Suomen luonnonsuojeluliitto ryFinnish Association for Nature Conservation

Promoting active citizenship and environmental awareness since 1938.

In order to realize its purpose we

• act as a link between different environmental organizations,
• practice publishing, training, environmental education and other educational activities and research,
• put forward motions and initiatives and issue statements on affairs associated with our field,
• act in other similar ways to keep the Finnish nature viable, productive, beautiful, diverse and valuable,
• promote nature protection and sustainable development in the regions affected by Finland as an industrialized country, and
• participate in the international co-operation in its field.

Over 30 000 members and 15 district organizations nationwide

FANC has over 30,000 individual members in about 180 local member associations in 15 county-based district organizations. The Nature League (FANC’s youth organization) operates nationwide and has about 4,500 individual members. Local associations, district organizations and the Nature League are independent, registered associations.

The central organization was founded in 1938, but the oldest local member association, The Kuopio Nature Friends Association, is over 110 years old (founded in 1896) and runs its own nature history museum.

To fulfill its purpose, the FANC works on nature conservation and environmental policy on the municipal, regional, national, and EU levels, and follows the UN sustainable development work. FANC cooperates with many environmental organizations in forest protection both in Madagascar and in Russia.

Important fields of work are:

• forest protection
• climate change prevention and sustainable energy policy
• mire and water protection
• sustainable production and consumption and ecological fiscal reform
• management and protection of cultural landscapes
• land use issues and protection of endangered species
• waste policy and chemicals

The Finnish Association for Nature Conservation also owns and manages the EKOenergy label, the only ecolabel for energy in Finland.

Organisational structure

Most of the work in the local associations and district organizations is voluntary in nature. FANC employs 15 people at its regional offices across Finland. Regional offices in Turku, Oulu and Lappeenranta have full-time district chiefs, the rest of the offices have part-time employees.

There are about 30 specialists working in nature and environmental protection, administration, communication and marketing at the headquarters and at the Suomen Luonto periodical.

FANC’s headquarters is centrally located in Helsinki, and it consists of three units, which are the following:

• The Nature and Environmental Protection Unit (Luonnon- ja ympäristönsuojelu);
• The Communication and Marketing Unit (Viestintä ja markkinointi); and
• The Administration and Financial Unit (Talous ja hallinto).

International activities

In order to better achieve its goals, the FANC works actively as a member of several international coalitions. These include:

• Coalition Clean Baltic (CCB, a coalition of environmental NGO’s in the Baltic Sea countries)
• CIVILSCAPE – We are the landscape people
• European Environmental Bureau (EEB, a federation of 132 citizens’ environmental organizations in Europe)
• World Conservation Union (IUCN)
• OCEAN2012
• Climate Action Network (CAN)
• Green Budget Europe (GBE)
• Taiga Rescue Network (TRN, a network of NGO’s, indigenous peoples and nations working for the protection and sustainable use of the boreal forests)
• Northern Alliance for Sustainability (ANPED)
• Forest Stewardship Council (FSC).
• PAN Europe (Pesticide Action Network)