Ilari E. Sääksjärvi
Vice-Chair, Project Manager, Finnish Environment Institute

Kimmo Syrjänen
Member, Sustainability Manager, Metsä Group

Silja Pitkänen-Arte
Member, Leading Nature Expert, Metsä Group

Timo Lehesvirta

Finance and Fundraising

At the time of its establishment, in July 2025, the Foundation’s basic capital was EUR 1 million. Metsäliitto Cooperative's Board of Directors has made a total authorisation of EUR 10 million to fund the Foundation.

The Foundation actively raises funds to ensure the long-term continuity and impact of its work. The National Police Board of Finland granted Metsä Conservation Foundation a fundraising permit on 26 June 2026. The permit number is RA/2026/875. The permit is valid throughout Finland, excluding Åland, from 26 June 2026 onwards.

Funds raised through fundraising are primarily used to finance the protection of areas of high biodiversity value. This includes conservation compensation to landowners or covering the purchase price of properties acquired for conservation purposes. Costs related to the Foundation’s public-benefit activities may also be covered through donated funds, sofar as they arise directly from such public-benefit activities.

Funds may also be used for public-benefit activities related to financing forest conservation, including the process of selecting conservation sites, the production and publication of information on nature conservation and forest biodiversity, and the organization of events related to conservation.

In addition, funds may be used for activities that directly support the Foundation’s public-benefit objectives. This includes procuring external expert services required for conservation work, such as biology assessments, property valuation services and other services and evaluations associated with the acquisition of conservation areas. The fundraising organizer is Metsä Conservation Foundation sr.

The Foundation will be applying to be nominated as a tax‑deductible donation recipient in Finland.