New model for integrating biodiversity into central government management aims to support change

New model for integrating biodiversity into central government management aims to support change

A newly proposed model gives organisations a common framework for managing and developing their biodiversity work. The model was co-created and piloted with six organisations that took part in a development programme.

Nature-driven management means ensuring that biodiversity is taken into account in an organisation's management, decision-making, monitoring and use of resources.

The Nature-Positive Governance development programme is part of the EU-funded Priodiversity LIFE project and received support from the State Treasury's Kaiku development funding. The goal of the nationwide Priodiversity LIFE project is to halt biodiversity loss in Finland. With EUR 50 million in funding and large group of participating organisations, it is Finland's largest ever project to combat biodiversity loss.

Integrating biodiversity work into the management system

The nature-driven management model helps organisations develop their biodiversity work systematically.
The model presents nature-driven management as a process of continuous improvement rather than a series of isolated measures. Government organisations play a key role in integrating the biodiversity perspective into administrative objectives, budgeting, performance management, public procurement, impact assessment and monitoring.

"Halting biodiversity loss is not a task for one branch of government, it requires cooperation and common practices across all sectors. Central government organisations are willing and well-equipped to strengthen their work to protect biodiversity. The next step is to integrate biodiversity more systematically into the organisations' management, oversight and decision-making," said Harri Martikainen, Director General of the Government Strategy Department at the Prime Minister's Office.

The model's recommendations focus on strengthening biodiversity work by developing structures for cross-administrative management, improving the usability of biodiversity data, developing stronger impact assessment tools and coordinating different objectives.

Developed jointly across administrative sectors

The management model for biodiversity work in central government was developed jointly by the Prime Minister's Office, the state-owned sustainable development company Motiva and the Finnish Environment Institute as part of the Nature-Positive Governance development programme. The objective of the programme was to specify the role of the administration in halting biodiversity loss and create a common model and tools for biodiversity work in central government. The work involved producing an overview of the current state of biodiversity policy and developing a self-assessment template and guidelines for organising biodiversity work.

Six organisations were involved in the programme: the Ministry of Transport and Communications, the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, the Geological Survey of Finland, the Finnish Transport Infrastructure Agency, the Social Insurance Institution of Finland and the National Defence University.

"Drawing up the development plan helped us more clearly define our role in biodiversity work and identify areas for development. An important area for development is taking biodiversity into account in strategic documents, oversight and when developing impact assessments," said Niko-Matti Ronikonmäki, Director of the Impact Assessment and Development Unit at the Ministry of Transport and Communications.

The management model for biodiversity work in central government was published at the closing event for the development programme at the House of the Estates on 22 September 2026.

Inquiries: Kristiina Niikkonen, Senior Specialist, tel. +358 29 516 1156, Prime Minister's Office, Auli Ülle, Expert, tel. +358 41 507 7309, Motiva.