Search

Rural proofing Finland is one of the most rural countries in the European Union. About 95% of the country’s surface area is classified as rural, and the permanent place of residence of almost a third of the population is in the rural areas. Circum...

fi sv en Support for rural projects Rural development projects are implemented as part of the CAP Strategic Plan 2023–2027. The development projects funded aim to improve the rural environment from the perspective of both residents and entrepreneu...

Teema Rural development and Common Agricultural Policy Finland is one of the most rural countries in the European Union. Rural areas account for 95% of Finland’s land area. Finland’s rural areas have around 1.6 million permanent residents and arou...

Hunting seasons A game animal species must be declared protected for a specific period or until further notice if it is necessary for ensuring the survival or undisturbed reproduction of the game animal population. Provisions on the protected game...

Hunting right Provisions on hunting right are laid down in the Hunting Act. As a rule, the owner of an area has the right to hunt and make decisions on hunting in the area. The owner of the area may lease the hunting right in whole or in part. The...

Large carnivores game plan One of the challenges in the management plans for large carnivores is to maintain strong populations while preserving the animals’ natural instinct to avoid humans. When preparing management plans for large carnivores, l...

fi sv en Leader - For ideas on a human scale Leader activities are carried out by 53 local action groups (LAGs) operating in all of Finland´s rural areas. The Leader approach means activities, advisory services and funding to the benefit of specif...

Water management In all tasks in the fields of agriculture, forestry, water management and fisheries, the aim is also to ensure that the status of watercourses and groundwater is good and their use is sustainable. There are a number of ways to ach...

Water services and groundwater The property owner is responsible for water services and sewerage relating to the property, i.e. that there is a sufficient supply of clean water for household use and the treatment of wastewater has been organised i...

Rural Policy Rural policy aims for a vibrant and prosperous countryside which takes full advantage of its resources. According to the vision for rural policy rural areas are an integral element of the Finnish society and our success as a nation ru...

Teema Project on invasive alien predators to allow birds to nest in peace The website is being updated. SOTKA project concerning alien predators is composed of several subprojects that aim to make sure that birds are allowed to nest in peace. A pa...

fi sv en Rural Development A vibrant countryside is Finland’s strength. The sustainable use of renewable resources opens up enormous possibilities. Achieving economic growth requires new ways of acting and thinking. Rural areas have potential for ...

Teema About Finland Information on agriculture Information on rural areas Information on forests Information on the fishing industry and water Information on bioeconomy Information on agriculture Finland is considered the most northerly agricultur...

Communication projects on carbon storage of wood products In 2021–2022, a total of five Catch the Carbon projects related to communications were carried out. This page describes the implementation of four of them. Increasing the use of wood and un...

fi sv en Rural Development Programme for Mainland Finland 2014–2020 The implementation of the Rural Development Programme continued during the transition period 2021-2022. Read more about the Rural Development Programme at https://arkisto.maaseutu...

12.8.2025 | The Siikajoki Vapaaksi environmental association is set to restore the Pöyrynkoski rapids, enabling the free ascent of migratory fish in the river. The project was formally launched on Tuesday 12 August at Revonlahti School in Siikajoki, North Ostrobothnia. Formally conveying favourable greetings to the event, Minister of Agriculture and Forestry Sari Essayah noted that the project was a superb example of a remediation exercise promoted by local parties and prepared in broad partnership.

31.5.2023 | VALTIONEUVOSTO PL 23, 00023 Valtioneuvosto vn.fi p. 0295 16001 STATSRÅDET PB 23, 00023 Statsrådet vn.fi/sv Tfn 0295 16001 Parliamentary working group on sparsely populated areas Action plan The Government appointed a parliamentary working group on...

17.11.2023 | Catch the Carbon – Climate Mitigation from Research to Practice #CatchTheCarbon @mmm_fi Mikko Pohjola, PhD Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry +358 50 472 1150 mikko.pohjola@gov.fi @MPohjola Catch the Carbon program supporting science based polic...

fi sv en Agriculture and the environment Agriculture has both local and wide-ranging impacts on the state of the environment and functioning of ecosystems. The impacts are both positive and negative. Positive impacts can be seen as semi-open habit...

Long-lived wood products as carbon stocks Call for applications for research and development projects open until 1 June The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry has opened a call for research and development projects aimed at strengthening researc...