New projects

Core Values, Vision,     
Mission   
Strategic objectives   
Metla   
Reviews   
Forest-based      
entrepreneurship and      
forest environment      
models and databanks   
Forest ecosystems and     
social significance     
of forests   
Doctoral theses   
Events and seminars   
New projects   
New projects 2005   
Research projects 2005   
Publications   
Resources   
New appointments   
Organization   

Nineteen new research projects were started at Metla last year. The total number of research projects was 124. Additional information on research at Metla (for example, websites of all research projects and programmes) is available at: www.metla.fi/tutkimus/

A new research programme is being initiated: Forest biodiversity and socio-economic impacts

Metla has initiated a new research programme to produce and disseminate research information on Safeguarding forest biodiversity - policy instruments and socio-economic impacts (TUK).

The economic impacts of safeguarding forest biodiversity are being studied in two research projects. One of the projects is a broad-view examination of the Finnish forest sector in the changing operating environment and the other focuses on procurement opportunities and local economy. The targets of research include impacts of conservation on the production and exports of the forest industry, stumpage price earnings, roundwood prices and the employment status in the forest sector. Additional aims of the projects are to develop the impacts of forest protection on local economy and to provide calculations with alternative procurement parameters to provide tools for decision making in accommodating forest-based enterprise activities and environmental values.

In the “Protection areas and rural vitality” project, information is produced on development of service industries related to tourism and recreational use as a substitutive industry when forest areas are in transition from primary production to conservation. Conservation areas and their surroundings are classified in the project based on their infrastructure for tourism services, and various types of users of conservation areas are investigated, together with their experiences and expectations on the services provided by the surrounding rural areas.

One target of research is policy instruments for safeguarding biodiversity in private forests. The project produces information on topics such as social and economic impacts of different means, pricing agreement on voluntary and uncompelled safeguarding of biodiversity and on how legislation and other control means affect silvicultural practices. Sub-projects also investigate the current state of safeguarding forest biodiversity by private forest owners, possible barriers to protection and means to remove the barriers.

Another aim of the research programme is to improve the possibilities for taking the safeguarding of biodiversity into consideration in forest planning. For this purpose, information on the habitat requirements of different species is produced, technical methods are developed for including biodiversity protection in forest planning calculations, and the usability of multi-objective forest planning methods is improved.

Cost-effective restoration of forest habitat is one of the research topics of the programme. The observation materials obtained in, for example, the restoration project implemented in the Koli national park are utilized in the programme. The aim is to clarify the costs of restoration and what can be done to save expenses, for example, by using voluntary labour or by means of relief work with state-subsidization. The research supports political decision making and preparations for it, and reduces the need for inviting tenders on restoration projects.

• New projects 2005


• Research projects 2005

Additional information: www.metla.fi/ohjelma/tuk/index-en.htm