Investing in a Better State of Nature

Next spring, the plan will be circulated for comments, and ultimately, political decision-makers will confirm Finland’s chosen measures for the long-term improvement of our natural environment. The Restoration Regulation is part of the EU Biodiversity Strategy, which aims to halt biodiversity loss and reverse the trend toward positive development.

At the Finnish Environment Institute (Syke), we are broadly and enthusiastically involved in preparing the restoration plan. Among those producing and sharing knowledge are top experts in nature, built environments, economics, policy instruments, impact assessment, environmental policy, and law. The preparation is driven by fresh results on the state of Finnish nature (sttinfo.fi, in Finnish). The results of the extensive reporting coordinated by Syke show an overall downward trend, but positive examples—such as the improvement of coastal meadows—are thanks to restoration and conservation efforts. The direction will change when actions and incentives for new practices are implemented on a sufficient scale.

Successful restoration has positive impacts on nature, regional economies, recreational use of nature, and human health. At Syke, we emphasize a holistic approach that combines practical measures with guiding instruments, such as financial support that sustains business operations and landowners’ livelihoods while simultaneously steering toward nature-friendly outcomes. We have participated in several studies examining environmentally harmful subsidies. Their removal appears politically challenging but is recognized globally as an essential step toward reviving the state of nature.

In everyday language, we call practical restoration actions “digging work,” which is not a bad term. One easily thinks of restoring a drained peatland by blocking ditches to revive the biodiversity of wetlands and waterways and gradually restore the peatland’s ability to purify flowing waters. Restoration can be carried out in many types of environments, and its results ultimately affect everyone’s daily life: cleaner lakes at summer cottages, sustainable migratory fish stocks, and urban environments cooled by trees during summer heatwaves. Investments in restoration also immediately support local businesses and thus boost regional economies.

At the same time, we are improving the collection and availability of nature data based on monitoring through the Luontotieto.fi (luontotieto.fi) service. There is a growing need for such data to track the impacts of restoration and conservation, as well as to support the assessment of business impacts on nature and the planning of nature-positive corporate actions. This autumn, public discussion has included Microsoft’s significant donation for forest protection and what share of the company’s nature and climate impacts it offsets. Developing rules and metrics for such nature actions, as well as creating markets for trading nature value units together with companies and other organizations, are highly topical research themes for us.

Aino Juslén

Unit director, Nature solutions 
Finnish Environment Institute