Restoration of nesting areas revive bird populations in Finland
Projects aimed at restoring wetlands which serve as nesting areas for birds have helped revive bird populations in different parts of Finland. Dredging bottoms of lakes and bringing cow pastures back to shoreline areas have attracted more birds to the areas.
Watchtowers, causeways over marshy areas, and observation blinds have been set up for the benefit of nature enthusiasts.
Metsähallitus - the state enterprise which manages forests in Finland - published a report on Wednesday assessing the bird area restoration projects in different parts of Finland.
The areas range from the Vanhankaupunginlahti bay in Helsinki to the extensive bird nesting areas in Finnish Lapland.
Most of the funding for the restoration projects has come from the EU. Six separate projects, implemented between 1995 and 2004, cost a total of EUR 5.7 million. The highest costs were from land acquisition.
A major problem with the rehabilitation of bird sanctuaries is that restoration work needs to be continued if it is to be effective in the long run. Environment Ministry official Matti Osara could not say on Wednesday where financing for the maintenance of the restored nesting areas might come from.
Finland’s bird water protection programme already involves 75,000 hectares of land and water areas.
A much greater challenge than that of increasing the number of bird species and setting up services for hobbyists has been the issue of cooperation with people living near the sanctuaries.
For instance, in the case of the Siikalahti bird sanctuary in Parikkala in the southeast of Finland, old conflicts between land owners and the state concerning the expropriation of private farmland for nature conservation have left a feeling of resentment in the area.
"Cooperation is not always easy, but by giving out information we have tried to build more confidence among land owners", says project coordinator Tiina Niikonen of Metsähallitus.
Since the initiation of a programme to protect bird nesting waters in 1982, nearly 60% of the planned actions have been carried out.
Many lakes that are favoured by birds as nesting places came about when the surface level of lakes was brought down in order to reclaim more agricultural land. Increased growth of vegetation in the wetlands has made many of them less hospitable to water fowl.
One way to make the habitats more bird-friendly is to bring cows to pastures on the shore. A herd of cows will be brought to graze along the shore of Helsinki’s Vanhankaupunginlahti this summer. The area has been a favourite spot for urban ornithologists for about a century.
Helsingin Sanomat
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| 21.4.2005 - TODAY |
 Restoration of nesting areas revive bird populations in Finland |
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