A new action and financing programme for safeguarding the biodiversity of forests in southern Finland is to be drawn up. The aim of the programme will be to significantly improve the status of forest biodiversity in southern Finland. The working group responsible for preparing the action programme has already begun its work, and the proposals for the new programme should be finalised by mid-December this year. The programme is part of Finland's National Forest Programme 2015, which will be submitted for Government approval by the end of 2007.

The group known by the working name "METSO II" is chaired by Permanent Secretary for the Ministry of the Environment Sirkka Hautojärvi, and the deputy chairman will be Director-General Aarne Reunala, of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry. In addition to representatives of the Ministries of the Environment, Agriculture and Forestry and Finance, the forest owners, nature conservation organisations and other important stakeholders will also be represented on the group.

The work of the preparatory group is public, and forest owners and stakeholder groups will be kept informed of its progress. Memoranda of meetings and essential preparatory material is available to the public on the Ministry of the Environment's web pages. The working group will also hear various stakeholders during the course of the preparatory work.

The work of the preparatory group will be supported by a group of experts, which will provide information for their needs. The planning of the action programme is in fact closely linked with research currently being carried out on the ecological, economic and social impacts of safeguarding biodiversity. The expert group is chaired by Professor Mikael Hilden of the Finnish Environment Institute, SYKE.

The first METSO programme for the years 2003-2007 has proved successful on the basis an overall assessment carried out. According to the evaluation, the new voluntary protection measures are well suited for forest conservation and they should be made available to different groups of forest owners in all parts of Finland. Voluntary protection measures should be developed in the future so that they reach a wider variety of habitats and help to create more extensive conservation networks.

For further information:
Permanent Secretary Sirkka Hautojärvi, Ministry of the Environment, tel. +350 (0)20 490 7010
Director-General Aarne Reunala, Department of Forestry,
Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, tel. +358 (0)9 160 53350