Website of Finland’s environmental administration

Nature, waters and sea

Species monitoring

In our country, there are many species monitoring programs that produce information about changes in the abundance or distribution of wild species. Each monitoring program usually focuses on a specific group of species, and sometimes even on a single species.
Monitoring of the endangered Eastern Button Blue is carried out by individually marking butterfly specimens.
Monitoring of the Eastern Baton Blue at Säkylänharju © Tuomo Hurme

Species monitoring, alongside habitat monitoring, is a crucial part of biodiversity monitoring. The results of these monitoring programs are used not only for assessing endangered species but also in various policy impact assessments and as indicators for evaluating the effectiveness of conservation and management actions.

Species monitoring is conducted by many entities

In our country, many entities participate in the implementation of species and biodiversity monitoring, each with its own responsibilities. The Finnish Environment Institute has special responsibility for monitoring pollinators and some bird populations. Other similar monitoring programs are maintained by the Finnish Museum of Natural History, Metsähallitus, the Natural Resources Institute Finland, and several organizations such as BirdLife Finland, the Finnish Lepidopterists' Society, and WWF Finland. Often, these monitoring programs are carried out in collaboration with multiple entities. The Laji.fi online service, maintained by the Finnish Museum of Natural History, currently serves as the central repository for species data in our country.

Published 25.4.2025

Publisher

Finnish Environment Institute (Syke)