01/04/2026
How do you restore nature, create new value and run a modern forest business at the same time? Finsilva puts the idea to the test.
Forest and natural capital company Finsilva, owned by funds managed by CapMan Natural Capital and Metsärahasto II Ky (Ilmarinen), manages around 137,000 hectares of forest across Finland. Known for combining environmental values with commercial forestry, the company is now helping shape something new, a market for biodiversity.
In winter 2026, Finsilva launched Finland’s first pilot project on nature values trading together with Tapio Palvelut Oy, S Group, and LocalTapiola. The idea is simple: companies can purchase verified nature value hectares created through biodiversity improvements on privately owned land. For Finsilva, the pilot reflects an evolving view of how forests can generate value.
“This is a concrete way to show that restoring nature and creating economic value can work together. It also opens the possibility of a new revenue stream for landowners,” says Juha Hakkarainen, Managing Director of Finsilva.
A degraded peatland becomes a proving ground
The pilot focuses on a 12-hectare drained peatland in Pielavesi, North Savo. Once an open bog, it was drained in the 1960s to create productive forestland. The plan failed. Tree growth remained weak and the area’s ecological condition deteriorated.
Rather than leave the site as an unproductive patch in an otherwise healthy landholding, Finsilva saw an opportunity. The peatland offers exactly the type of setting where nature values trading makes sense: low forestry potential, high ecological payoff.
Over winter 2025–2026, the Finnish Supervisory Agency gave preliminary approval to the restoration plan, allowing the project to progress quickly into fieldwork.
Restoration work under way
The restoration phase is now in full swing. The small, moisture-evaporating trees that colonised the bog after the failed drainage are being removed to allow the area’s natural water balance to return. Some of this timber is being retained on site for use in small dam structures and other nature management purposes.
To minimise disturbance, the work teams are threshing trees along the driving tracks to improve loadbearing capacity and avoid unnecessary damage to the ground surface. A section of the bog that has remained closest to its natural state is being carefully left untouched.
According to Tapio Palvelut Oy, this early progress has been possible because official processing proceeded smoothly and predictably. The partners are using the Pielavesi project to test the full chain of nature values production, from landowner implementation to verification and purchase. Once the bird breeding season begins, work will pause until autumn, when hydrological restoration can continue.
Why the model matters
The timing of this pilot is significant. Expectations for forestry are shifting. Investors and companies increasingly expect landowners to demonstrate measurable biodiversity impact alongside commercial returns.
For CapMan Natural Capital, the pilot fits naturally into its strategy of creating long-term value through improved, diversified forest assets.
“Forestry is becoming more multidimensional. Investors still expect performance, but they also expect real improvements to nature. This pilot helps us explore a model that could credibly connect both,” says Jyri Hietala, Managing Partner at CapMan Natural Capital.
The peatland in Pielavesi illustrates how ecological and financial aims can align. Its forestry value is low, so restoration does not compromise timber revenues. At the same time, the ecological return is high. Restored peatlands can support specialist species, improve habitats and enhance water retention.
A model with room to scale
Unlike ecological compensation, this pilot is about producing new nature value rather than offsetting harm elsewhere. The partners hope the experience will provide practical insight into how a broader, reliable market for nature values could develop in Finland.
“If this model proves effective, it could open the door for more restoration projects across our landholding and across the country,” says Hakkarainen.
For Finsilva, the pilot reflects a broader philosophy. Every hectare has a purpose, whether its strength lies in productive forestry, renewable energy, recreation or, as in Pielavesi, ecological restoration. After decades in limbo, the former bog is finally being given the chance to recover and to help define how nature itself can become a source of long-term value.