Permits

Pollution prevention controls include the environmental permits required by law for certain activities. Different kinds of permits are granted by various environmental authorities, including Finland's Regional State Administrative Agency.

The Finnish Environment Institute (SYKE) issues permits for the following activities:

• The import and export of endangered plant and animal species (CITES),
• EU sertificates needed for sale and transport within EU of species included in Annex A (CITES),
  
  
• International shipments of wastes (imports, exports and trans-shipments),
  
  
• The environmental impact analysis (EIA) and authorisation of wood preservatives, slimicides, antifouling products and the biocidal pesticides,
• The authorised use of chemicals to prevent oil pollution, also subject to EIA,
• The authorised use of approved biocides,
• Derogations from the EU detergent regulation,
• Exceptional permits according to product-VOC decree (837/2005).

SYKE also reports nationally on the effectiveness of the environmental permits system, and provides expert advice for Finland's Regional State Administrative Agency on issues related to permits.