Dear Forest Owner,
Biodiversity is the foundation of Finland's wellbeing, economy, health and safety. Unfortunately, we have been unable to halt the loss of biodiversity, which endangers the conditions for a good life for us and future generations. When biodiversity is lost, nature loses its characteristic variation. The longer we allow this development to continue, the more challenging and expensive it becomes to stop.
To flourish, nature needs space above all. It needs areas where it can grow in peace, in ways that are natural to it. In addition to nature values, it is important that together conserved areas form a larger web, where species can move from one area to another. I often think about the words of the forester and writer Veikko Huovinen (from the novel Tale of the Forest Folk): “Nature was left to renew itself as best it could. And it certainly could. But nature had no human impatience to see order and results as soon as possible. It was only the compulsion to fill an empty space, the mighty power of reproduction and growth.”
I am glad and grateful that by the initiative of Metsäliitto Cooperative, Metsä Conservation Foundation has begun its work to protect Finland’s forest environments. The Foundation aims to complement current conservation areas and offer forest owners compensation for conserving forests of high biodiversity. I hope and believe that we will be able to promote nature conservation in cooperation with other actors to ensure the best possible network of protected areas.
I would like to invite you all to follow the work of Metsä Conservation Foundation and participate by informing the Foundation of your diverse forest sites for protection. It is still possible to halt the loss of biodiversity. Let’s do our best together to ensure that future generations will also have the opportunity to build a good life on natures given foundation.
