CHALLENGES TO WILDLANDS IN FINLAND

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1 CHALLENGES TO WILDLANDS IN FINLAND Liisa Kajala Metsähallitus (Forest and Park Service) September 29th, 2005, Anchorage Metsähallitus

2 The Finnish Wilderness Act, 1991 The Finnish wilderness concept has its roots in ancient hunting and fishing culture Finnish wilderness debate can be dated back to 1950s when modern forestry gradually made its way to Inari, to the timberline region 12 wilderness reserves 1,5 million hectares, 5 % of Finland s area Metsähallitus

3 Wilderness areas were established (1) to protect the wilderness character of the areas, Metsähallitus

4 (2) to safeguard Sámi culture and traditional subsistence uses, and Metsähallitus

5 (3) to develop the potential for diversified use of nature Metsähallitus

6 De facto wildernesses Lands outside legally designated wilderness that qualify for wilderness About one million hectares Mostly protected by the Nature Conservation Act Use is more restricted than that of statutory wilderness areas Metsähallitus

7 Finnish wildlands Metsähallitus

8 The Natura 2000 Network in Finland Metsähallitus

9 Permitted Uses The Wilderness Act prohibits heavy development that would change nature significantly, yet it aims at improving possibilities for traditional uses of nature. Wilderness legislation explicitly prohibits: mining building permanent roads giving or renting land for purposes other than reindeer herding, fishing, hunting, or picking berries and mushrooms In addition to the Wilderness Act, numerous other laws and statutes relating to hunting, fishing, reindeer herding, offroad traffic etc. regulate the management and use of wilderness areas. Metsähallitus

10 Wilderness Management Planning and Wilderness Act The Wilderness Act states that a wilderness area is to be managed and used in accordance with a plan for management and use, drawn up by Metsähallitus and ratified by the Ministry of the Environment. Management plans play an essential role in implementing the Wilderness Act. Wilderness management planning is integrative land use planning, aiming at reconciling numerous, and often conflicting goals. Metsähallitus

11 The real challenge to Finnish wildernesses is to find a balance between land use and users, e.g. forestry, reindeer herding, hunting, fishing, off-road traffic, tourism. Metsähallitus

12 Some characteristics of the areas contributing to the challenge The Wilderness Act has diverse, partly conflicting objectives Northern nature and timberline issues Sámi culture Traditional sources of livelihood (reindeer herding, hunting, fishing, berry picking) very important for both Sámi and other local people Increase of modern technology in both tourism and traditional cultures Remoteness and vastness of the areas Land ownership claims Some wilderness areas are highly attractive for nature tourists Many interest groups, intensive public participation is an essential part of the planning process Many are located close to Finland s borders => cooperation with neighboring countries (Norway, Russia, Sweden) is important Thorough basic inventories of nature and culture, past and present are particularly important in wilderness areas There are many issues that cannot be solved by a wilderness management plan Metsähallitus

13 Nevertheless, the Wilderness Act has proven its significance When passing the Wilderness Act, it was thought that the law would solve the major issues regarding land use conflicts of northern Lapland. Even though this did not happen, wildernesses and wilderness mgmt planning have significantly contributed to preservation and sustainable use of the natural resources in the northern timberline region. Metsähallitus

14 and yielded a highly participatory approach to land use management Metsähallitus as a land administrator of wilderness areas can implement many parts of the plans even if they are not yet ratified. This is a much better alternative than no plan at all, as Metsähallitus has to make every-day managerial decisions anyway. For example one central issue in fell areas of wildernesses is off-road traffic. Through the process of wilderness management planning it is agreed upon principles according to which Metsähallitus gives permits. Metsähallitus as a land administrator can implement these jointly set guidelines even if the plan is not ratified. Metsähallitus

15 The solution Despite the fact that the Wilderness Act is somewhat controversial and many plans remain to be finalized, the Wilderness Act and the wilderness planning process it has yielded, have proven to be useful in many ways: We now have area specific information on nature, culture and use of the areas. We have one more forum for local people and other stakeholders to discuss with Metsähallitus about the area related issues. As an ongoing process wilderness management planning accumulates information, at best it is a mutual learning process. Metsähallitus