A report on the current state of the nature and landscape services
Summary
The demand for nature and landscape services is growing
Versatile uses of nature as well as concerns for natural diversity have increased. Excess growth threatens fields excluded from agricultural use and the heritage landscapes of lakeshores. Managed landscapes and nature with recreational services are of great significance in enhancing the pleasant atmosphere and attractiveness of rural areas, as well as opportunities for livelihood, especially in tourism. In addition, Finland has made national and international commitments to protect biological diversity and conserve heritage landscapes. One of the aims of conservation is also ensuring the purity of surface and ground waters.
Entrepreneurship providing nature and landscape management services creates new solutions for the needs of this field, and simultaneously it increases primary and secondary livelihood opportunities in rural areas. Rural entrepreneurs often have the know-how and machinery needed for nature and landscape management. In addition, the enterprises see a need to make their services more versatile and thus available year round.
Public services and subsidies are estimated to remain approximately the same, but the proportion of work executed through private funding is expected to rise. Upkeeping the environment and taking part in different nature and landscape management projects are part of the social responsibility of enterprises. The aged or urban population, as well as individuals and households who appreciate their free time, will also be more interested in purchasing nature and landscape services in the near future.
Versatile work and services in nature and the landscape
Nature management services include primarily restoring and managing heritage biotopes and built heritage landscapes, managing forest and swamp areas, water systems and fish stock, engaging in water protection as well as in land clearing and the cutting and grazing of shore areas and shore meadows.
Landscape management services include the management of the green spaces in municipalities and built-up areas as well as in traffic areas, the cleaning and clearing of shore areas, as well as landscape building.
Services related to the use of nature include the management of camping and recreational areas, the establishment and management of sports areas, traffic management and the maintenance of private roads, the maintenance and restoration of estates and plots, the clearing of electric lines, wood-cutting at special sites, and the collection of energy wood and natural materials as well as game management.
The demand for services provided by enterprises is increasing
Customers purchasing nature and landscape services are primarily municipalities and parishes, the road administration and private road maintenance associations, power companies, regional environment centres, the National Board of Antiquities, the Finnish forestry administration enterprise Metsähallitus, forest centres, forest management associations, farmers and forest owners, enterprises, village associations and other rural associations, as well as private citizens and projects. In addition to private nature and landscape service enterprises, the services are provided by public service producers such as municipalities, regional environment centres, the National Board of Antiquities and Metsähallitus, forest centres, forest management associations and other associations.
The management of the environment as well as the sport and recreational services included in municipal duties and services are executed either through municipal resources or through purchasing services from service procurers. Due to cost cuts, acquiring external services is increasing, which also increases the demand for expert services.
The Finnish Road Administration with its road regions acts as a head office that orders the services for traffic management, as they do not have the machinery or sufficient work force for the practical work. For regional contract work, the service level that meets the agreed quality requirements and practical instructions is bought from a contractor, who has to provide a report on the quality requirements for achieving the service level. Even though the size of the contracts is increasing, rural entrepreneurs can be involved in the execution of total contracts or possible separate contracts by developing their own practices and co-operation. The service tasks also include private road management, as well as the upkeep and management of the roadside landscape.
Regional environment centres execute many projects with different sources of public funding, from overseeing water protection to maintaining diversity, from managing green spaces to clearing landscapes and from restoring nature trails to restoring buildings. Environment centres do not have adequate personnel resources to execute the management jobs, and therefore the jobs are often done as relief work or through contractors. The demand for procurement services may increase with the growing needs for nature management.
The Nature Services of Metsähallitus manage state-owned nature reserves, national and natural parks as well as wilderness and camping areas mainly with budgeted funds. Metsähallitus executes forest and swamp restoration, different nature management tasks as well as nature inventories, develops guidance and service resources in the areas and organises guided activity. Most of the work is executed through Metsähallitus resources, especially in areas with plenty of state land, forestry and their own forest work force. The resources are limited by the reduction of their own personnel due to the government productivity programme, as well as the nature routes that have been assigned to Metsähallitus management under the principles of the new conservation programmes in Southern Finland. Procurement services are requested for managing the small and dispersed protected areas as well as their respective camping sites.
Forest centres execute nature management projects on forest-owners’ land, either through their own resources or through procurement services from enterprises. Forest management associations, on their behalf, offer their clients landscape and nature services that are either implemented through their own resources or partly through procurement services. The number of these projects is increasing.
Landowners can contract for nature and landscape services for their property, if they do not have sufficient time, suitable machinery or the expertise for the work. Enterprises in the field of tourism, for example, have need for the services. Caring for the environment is a part of the publicity image and social responsibility of these enterprises, and it will most likely gain more emphasis in the near future. Also, the demand for services by private citizens and households is expected to grow, for example, in managing property and roadside areas as well as in the form of recreational and landscape stock broking. Different rural associations, such as village associations and fisheries, may serve as both demand compilers and service providers and organisers.
Project activity has become a significant resource and service buyer in nature and landscape service work. The short-term funding and the rapid turnover rate of the work force hinder regular management procedures and the completion of projects. Project funding makes it possible for many different actors to participate in nature and landscape management, but in practice intermediary organisations are needed to compile funding from different sources, competent workers and unfinished projects into one package, and to organise the execution. Project funding includes employment subsidy, funding allocated according to the Act on the Financing of Sustainable Forestry, as well as different EU funding (for example the Rural Development Programme for Mainland Finland, the European Social Fund ESF and the European Regional Development Fund ERDF programmes and Life-funding).
Strengthening the field of operations requires education and development efforts
The work involved in nature and landscape services with their versatile and increasing competence requirements calls for the establishment of a new profession, the professional nature and landscape service entrepreneur. Different enterprises have indeed appeared to fulfil the needs of this field. For the moment, however, the professional field is for the most part quite dispersed and has not been included in statistics. Developing entrepreneurship in the field as its own field of operations would also increase the esteem for nature and landscape management. In addition to enabling full-time entrepreneurship, there are possibilities for becoming a diverse entrepreneur, instead of focusing only on traditional rural industries.
In addition to the number and competence of the service providers, vocational education and training as well as short-term education is needed for those operating in the field at the moment or in the future. Versatile vocational education and training leading to a professional degree is available in the field of nature and landscape services, from basic degrees to further vocational qualifications and special qualifications. The vocational qualifications related to nature and landscape services are mostly included in the field of natural resources and the environment. Short-term education and training for rural entrepreneurs is organised by the Rural Women’s association ProAgria in nature and landscape management and the Finnish Road Association in traffic management, among others. The education is needed, for example, on the bases of costs and pricing, the management of different areas, and quality requirements for the management as well as the machinery and equipment needed in the work. Work with nature sites often requires diverse competence, and this is especially notable in small and remote work sites.
The development of entrepreneurship in nature and landscape services requires that supply and demand meet, nature and landscape services become better known, and action models for funding are developed and applied. The networking of service providers creates possibilities for fulfilling all the services needed by clients and developing expertise and cost savings. An intermediary organisation is needed to bring together the clientele and the service providers, to compile the funding sources, as well as to organise counselling and education within the field.
After this status report, the theme group for nature and landscape services will continue to examine the development efforts in the field, including continuing education, product development as well as the development of supply and demand.