HELSINKI (News release) -- This spring, UPM launched a new service package, UPM Nature Management Services, to provide Finnish forest owners with more options to enhance biodiversity. The first nature management services to be offered are assisting forest owners in applying for an environmental subsidy and a controlled burning service. More new services will be available later this year.

The environmental subsidy (Metka, forestry incentive scheme in Finland) allows forest owners to apply for compensation to protect a valuable habitat in their forest. UPM will help forest owners to determine the eligibility of the habitat and apply for the subsidy on their behalf. UPM also provides help with other conservation options such as METSO (voluntary conservation scheme for forest owners). Controlled burning, in turn, can provide habitats for species that have become endangered as a result of effective fire suppression. As part of this service, UPM investigates on behalf of the forest owner whether the forest stand is eligible for a Metka subsidy and prepares the application before the actual work. The service also includes the controlled burning itself.

"We're a large forest owner in Finland and the measures we take in our own forests have a big impact on improving biodiversity. We can make an even bigger impact by increasing the biodiversity-enhancing services offered to our forest-owner customers", says Krista Taimioja, Product Group Manager at UPM Forest.

In addition to the Nature Management Services package, the UPM Kasvu partnership programme includes new benefits to encourage forest owners to manage their forests with greater consideration for biodiversity. As part of the programme, for example, there will be an even broader discussion about the forest owner's goals and a free forest plan will be offered as a promotional benefit until the end of October to customers who have already joined or are joining the FSC®* forest certification scheme.

"According to the surveys carried out, forest professionals don't always tend to ask forest owners about their goals for their forests. This is something that we definitely want to improve and in the future, we will have increasingly comprehensive discussions about goals with our partner customers", says Jarmo Hakala, Customer Experience Manager at UPM Forest.

UPM has long worked to improve biodiversity in its own forests. Our first biodiversity programme was introduced in 1998, consisting of everyday forest management, protection of valuable natural areas and co-operation projects with various stakeholders. In 2018, UPM published a new commitment to improve biodiversity in its own forests and later also linked the pricing mechanism of its standby credit to forest biodiversity and climate objectives.

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