Metsä Group launches a programme to be implemented between 2021 and 2030 to provide financial contributions and expertise to support regionally relevant and effective development projects that improve biodiversity and the state of waters in Finland.
These projects, which will be implemented outside commercial forests, may relate, for example, to bird waters and wetlands, watercourse routes, small waters and riparian habitats, pollinator habitats or new water protection methods.
"One of Metsä Group's strategic sustainability targets is to safeguard biodiversity. We are implementing our ecological sustainability programme in commercial forests to safeguard forest biodiversity. With our new nature management programme, we want to play a role in improving the state of nature in Finland also outside the commercial forests. Our investments, which will amount to millions of euros during the programme, have no financial return expectations," says Ilkka Hämälä, President and CEO of Metsä Group.
The selection of projects will be made every six months. The first decisions will be made in December 2021, with the application period ending at the end of November 2021. Applications are to be sent by e-mail to luonnonhoidonohjelma@metsagroup.com. In the project evaluation, Metsä Group cooperates with the Finnish Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry and Ministry of Environment, the Finnish Innovation Fund Sitra, University of Eastern Finland and the Central Union of Agricultural Producers MTK.
"We support projects outside commercial forests that have a clearly verifiable impact on improving the state of nature. There are many different means and targets. I hope that our programme will attract wide interest and encourage also completely new ideas, and that we will have a large number of different projects to evaluate," continues Ilkka Hämälä.