Towards measured natural impacts and centralised national biodiversity monitoring

Objectives to halt the deterioration of the natural state and change the direction of development have been set, for example, by the UN, the EU, the State of Finland and some private sector companies. The EU Restoration Regulation introduces a new requirement for biodiversity indicators and their national target levels. Metsä Group needs measured nature data to monitor the achievement of its own objectives. The objective of regenerative forestry and land use is to strengthen the state of nature by 2030. More and more people are interested in handprints or footprints that tell about environmental impact of products.

Measuring Metsä Group's own environmental impacts means long-term and continuous development work. This work has started both in the company's own projects and as part of the diversity roadmap for the Finland’s wood processing industry. Metsä Group wants to base its results and calculations on common, scientifically approved indicators and monitoring methods. That is why we need active research and wide-ranging cooperation.

The need for natural knowledge is fundamentally very practical: nature is is our capital and the basis of our national resilience. Its state and development directly affect our competitiveness, self-sufficiency and security of supply. Strengthening natural ecosystems creates preconditions for economic and technological development.

Finland produces internationally unique monitoring data on nature, such as the National Forest Inventory and Operation Blueberry, which mapped forest vegetation. Although Finland is one of the top species monitoring countries in the world, reliable and calculated data is available on only a few species groups. The coverage of monitoring needs to be improved.

Developing current national monitoring methods and ensuring funding is in the national interest of Finland as a whole. The national forest inventory must be expanded to better serve biodiversity monitoring. Funding for national vegetation surveys must be secured, and their timetable must be set in line with the 2030 targets.

New technology should be used in a versatile way, while ensuring the collection of species data traditionally as field work and increasingly with the help of DNA technology. It is important to centralise monitoring methods and make them easily accessible. Both the private and public sectors should be served cost-effectively on a one-stop-shop basis.

By developing nature monitoring together, we ensure that the lack of information does not cause us pain tomorrow.