Dear Forest Owner,
In Finland, about 60 per cent of forest land is privately owned. This is an exceptionally high percentage in international comparison. There are 600,000 Finnish forest owners, which explains our people’s close relationship with forests.
In Finland, forests have been managed across generations for a long time, and their value has been understood. Many of us are familiar with the saying “the land is borrowed from our children”. We forest owners are all different, which is also reflected in the use of forests. We make choices and decisions based on what is important to us.
Finland is a forerunner in forest management and related research, giving us over 100 years of forest data – longer than anywhere else. The foundation for this was laid by the “National Forest Inventory”, which began in the 1920s and was the first of its kind. Its purpose was to understand the sufficiency of wood resources during the growth of the wood processing industry and other wood use.
We have a good understanding of the amount, growth, use and sufficiency of our forest resources. Alongside them, forest biodiversity and the need to better understand Finland’s forest ecosystems have rightly emerged as themes of interest in recent decades. New species previously unknown to science are still constantly being discovered in our forests.
Forest growth and biodiversity do not exclude each other. Diverse and vibrant forests grow well and are more resilient to climate change. Sustainable and rational forestry takes nature holistically into account.
Metsäliitto Cooperative established the Metsä Conservation Foundation as part of vaster measures to promote forest biodiversity. It gives forest owners the opportunity to conserve forests of high natural value. Conservation is funded by donations, and we invite both companies and private individuals to join our efforts!
