Anu Lähteenmäki-Uutela, Salla Rantala, Brent Swallow, Heidi Lehtiniemi, Tuomas Pohjola, Riikka Paloniemi. (2023). Increasing access to forest data for enhancing forest benefits to all. Silva Fennica vol. 57 no. 3 article id 23034. https://doi.org/10.14214/sf.23034

Keywords: Finland; property rights; indigenous rights; access to data; environmental rights; everyone’s rights; institutions

Highlights: Environmental protection, everyone’s forest use, bioeconomy, and tourism may benefit from increased access to forest data; Environmental rights, everyone’s rights and indigenous rights need to be strong and clear for non-landowners to benefit from forest data; Transparent forest data forms the basis for trade in forest ecosystem services.

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In this discussion paper, we discuss what benefits Finnish citizens and companies can derive from forest data, and how the benefits of that data depend on rights to forests. Environmental protection, everyone’s forest use, bioeconomy, and tourism may benefit from increased access to forest data. Access to forest data is a democratic right by itself. Forest data allow actors to derive more value from their existing forest rights and may spark demands for clarification or reformulation of forest rights. Transparency of forest data also allows voluntary trade in forest ecosystem services. Increased access to forest data may also contribute to forest-related conflicts, given that various, at times contradictory interests are directed at forests. At best, increased access to forest data and information may support the renewal of forest governance to become more democratic, legitimate, and effective.

Lähteenmäki-Uutela, Finnish Environment Institute (Syke), Societal Change, Latokartanonkaari 11, FI-00790 Helsinki, Finland https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3230-3869 E-mail: anu.lahteenmaki-uutela@syke.fi
Rantala, Finnish Environment Institute (Syke), Societal Change, Latokartanonkaari 11, FI-00790 Helsinki, Finland E-mail: salla.rantala@syke.fi
Swallow, University of Alberta, Faculty of Agricultural, Life and Environmental Sciences, 5-67 General Services Building, 9007 - 116 St NW, Edmonton, AB, T6G 2H1, Canada E-mail: bswallow@ualberta.ca
Lehtiniemi, Finnish Environment Institute (Syke), Societal Change, Latokartanonkaari 11, FI-00790 Helsinki, Finland https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7418-5069 E-mail: heidi.lehtiniemi@syke.fi
Pohjola, University of Turku, Development Projects, Pohjoisranta 11 A, FI-28100 Pori, Finland https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3439-7993 E-mail: tuarpo@utu.fi
Paloniemi, Finnish Environment Institute (Syke), Societal Change, Latokartanonkaari 11, FI-00790 Helsinki, Finland https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2853-535X E-mail: riikka.paloniemi@syke.fi

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