Government proposes amendments to Nature Conservation Act

Government proposes amendments to Nature Conservation Act

The proposed amendments will accelerate the development of the nature values market in Finland and promote the steering of private funding to improving the state of nature. The amendments would enter into force in August 2026.

Government improves conditions for nature values market and voluntary nature actions

According to the provisions of the Act, the amendments would make it possible to also use the nature values produced, the nature value hectares, for purposes other than ecological compensation, which means offsetting direct harm. In future nature value hectares produced by the landowner could also be used for demonstrating ecological sustainability of companies and for voluntary nature actions by communities and citizens. This means that communities and citizens could improve the state of nature by purchasing nature values certified by the authority.

To avoid greenwashing, large companies would be obliged to comply with the mitigation hierarchy. The entry of a nature action to the register maintained by the authority requires that an operator subject to the sustainability reporting obligation must be able to demonstrate that the company primarily complies with the mitigation hierarchy, which means avoiding and mitigating and, as far as possible, offsetting the harm caused to nature values. The proposed new provisions aim to accelerate the development of the nature values market in Finland and the steering of private funding to improving the state of nature. Finland has a strong science-based foundation for the voluntary ecological compensation, and these legislative amendments would allow to use this even more widely for nature actions.

"The legislative amendment is an important step forward in the development of the nature values market. The market needs a reliable operating environment and clear rules, which will now be strengthened. The work to develop nature values market in Finland has been praised in international evaluations for its strong scientific foundation, practices for ensuring the permanence of the nature values produced, and additionality of the measures relative to other work for nature," Minister of Climate and the Environment Sari Multala says.

Preparation of restoration plan and amendments of technical nature to Nature Conservation Act

The proposal also includes the provisions concerning the formulation of the National Restoration Plan and a provision on the Government's powers. The National Restoration Plan would be formulated under the direction of the Ministry of the Environment and in cooperation with the relevant ministries and other stakeholders, and the decision would be made by the Government. The process to prepare Finland's National Restoration Plan is under way and the draft plan should be submitted to the European Commission by 1 September 2026.

Three amendments of technical nature would also be made in the Nature Conservation Act. The Act would take into account the fact that, by an amendment to the EU Habitats Directive, wolf was removed from the list of strictly protected species. Accordingly, wolf would be excluded from the scope of application of the regulation concerning the protection of species in the Nature Conservation Act. Secondly, outdated references to European Union legislation would be removed from the provision on state aid related to financial aid, and the Government's authority to issue decrees related to the aid conditions would be expanded. Thirdly, the provisions concerning the killing of animals would be clarified with respect to other state nature reserves, including the right to eradicate specimens of invasive alien species from nature reserves.

Inquiries

Leila Suvantola (absent 15 May)
Senior Ministerial Adviser
tel. +358 295 250 433
[email protected]

Suvi Borgström (absent 15 May)
Senior Specialist
tel. +358 295 250 342
[email protected]

Emma Terämä (available on 15 May)
Director of Unit
tel. +358 295 250 255
[email protected]