4. Driving into a nature park

By Paavo Väyrynen
     
      The media in the south of Finland has an erroneous image of the future of Lapland. I feel that the region is not poor, nor is it becoming deserted.
      Lapland has rich natural resources, and it benefits from its position in many ways as Finland’s most international region. The greatest challenge to the development of Lapland is the shortage of labour affecting the mining and tourism industries in particular. In the future, migration patterns will be from south to north.
     
Lapland will develop and it will do well if people in the area are given the opportunity to utilise its rich natural resources in a sustainable manner. Problems may be caused by urban green environmental policies brought from the south, and fed by the southern media.
      We people of Lapland naturally want to protect our protect our environment, but we also want to make use of our natural resources following the principles of sustainable development. To protect the diversity of nature, much more extensive conservation areas have been set up in Finnish Lapland than in the north of Sweden, for instance. We do not need any more of them. The sustainable development of livelihoods needs to be secured.
     
Tourism is one of the most vibrant means of livelihood in Lapland. The region has many different types of tourist destinations, from high-class ski resorts to small businesses offering the experience of nature and of silence.
      Rules on the use of Lapland’s nature reserves need to be eased, also with tourism in mind.
      In other parts of the world, national parks are cared for, and roads are built in them, so that people might be able to enjoy experiencing nature, and the recreation it offers. Some protected areas need to be closed off completely, but rules should be eased with respect to others.
     
In tourism we need to get to year-round use of buildings and services. In the summertime, the ski resorts of Lapland are almost empty. In other countries it is unbearably hot. We should market summer travel to these countries with the slogan “Lapland is cool” - in both senses of the word.
      Having marketed this idea, I must concede that there are mosquitos in Lapland.
      However, I have noticed that mosquitos in Lapland are friendly to foreigners, and they do not spread malaria.
     
The writer is Finland’s Minister for Foreign Trade and Development. He is a resident of Keminmaa, and is originally from Kemi.

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