There is a need for additional protection of forests with significant nature values. By establishing a conservation foundation, Metsä Group wants to complement the conservation network and offer the forest owner compensation for forest sites of conservation value.
The foundation will be established in the coming autumn, and its operations will start at the beginning of 2026. The conservation foundation supplements Metsä Group's services, with which the forest owner can strengthen the biodiversity of their forests. The conservation foundation focuses on the permanent protection of forests with high biodiversity value and thus supports the development of the forest conservation network.
Metsä Group's impacts on biodiversity are greatest in commercial forests. The aim is to strengthen the state of nature of commercial forests through regenerative forestry measures, such as the Metsä Group Plus management model.
The conservation foundation to be established is one of the actions aimed at strengthening biodiversity. The entity also includes a funding programme for nature projects, which finances biodiversity activities outside commercial forests.
“We already encourage forest owners to take advantage of the voluntary METSO forest protection program. The foundation to be established will complement existing conservation programmes. Through our foundation, it is also possible to protect sites that do not currently have funding available for their protection,” says Ilkka Hämälä, President and CEO of Metsä Group.
The foundation enables the forest owner to receive financial compensation even for forests sites that are not suitable for selling wood. The conservation criteria are drawn up on nature conservation grounds, and the conservation decisions will be permanent. Protection can apply everywhere in Finland and protection measures are not limited to the forests of Metsä Group's owner-members.
Funding authorisations of EUR 10 million are currently reserved for the foundation's activities. The foundation's activities also enable direct donations from owner-members or other persons.
“In order to strengthen the state of forest nature, we need both forest protection and the development of forestry activities. Our country's climate will warm significantly in the forecasts over the next few decades. Biodiversity improves the health of forests and their adaptation to a changing climate, and thus also brings economic security,” Hämälä concludes.