Strategy mainstreams environmental work
The national strategy and action plan for the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity, entitled “Saving Nature for People”, was approved by a government resolution in December 2012. The main objective of the strategy is to halt biodiversity loss in Finland by 2020. It places economic and cultural values related to biodiversity at the heart of decision-making on the use of natural resources.
The strategy and the supplementary action plan implement the Convention on Biological Diversity.
The biodiversity strategy rests on a solid basis in terms of international agreements. It implements the decisions made two years ago at the meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity, intended to improve global implementation of the Convention. The strategy also takes account of the objectives of the European Union, and is based on a number of comprehensive national studies on the state of biodiversity in Finland, and the factors influencing it.
Five objectives
The strategy’s five objectives focus on the mainstreaming of environmental issues across society, the introduction of new participants in the work to advance environmental causes, a decision-making process based on robust research data, and Finland’s responsibility, as a member of the international community, for the global environment. The strategy also outlines policies linking the Sámi community’s traditional knowledge to the protection of biodiversity.
Particular attention is paid to sustainable use of natural resources. Renewable resources should be used in a manner that ensures their genuine renewal and does not deplete them, while non-renewable resources should be used as eco-efficiently as possible.
- Government Resolution on the Strategy for the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Biodiversity in Finland for the years 2012–2020, ‘Saving Nature for People’ (pdf)
- Country Profile Finland on the Home page of the Convention on Biological Diversity
Action plan — saving nature for people
The action plan for the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity for 2013–2020 aims to halt biodiversity loss in Finland by 2020.
The programme was prepared and approved by a broad-based working group appointed by the Ministry of the Environment, with representatives from the public and private sectors, research institutes, stakeholder groups and non-governmental organisations, in addition to ten ministries.
- National action plan for the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity in Finland 2013–2020, Saving Nature for People (pdf)
- Report on the resources required for the Biodiversity Action Plan of Finland 2016 (pdf)
