Extensive education and research

Forestry education in Finland began in 1862 when a forestry college was established in Evo in the province of Häme. Currently the highest forestry education is provided by the universities of Helsinki and Joensuu; vocational forestry education is provided by several polytechnics and forestry schools in different parts of the country. Education and training for forest owners is arranged by private forestry organisations, forestry schools and evening and adult education institutes.

About 600 researchers with an academic degree are permanently employed in research into forests, forestry and forest biology; of them 336 are employed by the Finnish Forest Research Institute. In addition to them, the Institute employs about one hundred temporary researchers. The Finnish Forest Research Institute, governed by the Ministry of Trade and Industry, is mainly financed from the state budget. Research is also carried on by the universities of Helsinki, Joensuu, Turku, Oulu, Kuopio and Jyväskylä, by the European Forest Institute in Joensuu, by the Finnish Pulp and Paper Research Institute KCL owned by the forest industries, by Metsäteho, the Finnish Environment Institute, the Technical Research Centre of Finland (TEKES), the Finnish Game and Fisheries Research Institute and by the Work Efficiency Institute (TTS). Individual forestry companies also have research departments of their own.

The Finnish Forest Research Institute and the universities of Helsinki and Joensuu have a total of 11 research stations around the country. The Finnish Forest Research Institute manages a total of 90,000 hectares of forestand watered areas, of which 7,700 hectares are protected and 4,800 used for education purposes. Among other things, the Institute's forests contain over 23,000 permanent sample plots.

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