Compensation for permanent forest conservation
The one-time compensation paid by the Metsä Conservation Foundation to the forest owner for permanent conservation of a site corresponds with the METSO programme’s conservation compensations for forested areas. Compensation is calculated by the Foundation when the forest owner has submitted a conservation application, and the Foundation has assessed the site’s conservational potential based on geospatial data and possible field visit.
The amount of the compensation is communicated to the forest owner before the conservation application is submitted to the Conservation Committee for review. This way the forest owner can confirm whether they wish to continue in the conservation process with the offered compensation. If the forest owner does not accept the compensation offered by the Foundation, the conservation process is seized for the site in question.
When the ownership of a forest remains unchanged, no compensation is paid for the land, and in principle, the compensation is tax-free for a private landowner. If the Foundation acquires the forest estate, the sale of the estate is taxable. In such cases, no more than the fair value of the land area is compensated.
