Re-Wilding Actions in Finland

Common greenshank on Linnunsuo. Mika Honkalinna / Snowchange

Common greenshank on Linnunsuo. Mika Honkalinna / Snowchange

Snowchange Cooperative is located  in North Karelia, Finland. Selkie, one of the key boreal villages in the region with several Snowchange operations is one of the oldest known settlements in the region, with earliest records emerging from 1500s. Before that the area has been owned and utilized by a Sámi siida, as can be derived from toponymic place names surrounding and in Selkie. The cultural lanscape of our village reflects therefore Sámi, Karelian and contemporary culture. Today the population of the village is appr. 300 Finns. Snowchange also has an operational rewilding center in Tohmajärvi.

Join Snowchange in Rewilding Magical Koitajoki

Swan tracks. Mika Honkalinna / Snowchange

Swan tracks. Mika Honkalinna / Snowchange

Snowchange is running a far-reaching ecological restoration programme building on living traditional knowledge in North Karelia as well as in other Finnish regions. It is called “Landscape Rewilding Programme“.

Our flagship site is Linnunsuo, a 110-hectare restored wetland. Home to over 200 species of birds, mammals like wolverine, otter and moose, and occasionally visited by 100,000 geese at a time, Linnunsuo has emerged a national symbol for re-wilding efforts in Finland. Re-wilding Finland is a trademark owned by Snowchange with the purposes of advancing community-based and -controlled national efforts.

We seek new solutions to the worst threats of our century: climate change and loss of biodiversity. We will accomplish that using scientifically sound methods, but respecting and being guided by the traditional knowledge of the villages where our actions will take place.

Linnunsuo wetland, May 2017. Janne Raassina / Snowchange

Linnunsuo wetland, May 2017. Janne Raassina / Snowchange

Linnunsuo is also the second ICCA – in this case a community-controlled area. It was registered in early 2018. Linnunsuo also is a 88-hectare strict IUCN protected area under national conservation measures. It is co-managed so that a limited harvest of water birds is possible by Selkie hunters. Additionally the hunters contribute to the control of invasive species such as mink and raccoon dogs in the area.

Summer swans on Linnunsuo wetland, North Karelia, Finland. Mika Honkalinna / Snowchange

Summer swans on Linnunsuo wetland, North Karelia, Finland. Mika Honkalinna / Snowchange

You can learn more of Linnunsuo and the wider Jukajoki restoration work in English here. For overview of scientific and restoration aspects, please consult a report from 2017 here.

By 2025 the Landscape Rewilding Programme has expanded across Finland over five main catchment areas:

  • Koitajoki
  • Jukajoki
  • Näätämöjoki
  • Kuivasjärvi
  • Iijoki

lifeIn total Snowchange owns 6700 hecateres of recovering lands and offers land concessions on over 55,000 hectares of total areas. The actions are expected to grow in 2020s.

See all sites and news at the Landscape Rewilding Portal.

Major supporters include:

  • Kone Foundation
  • Nessling Foundation
  • European Investment Bank
  • Triodos Bank
  • Hogan Lovells
  • Finnair
  • NABU Climate Fund
  • The Christensen Fund
  • The Endangered Landscapes Programme
  • Swedish PostKod Foundation
  • Climate Breakthrough
  • Relex Foundation
  • Private companies and individuals

We are also supported by the EIT Climate-KIC funding and EIB regarding the exact measurements of greenhouse gasses on the rewilding sites.

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