Concrete actions for biodiversity (CONABI) in Finland

Challenge

Forestry and agriculture have long been the livelihoods in the project area and have had a major impact on the nature, landscape, and culture. Awareness and interest in nature conservation is slowly increasing and many rural villages, associations and enterprises would like to act to improve biodiversity. However, better know-how, guidance and encouragement are needed to carry out concrete environmental actions.

Objective

The main objective of the CONABI project is to change the attitudes of stakeholders in the area towards nature and to increase awareness, interest and know-how in environmental protection. The aim is to motivate and guide local people, farmers and businesses to take concrete action to protect species, biotopes and the cultural environment and to use the gained knowledge to develop their communities.

Approach

During the project, a series of training workshops will be organized on different topics (for example habitat restoration, invasive species removal, stone fence construction or biochar production). The workshops will focus on concrete actions to conserve or increase biodiversity. Based on the workshops, a network of sites with concrete environmental actions will be created.

Expected Results

At the end of the project, 15 one-day or two-day workshops will have been organized, reaching at least 225 participants reached (20 % of whom will be under the age of 30). At least 30 rural villages, associations or businesses will have been involved and the biodiversity of the workshop sites will have been improved. The network of workshop sites with concrete environmental actions will be used for environmental education and for monitoring the impact of future conservation actions.