On Tuesday, Parliament approved the government’s proposal to establish a Sallatunturi National Park in Finnish Lapland.
The approximately 10,000-hectare ecological area is located on the country’s northeastern border with Russia, close to the Sallatunturi Nature Reserve, and will become Finland’s 41st National Park.
The initiative to establish the park came from within the municipality itself as a Member of Parliament and a member of the Environment Committee Mari-Leena Talvitie (NCP) told the plenary that co-operation with local agencies and organizations has progressed smoothly.
The government’s fourth supplementary budget for 2021 allocated about 4.5 million years to the cost of establishing the park.
However, according to Talvitie, the Environment Committee is concerned about the continued funding of the park, as the maintenance of the campsites alone will constantly require additional resources.
Minister of the Interior Krista Mikkonen (Green) told Parliament that Salla National Park is expected to increase jobs in the area by 90 person-years – the term HR counts the number of hours an employee does in a year – and annually. tax revenue totaling € 400,000 over the next seven years.
Mikkonen added that the park supports sustainable nature tourism, as it can be reached by public transport from southern Finland.