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Newsletters
PEER News brings you the latest environmental news from Europe
The Partnership for European Environmental Research's newsletter is available for subscription for anyone interested in news, events and job offers from environmental research organisations. The latest issue of PEER News highlights a new project which is designed to strengthen the scientific understanding of relations between biodiversity and ecosystem services. One of the objectives is to build a European digital atlas of ecosystem services. Other topics include the reasons behind the spreading of invasive species and the decline of snake species in tropical and temperate climates.
Indicators on the state of Finnish nature published online
The latest issue of SYKE's Envelope newsletter presents the recently published www.biodiversity.fi web site. The site contains more than a hundred indicators describing the state of Finnish nature. Other topics in the newsletter include Finnish lake restoration and the state of the Baltic sea.
PROJECTS
The project for Carbon Neutral Municipalities receives continued funding through 2012
In March, the Finnish Funding Agency for Technology and Innovation (Tekes) made the decision to continue funding for the project Carbon Neutral Municipalities (CANEMU). The first phase of CANEMU will be completed on 31 May 2010. The continuation project, ‘Processes in Municipalities aiming at Carbon Neutrality (proCANEMU)' will be carried out between 1 June 2010 and 31 December 2012. The cost estimate, approved by Tekes, is €650,000, out of which €390,000 is funded by Tekes, €175,000 by the Finnish Environment Institute, and €85,000 by companies. ProCANEMU is funded by approximately 30 companies. More
PUBLICATIONS
A new environmental guide for immigrants published
The first nationwide environmental guide for immigrants in Finland has been published. The guide is available in Finnish, Arabic and Somali at www.ekokumppanit.fi (Ekokumppanit Oy > Julkaisut). The guide is intended for immigrants and persons who work with immigrants. It can also be used in schools and colleges, and in teaching Arabic and Somali. The guide includes information about saving electricity and water, waste management, recycling and environmental labels as well as information about the concept of Everyman's right.
REGIONAL ADMINISTRATION
New regional administration system established in Finland
From the beginning of 2010, regional administrative tasks in Finland are carried out by six regional state administrative agencies (AVI) and 15 regional centres for economic development, transport and the environment (ELY), as specified in new legislation approved on 20.11.2009.
Under the new regional administration system, the tasks previously fulfilled by the regional environmental permit authorities are carried out by four of the AVI regional state administrative agencies. Other environmental tasks previously conducted by Finland’s regional environment centres are carried out by 13 of the new ELY centres for economic development, transport and the environment.
The new agencies’ and centres’ work related to environmental issues continue to be overseen by the Ministry of the Environment, but the general running of the AVI agencies and the ELY centres are supervised by the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Employment and the Economy, respectively.
PUBLICATIONS
A report on mainstreaming climate policy
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Photo: Aarno Torvinen
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Mainstreaming Climate Policy and Policy Coherence is a background report for the Finnish Government foresight report on climate and energy. It assesses questions related to mainstreaming climate policy from the point of view of both horizontal and vertical policy integration in Finland. According to the report, policy integration and policy coherence can be advanced by developing the existing administrative processes and structures or by creating new measures focused particularly on mainstreaming climate policy.
The final report of the project Nordic nature – trends towards 2010 has been published
The final report of the project Nordic nature – trends towards 2010 has been published in English, Swedish and Finnish. The report can be downloaded on the web pages of the Nordic Council of Ministers. The English version will soon be published as a printed report. The Danish version will be published later both as a web-publication and a printed report.
The project havepublished fact sheets presenting the status and trends of biological diversity in the Nordic Countries. These sheets can be downloaded on the web-pages of the project in English, Swedish and Finnish. In Danish, Norwegian, Icelandic and Faroese the fact sheets can be downloaded on the web-pages of the participating organisations.
BROCHURES
Information about Everyman's rights in Finland
Finland's legal concept of Everyman's right gives everyone the
chance to enjoy the freedom of the country's vast forests and
many lakes with few restrictions. This booklet explains Everyman's right in detail, with reference to the relevant legislation, and describes the responsibilitie that come with these rights. The booklet is available in Finnish, Swedish, English, German, French and Russian.
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