Objective
Biotope restoration and visitor control are thus the two pillars of this project. Work to keep abandoned shore meadows open has been going on under a job creation scheme since 1988 (the district has a high unemployment rate!) but this is now threatened by cuts in government funding. LIFE will provide the means to continue, securing ten jobs in biotope restoration work. Wood from the trees and bushes cut down will be used to make panels, boardwalks and observation platforms to improve visitor access. Livestock will be brought in and through movable fences, grazing can be adapted to the seasons and management prescriptions. To obtain coherent blocks for clearing and management, private sections between the public reserve lands will be bought. Forest owners will be asked to agree to wise use plans.
Much effort will go into consultation with local citizens, e.g. through a forum to hammer out land use options and influence the local zoning plan. The local authority and ornithologists will develop guided hiking packages for nature tourists to seek an economic spin-off from the conservation work.
One of the most diverse habitat complexes in northern Europe can be found in the estuary of the river Kokemäenjoki and the Yyteri Peninsula in western Finland. Here is a mosaic of rocky islets, broad beaches and mudflats, lagoons, shore meadows and semi-natural pastures grading to wooded dunes and old conifer forests. The beaches, mudflats and meadows in particular are ideal resting and feeding sites for Arctic waders during the spring and autumn migrations; there are in fact no comparable sites along the Finnish coast between Liminganlahti and Estonia.
The isostatic uplift of the coast has created this spectrum of habitats from shallow littoral to meadows and inland forests which is so suitable for migrating birds, but it also represents one of the main threats. The all-important open meadows are rapibly conquered by reeds and bushes and then by trees, once livestock grazing stops, which is exactly what has been happening over the past decades. In addition, the city of Pori is expanding in this direction while increasing beach and pleasure boat recreation are affecting the shores - most ironically, bird enthusiasts have also been disturbing the avifauna.
Topic(s)
Data not availableCall for proposal
Data not availableFunding Scheme
CSC - Cost-sharing contractsCoordinator
28100 Pori
Finland