International biodiversity policy

Finland has been active in international environmental policy for a long time. As part of the EU, Finland promotes ambitious, measurable and clear objectives to halt biodiversity loss by 2030.

Finland is committed to several international agreements that aim to protect nature. The UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) is the most important agreement in terms of safeguarding biodiversity.

UN Convention on Biological Diversity

The UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) is the key international agreement in terms of safeguarding biodiversity. The objectives of the Convention are the conservation of ecosystems and plant and animal species, the sustainable use of natural resources, and the fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising from the utilisation of genetic resources. Biodiversity is safeguarded by measures increasing the value of the natural ecosystems, species and their genetic resources. The Convention has been signed by 196 parties and it entered into force in 1993. The Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (COP), held every two years, is the highest decision-making body of the Convention.

In Finland, the Ministry of the Environment coordinates the negotiations under the UN Convention on Biological diversity and the EU negotiations on biodiversity issues. Finland participates in international climate negotiations as part the EU.

National biodiversity strategies and action plans are the key elements in the implementation of the Convention.

• Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD)
• EU Biodiversity Strategy
• Finland's Biodiversity Policy

Protocols under the Convention on Biological Diversity:

• CBD: the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety
• Nagoya-Kuala Lumpur Supplementary Protocol

The Global Environment Facility (GEF) serves as the financial mechanism for the Convention and Protocols.

Kunming-Montreal Biodiversity Framework 2022

An agreement on new international biodiversity targets was reached at the 15th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity in Montreal, Canada in 2022. The aim is to halt biodiversity loss and put nature on a path to recovery. Among other things, the Parties agreed to conserve 30% of their land, waters and seas and restore 30% of the degraded ecosystems. Subsidies harmful to biodiversity will be identified by 2025 and eliminated and redirected by 2030. In total, there are 23 targets that guide the activities and should be achieved by 2030.

Besides these, the biodiversity frameworks sets four long-term goals for 2050. The goals concern the protection of biodiversity, sustainable use of nature, fair sharing of benefits from the use of genetic resources, and adequate means and resources for the implementation.

• Kunming-Montreal Biodiversity Framework 2022

Conventions on species protection 

CITES Convention 

The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna (CITES) aims to protect wild plant and animal species by regulating their trade. The Convention covers species that are classified as endangered or are at risk of becoming endangered as a result of international trade in them.

Finland ratified the Convention in June 1976. The EU has adopted specific legislation to implement the Convention.

• The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna

Bern Convention

The Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats (Bern Convention) was adopted to protect the wild animals and species and their habitats in Europe. The Convention has been implemented by European Community legislation, including the Natura 2000 network and the Habitats and Birds Directives.

• Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats

Bonn Convention

The Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (Bonn Convention) aims to protect the populations of wild animals that regularly move from one country to another. Finland ratified the Convention in 1988.

• Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals | CMS

The Convention aims to reach its objectives by implementing strict measures to protect the species listed in Appendix I and by concluding specific agreements among the member states to protect the species listed in Appendix II.

Of the specific agreements, Finland has ratified the Agreement on the Conservation of Populations of European Bats (EUROBATS), the African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbird Agreement (AEWA), and the Agreement on the Conservation of Small Cetaceans of the Baltic, North East Atlantic, Irish and North Seas (ASCOBANS). 

• ASCOBANS entered into force in 1994 and was ratified by Finland in 1999. The Irish and North-East Atlantic seas were included in the Agreement in 2008. 
• EUROBATS is a regional agreement aimed to protect bats and their habitats in Europe. The Agreement entered into force in Finland in 1999 and it covers all 11 bat species occurring in the country (Finnish Treaty Series 104/1999).
• AEWA was adopted in 1995 and it entered into force in Finland in 2000 (Finnish Treaty Series 9/2000). The purpose of the Convention is to promote the protection of waterbirds and their habitats during wintering and migration and in their resting and nesting areas. The birds covered by the Convention occurring in Finland are protected under the Nature Conservation Act, with the exception of certain waterbird species listed in the Hunting Act.

Ramsar Convention

Finland ratified the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance Especially as Waterfowl Habitat in 1974. In the Convention, wetlands comprise marine and coastal areas, inland waters and shores, mires, semi-natural wetlands, inland flood forests and human-made wetlands. The agreement obliges the Parties to designate specific Ramsar sites. 

• Decree Bringing into Force the Convention on Wetlands of International Importance Especially as Waterfowl Habitat 3/1976 (in Finnish)
• Ramsar sites in Finland
• Finland’s Ramsar Wetlands Action Plan 2016-2020 | Institutional Repository for the Government (Valto)

Whaling Convention

The purpose of the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling is to protect whale populations and control whaling. The International Whaling Commission founded by the Convention is responsible for a number of issues related to the protection of whales and for regulating whaling. The Whaling Commission banned commercial whaling in 1986. At the moment the work of the Whaling Commission includes determining the numbers of whales the indigenous peoples are allowed to hunt. Finland ratified the Convention in 1983. 

• Decree Bringing into Force the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling 9/1983 (in Finnish) | Finlex

World Heritage Convention

The objective of the Convention Concerning the Protection of World Cultural and Natural Heritage (UNESCO World Heritage Convention) is to serve as an international and national system for preserving and managing parts of the cultural and natural heritage that are of outstanding interest for mankind as a whole. UNESCO maintains the World Heritage List and supplements it on an annual basis.

• UNESCO: Properties inscribed on the World Heritage List Finland

European Landscape Convention

The objectives of landscape management and conservation are defined at a general level in the European Landscape Convention, which entered into force in Finland in 2006.

• Council of Europe Landscape Convention
• Landscape management areas

Other international cooperation

Finland joined the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) in 1968.

• IUCN National Committee of Finland