Luonnonarvokauppa – vastaus luonnonsuojelun kohtaamattomuuden ongelmiin?

Abstract

Nature conservation policy in Finland has changed
towards voluntary based agreements and landowners’
participation. Conservation for the fixed time
is an implementation of nature conservation act of
1996, but it became common only after a project of
natural values trading (luonnonarvokauppa). We interviewed
landowners about their own experiences of
fixed-period nature conservation processes before
and during natural values trading project, and created
narratives representing different landowners and their
experiences. Interviewees preferred natural values
trading to the previous authority based conservation,
because its voluntariness and ability to preserve their
ownership and right of initiative. The participation in
the natural values trading increased the landowners’
environmental awareness, but landowners’ primary
reasons to get involved in conservation were, in stead
of biodiversity preservation, personal, mostly financial,
benefits. Landowners’ saw natural values trading as a
tool for improving the sustainability of forestry, not as
nature conservation in its traditional sense. We conclude
that is because they had different and mutually
excluding interpretations about nature conservation
and forestry. However, the landowners with either the
most negative or the most positive attitudes towards
nature conservation did not take part even in natural
values trading. Involving them challenges to use other
conservation methods beside the new innovation.