Improving the Nature Protection on the Finnish Gulf Valuable Coastal Areas

Summary

The lack of area protection or insufficient management is a big risk for sensitive or pressured habitats. Both in Russia and Finland, it is forbidden by law to destroy the localities of the red-Listed species or EU Habitat Directive species, but the knowledge must exist to implement the law. By generating sufficient data, appropriate protection can be ensured.

Protecting terrestrial habitats and species around the coast is also of importance for the health of the Baltic Sea. This through limiting coastal and terrestrial impacts, but also by strengthening adjacent ecosystems important for the general ecosystem function.

The project’s goal was to improve the nature protection level on the forested coastal areas of the Finnish Gulf between Helsinki and St. Petersburg. The project territory was studied and the most threatened valuable coastal areas, including Red-listed/rare species, were inventoried and analysed. Existing protected areas were expanded, new ones formed and proposed, and cross-border analyses of red-listed/rare species and land-use generated.