Wildlife of
Finland

Primary Threats

• Warming is particularly rapid at high latitudes, shortening snow and lake/sea-ice seasons. This affects ice-breeding Saimaa ringed seals (reduced stable snowdrifts and lairs), alters boreal forest disturbance regimes (higher risk of storm damage, drought stress, and bark beetle outbreaks), and shifts species ranges northward, pressuring cold-adapted taxa and changing lake thermal structure and fish communities.
• Commercial forestry dominates much of the forest area, especially in southern/central Finland, with even-aged management reducing old-growth features (large aspens, long continuity spruce stands), deadwood, and natural disturbance mosaics. This drives declines in many red-listed saproxylic insects, fungi, and forest birds dependent on mature forests and decaying wood.
• Nutrient runoff (nitrogen and phosphorus) from agriculture, forestry drainage/ditching, and municipal sources contributes to Baltic Sea eutrophication, harmful algal blooms, and hypoxia in the Gulf of Finland and Archipelago Sea. Legacy contaminants (e.g., some persistent organic pollutants and metals) and emerging pollutants (pharmaceuticals, microplastics) are concerns in aquatic systems.
• Extensive historical ditching/drainage of peatlands for forestry and agriculture has altered hydrology, reduced peatland biodiversity, and increased carbon emissions. River regulation and hydropower have modified flows and connectivity, affecting migratory fish and riverine habitats; peat extraction has also altered local wetland systems in places.
• While overall forest cover remains high, habitat loss is significant for specific high-value habitats: old-growth/near-natural forests in the south, rich fens and other peatland types, and traditional semi-natural meadows/pastures that have declined with land-use change. Shoreline development and dredging can degrade sensitive lake and archipelago habitats.
• Non-native species spread through shipping, aquaculture, horticulture, and warming conditions. In the Baltic Sea and coastal waters, invasive or range-expanding species can alter food webs and compete with native biota; on land, invasive plants can outcompete native meadow and shoreline flora, complicating restoration of traditional habitats.
• Hunting is culturally important and regulated, but creates conservation tension for large carnivores (wolf especially) through quota decisions, illegal killing risks, and social acceptance issues. Hunting and bycatch also interact with conservation targets for sensitive species (e.g., disturbance and incidental mortality in some contexts).
• Conflicts are prominent between large carnivores and people: wolf depredation concerns for livestock and hunting dogs, bear interactions near settlements, and predator impacts perceived in reindeer herding areas in Lapland. These conflicts influence management decisions and can reduce tolerance, leading to pressure for population control.
• In the Baltic Sea and some inland waters, fishing pressure combined with ecosystem change affects stocks and food-web dynamics. Management of commercially important species (e.g., in the Baltic) requires balancing quotas, bycatch reduction, and habitat considerations, while recreational fishing can stress local lake/river populations if not well regulated.
• Transport corridors, hydropower structures, expanding wind power, and mining-related infrastructure can fragment habitats, increase disturbance, and create barrier effects. In the north, linear infrastructure can complicate reindeer movement and increase cumulative impacts in otherwise sparsely populated landscapes.
• Exploration and mining (notably for battery minerals) can create localized but significant impacts through land take, tailings risks, water quality concerns, and habitat fragmentation. Proposed or expanding projects can be contentious near sensitive peatlands, headwaters, and northern landscapes where cumulative effects matter.
• High-quality protected areas and lake/archipelago destinations receive growing recreation and tourism. Disturbance from boating, shoreline use, snowmobiles, and off-trail hiking can affect nesting birds, sensitive shoreline vegetation, and denning/breeding sites, requiring careful zoning and visitor management.
• Agriculture is regionally concentrated but its footprint and intensification affect biodiversity through nutrient runoff, field drainage, and loss of semi-natural grasslands. The main issue is not large new area conversion nationwide but intensification and the continuing decline/fragmentation of traditional rural biotopes.
• Urban growth is modest nationally but concentrated around Helsinki and other southern cities, increasing shoreline pressure, habitat fragmentation, and stormwater runoff into coastal waters and lakes. Urban sprawl can also reduce ecological connectivity in the most biodiverse southern regions.
• Climate-driven changes and increased wildlife-livestock interfaces can alter disease dynamics (e.g., parasite loads, tick expansion). For small and isolated populations like the Saimaa ringed seal, any new pathogen introduction is a heightened risk, reinforcing the need for monitoring and biosecurity around key habitats.
• Small, isolated populations face genetic risks. The Saimaa ringed seal is an endemic freshwater subspecies confined to Lake Saimaa, making it vulnerable to inbreeding and demographic shocks; maintaining population growth and connectivity within the lake system is critical.