Threatened habitat types in Finland 2018: the Baltic Sea. Red List of habitats. Part 2: Descriptions of habitat types

This report is a partial translation of the final report in Finnish on threatened habitat types (Threatened habitat types in Finland 2018, Part II: Descriptions of habitat types, The Finnish Environment 5/2018) that presents a total of 420 habitat types. This report includes all the evaluated habitat types of the Baltic Sea, as well as six new marine habitat types, which were described but not yet evaluated (NE). Also included are habitat types regarded as of least concern (LC) and those with deficient data (DD). For each habitat type a description, distribution map, photo, and the reasoning behind the assessment result are presented. The descriptions of the habitat types include their characteristics, geographical variation, connectivity to other habitat types, occurrence in Finland, reasons for being threatened and future threats, trend in the state of the habitat type, correspondence of the habitats type with habitat types covered by statutory protection, and whether the habitat type is one for which Finland has an international responsibility. Part I of the final report (in Finnish Suomen luontotyyppien uhanalaisuus 2018, SY 5/2018 and in English Threatened Habitat Types in Finland 2018, FE 2/2019) presents the assessment method for threatened habitat types, results and reasoning of the assessment, and proposals for measures prepared by the experts groups. In the whole country 186 habitats types were assessed as threatened (48% of the number of habitats types). The share of threatened habitat types is much larger in southern Finland (59%) than in northern Finland (32%). The assessment was conducted by broadly-based expert groups in 2016–2018. This was the second assessment of threatened habitat types in Finland. This assessment was conducted using the international IUCN Red List of Ecosystems method. Because of the new assessment method, the results of the first and second assessment of threatened habitat types are not directly comparable with each other. The conclusion that can be made, however, is that the decline and degradation of habitats has not diminished

Impacts of the IUCN Red List of Ecosystems on conservation policy and practice

In 2014, the International Union for Conservation of Nature adopted the Red List of Ecosystems (RLE) criteria as the global standard for assessing risks to terrestrial, marine, and freshwater ecosystems. Five years on, it is timely to ask what impact this new initiative has had on ecosystem management and conservation. In this policy perspective, we use an impact evaluation framework to distinguish the outputs, outcomes, and impacts of the RLE since its inception. To date, 2,821 ecosystems in 100 countries have been assessed following the RLE protocol. Systematic assessments are complete or underway in 21 countries and two continental regions (the Americas and Europe). Countries with established ecosystem policy infrastructure have already used the RLE to inform legislation, land-use planning, protected area management, monitoring and reporting, and ecosystem management. Impacts are still emerging due to varying pace and commitment to implementation across different countries. In the future, RLE indices based on systematic assessments have high potential to inform global biodiversity reporting. Expanding the coverage of RLE assessments, building capacity and political will to undertake them, and establishing stronger policy instruments to manage red-listed ecosystems will be key to maximizing conservation impacts over the coming decades

Valtakunnallisesti arvokkaat kallioalueet : Loppuraportti Osa I

Julkaisu on kaksiosainen loppuraportti luonnon- ja maisemansuojelun kannalta arvokkaiden kallioalueiden inventoinnista, jonka maastotyöt toteutettiin vuosina 1992–2004. Inventoinnissa keskityttiin selvittämään maastamme maa-aineslain 3 §:n mukaisin kriteerein biologisesti, geologisesti ja maisemallisesti arvokkaita kallioalueita, joilla on valtakunnallista tai muuten huomattavaa luonnonsuojelullista merkitystä. Kallioalueinventoinnin osatuloksia on julkaistu vuosina 1992–2015 aluekohtaisina raportteina. Luonnon- ja maisemansuojelun kannalta arvokkaiden kallioalueiden inventointi tuotti laajan tiedonkeruun ja inventoinnin tuloksena erittäin merkittävän ja monipuolisen tietopaketin Suomen kallioluonnosta. Luonnon- ja maisemansuojelun kannalta arvokkaiden kallioalueiden inventointia tehtiin suurimmassa osassa maatamme lukuun ottamatta Ahvenanmaata, suurinta osaa saaristoa ja Ylä-Lappia. Inventointia ei pääsääntöisesti myöskään ulotettu kallioalueille, jotka sijaitsevat aikaisemmin perustetuilla suojelualueilla, kuten kansallispuistoissa, luonnonpuistoissa ja muilla erityisillä suojelualueilla