Ministry of the Environment requests comments on the decree concerning guideline values of protected animals and plants

The Ministry of the Environment requests comments on the draft decree of the Ministry of the Environment that would lay down provision on the monetary values of animals and plants protected under the Nature Conservation Act. The updates would lead to significant changes in the value of certain animal species. The value of freshwater pearl mussel, for example, would increase 2.5-fold. This would be the first time that values would be set for plant species as well. The deadline for comments is 28 February 2025.

The purpose of the values for protected species laid down by law is to help courts in procession violations of the protection provisions and issuing confiscation orders. For the activities of courts, it is important that comprehensive provisions on the values of protected species have been adopted, they are based on up-to-date data and knowledge on the occurrence and threat status of the species, and the values are periodically adjusted in accordance with changes in the value of money.

Confiscation orders concerning protected species also have an impact in terms of preventing illegal actions through increased awareness concerning the protection provisions, on the one hand, and through the sanctions imposed for illegal actions, on the other.

The amendments derive from the reform of the nature protection legislation in 2023 

Amendments to the decree were necessary as its content no longer corresponds to the list of protected species in the Nature Conservation Decree or the current knowledge regarding the nesting birds and mammal species occurring in Finland.

There have also been changes in the factors affecting the values, such as the threat status of species, and a lot of new data and knowledge has become available on the occurrence of species in Finland. Now the coefficient in euros in the calculation formulas has also been adjusted to inflation. For the main part the values are determined following the same principles and calculation methods as in the present decree and the decree of 1995. 

The present decree covers 286 animal species protected under the Nature Conservation Act or Nature Conservation Decree. The proposed decree would lay down values for 479 protected species, of which 321 are animal species and 158 are plant species. This would be the first time when values would be laid down by decree for protected plant species as well.

Major changes in values of species

Besides laying down values for many protected species for the first time, the decree would lead to major changes in the values of certain species. The rise in the coefficient in euros in a way that also takes inflation into account has a major impact, but changes in the threat status of species will also lead to significant changes with respect to certain species.

For example, due to both the rise in the coefficient and the higher threatened category, the value of freshwater pearl mussel would rise from EUR 589 to 1,469. Correspondingly, the status of white-backed woodpecker has improved considerably thanks to long-term efforts to protect it and, despite the adjustment of the monetary coefficient, its value would decrease from EUR 4,037 to EUR 1,665. 

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Inquiries:

Esko Hyvärinen
Senior Ministerial Adviser
[email protected]
tel. +358 295 250 094

Sanna Koljonen
Senior Specialist for Legal Affairs
[email protected]
tel. +358 50 472 7115