A common vision for the future of the Gulf of Bothnia nature conservation dispute has emerged

Three months of discussions have resulted in a plan for a long-term solution to the differences over nature conservation in the Gulf of Bothnia. The plan is structured around three interlinked elements. One is the appointment of a working group to prepare the establishment of a nature reserve. The second is to develop a co-management model for nature conservation in the Gulf of Bothnia, and the third is to build a shared knowledge base and cooperation capacity between actors.

The proposed solution is a follow-up to the work done last autumn to map the nature conservation disputes in Merenkurkku. The work has been led and drafted by Akordi, a specialist neutral party. In addition to the Ministry of the Environment, the discussions have involved local stakeholders in the Gulf of Bothnia, as well as representatives of the South Ostrobothnia Centre for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment, and Metsähallitus.

“Our hope that the authorities would have a genuine interest in truly involving the local community in the decision-making and management of protected areas has been realised through these discussions. Now the real work of bringing effective governance closer to citizens begins. Our aim is to achieve an outcome that can combat mistrust in governance and democratic institutions,” says John Erickson, chairman of Co-operative Aurinkoreitti, who was involved in the work.

Local empowerment at the heart of the proposed solution

The proposal is to relaunch the preparation of a nature reserve on state-owned land by setting up a working group made up of representatives appointed by the municipalities in the area. The aim is for the Ministry of the Environment to send a request to the municipalities to appoint the members of the working group in the near future. A suitable person from the region will also be sought to chair the working group.

The second point of the proposal is the creation of a joint management model for nature conservation areas in Merenkurkku. The aim of the model is to empower local actors in the region to plan, maintain and monitor nature conservation areas. In the first phase, co-management would be developed and implemented for the state nature reserve under preparation, but in the future, the co-management model could potentially include the coordination and implementation of the management and maintenance of other nature reserves. The design of the co-management model will be launched in the spring by a group of representatives of associations and organisations in the area and regional environmental administrations. The group would also support the working group preparing the establishment of the nature reserve.

The third point consists of separate measures to create a better shared knowledge base for establishing nature protection areas and defining management measures for them. In addition, the aim is to improve the ability of the parties to work together through various workshops and small-scale development projects. The first concrete measure would be to clarify the objectives and significance of existing conservation decisions and to launch an impact assessment of the effects of previous conservation decisions.

Building cooperation is sometimes like walking on thin ice

“Working together has sometimes been like walking on thin ice. There have been several times when the ice has cracked under our feet, but we have always been able to get a firmer footing and continue our work,” describes Juha-Pekka Turunen, Senior Associate at Akordi, who led the discussions.

There has been no lack of will and desire to find mutually acceptable ways forward, but decades of mistrust have created challenges and it has taken longer than expected to come up with an acceptable proposal.

See the full proposal in Finnish: Merenkurkun luonnonsuojelun ristiriidat ja niiden ratkaisumahdollisuudet – Akordin ehdotus pitkäjänteisen ongelmanratkaisun ja luottamuksen rakentamiseksi

For more information:

Juha-Pekka Turunen
Senior Associate
Akordi Oy
juha-pekka@akordi.fi
p. 040 729 4842

John Erickson
Co-operative Aurinkoreitti
solrutten@gmail.com
p. 040 095 4846