Nearly 100 discussions, over 1000 participants, and forests shared by all: people in Finland wish for a common vision for the future of forests

Forests in Finland are a stage for societal change, and their future genuinely interests people across the country. The summary report compiled from nearly one hundred discussions held during the Great Forest Dialogue Day highlights that people in Finland wish for a clearer direction and a shared understanding regarding the use and future of forests.

The Metsän puolella initiative (“For the Woods”) by Kone Foundation and Dialogue Academy organised the Great Forest Dialogue Day in spring 2025, during which nearly a thousand people took part in conversations about the meaning and future of forests.
“I came across a term called the heritage of the future, which I thought was really beautiful. We need to have some goals to aim for, something what we definitely want to preserve, and then build the path towards it,” summarised one participant.

The most common themes that emerged in the discussions have been compiled in the summary report published today. It also includes notes from the Confidential Forest Dialogues held in autumn 2024. The aim of the summary has been to condense the content of the discussions so that something recognisable from each conversation would be included.

The report presents three conclusions that emerged from the dialogues:

1. Many Finns and people living in Finland wish to take a more active part in the forest discussion. Forests and their future are seen as important issues that people want to discuss widely on a societal level. However, there is widespread dissatisfaction with the current public debate. It is perceived as exclusionary, confusing, and polarised.
2. A major shift is underway in how people in Finland relate to forests. Forests are now viewed in more diverse ways; numerous new actors have entered the forest sector, and the pressure to renew perceptions and uses of forests is growing. However, the overall picture of this change remains fragmented. Many actors build their understanding only from their own standpoint, use available information selectively, and plan their activities separately from others. This fragmentation makes it difficult to form a broad systemic understanding and to renew ways of thinking.
3. A jointly built vision for the future of forests in Finland is needed. The state of Finland’s forests, the worsening of ecological problems, and bleak economic prospects worry many. In many dialogues, participants expressed a wish that Finland could build a common, research-based vision that reconciles ecological, economic, and social perspectives.

During the Great Forest Dialogue Day, numerous actors organised dozens of discussions in dozens of different locations. Participants included a large variety of people, for example forestry professionals, researchers, artists, entrepreneurs, school pupils, and retirees, among others.

“The diversity of participants made it possible to present the true breadth of values associated with forests,” says Janne Kareinen, Director of the Dialogue Academy, one of the compilers of the summary report. According to the analysis, many feel that the current forest debate reduces perspectives to a confrontation between forestry and nature conservation.

The dialogues emphasised that alongside this opposition, forests also evoke many shared experiences as sources of inspiration for creativity, as manifestations of beauty, and as symbols of belonging. As the environment changes, forest ownership passes from one generation to the next, and time spent in forests decreases, Finns’ relationships with forests are in transition, with no clear outcome in sight.

Amidst these changes, the discussions reveal a yearning for a shared direction. One of the key conclusions of the Great Forest Dialogue Day summary report is that there is a desire for a common, research-based vision of the future, one that reconciles ecological, economic, and social perspectives.

Next, the Metsän puolella initiative and the Dialogue Academy will develop future forest stories based on the material gathered from the dialogues and the summary report. These stories will offer alternative paths for how we can build the future of forests in the coming decades.

“It is clear that a national sense of direction cannot be formed behind closed doors. We need broad, inclusive processes that allow as many people as possible to be heard,” says Mari Pantsar, Change Manager of the Metsän puolella initiative.
This way, the forest debate can become more open and constructive than before, and Finland can find a shared direction for the future of its forests.

The report is written in Finnish. English translation will be published on this site soon.

You can access the Finnish report below:

Download the report in Finnish as a pdf-file here (opens in a new tab).

More information:

Mari Pantsar

Change Manager, Kone Foundation, Metsän puolella initiative

+358 (0)50 382 0755 mari.pantsar@koneensaatio.fi

Janne Kareinen

Director, Dialogue Academy

+358 (0)45 631 6516 janne.kareinen@dialogiakatemia.fi