Salla’s Saija designated Finland’s eighth national landscape...

Finnish Minister of Climate and the Environment Sari Multala has signed a Ministry of the Environment decision on 25th August 2025 to establish a national landscape management area in Saija, Salla. The purpose of the landscape management area is to preserve and manage the natural and cultural landscape, its beauty, historical characteristics and associated values.

The area is located in the municipality of Salla in Eastern Lapland, around 30 kilometres north of the village of Salla. The Saija village landscape is characterised by a ridge formation and the meandering rivers that flow through the village. The landscape management area was established under the Nature Conservation Act based on the proposal of the Centre for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment for Lapland (ELY Centre).

The initiative came from the Saija Village Association (Saijan kyläyhdistys ry). The preparation of the designation was coordinated by the Lapland ELY Centre in cooperation with local residents and stakeholders, and with the support of the municipality of Salla.

Promoting nature and landscape values
The aim of the Saija landscape management area is to encourage landowners and local entrepreneurs to engage in the long-term management of the cultural landscape. The designation decision includes recommendations for practical landscape management. The decision is supported by the area’s landscape management and use plan A village by rapid riversLinkki toiselle sivustolle (in Finnish, abstract available in English), which describes the area’s values and landscape management methods.

Saija represents a typical northern Finnish riverside settlement with features of a hillside settlement as well. The densest settlement is concentrated on the high ridges along the rivers and around the Sarivaara hill and the ridge slopes. The present-day village of Saija consists of buildings from the reconstruction era of the 1940s and 1950s, as well as newer farmsteads and yards. The buildings from the reconstruction era in Saija are very representative of their time.

The landscape management area covers not only the village of Saija but also nearby riversides and ridges and hill areas. The total area is 1,406 hectares. Land ownership is almost entirely private, including estates engaged in active forestry. In addition, there are a few forest estates managed by the state-owned forest enterprise Metsähallitus. Of the designated area, agricultural land covers 187 hectares; forests, heaths and rocky areas 1,018 hectares; built-up areas 78 hectares; mires and peatlands 55 hectares; and water bodies 68 hectares.

The landscape management and use plan has been prepared with funding from the Ministry of the Environment. A landscape management working group has been established to carry out practical measures. “The Lapland ELY Centre may grant annual financial support for landscape management within its available resources, for example, through the Helmi habitats programme,” says Sanna Haapala, Planning Officer at the Lapland ELY Centre.

What are landscape management areas?
Under the Nature Conservation Act, both regional and national landscape management areas can be established. The purpose of these areas is to preserve the beauty of natural and cultural landscapes and their historical characteristics. Landscape management areas are established in cooperation with local stakeholders such as village associations and municipalities. The Ministry of the Environment decides on the designation and purpose of a national landscape management area based on the proposal of a regional council or an ELY Centre.

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