The Finnish traditional everyman rights give everybody an opportunity for recreation in the forests. Increasing out-door activities, hiking, nature oriented tourism and time spent in leisure time houses have created a need for new ways of co-ordinating the use and exploitation of forests and other natural areas.

The Finnish Central Union of Agricultural Producers and Forest Owners (MTK) has developed the concept of trade in recreational values for particularly valuable areas, for example particularly beautiful landscapes.
The purpose is to co-ordinate the needs and interests both of landowner and of other people enjoying the recreational values of the area concerned. Trade in recreational values means that the landowner maintains or improves the recreational value of his or her forest and sells it to people taking advantage of it, for example entrepreneurs in the tourist business or people having leisure time houses in the vicinity.

This model can be applied for example in cases where a neighbour or a village community is interested in the particular recreational value of a private landowner's land and is prepared to trade with the landowner for the maintenance and improvement of such land.
A typical case would be that a neighbour or an entrepreneur in the tourist business is interested in maintaining a forest landscape, but the landowner plans regeneration felling. Other similar areas subject to trade in recreational values could be for example forests and old cultural landscapes in the vicinity of urban areas and which are particularly suitable for recreational purposes. The agreement for creating recreational values could also concern the creation and maintenance of a fireplace, or even opening up a view to a lake from a village street. Other objects of such trade could be management and maintenance of forests in proximity to an outdoor or riding pathway.

The landowner is the seller of recreational values. The buyer could be for example a private person, for example a neighbour who is interested in maintaining the recreational value of a beautiful landscape. Other potential buyers could be village communities, outdoor or sports associations, a municipality, a fund, a business or a tourist centre. The agreement is concluded for a fixed period against an agreed consideration, based on market principles.

For further information, contact Ms Lea Jylhä, forestry expert, MTK, e-mail This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 
Rights and Regulations
People of all nationalities have the right to enjoy the Finnish countryside freely under the traditional Finnish legal concept known as everyman’s right. But together with these wide-ranging rights comes the responsibility to respect nature, other people, and property. Special regulations in national parks and many nature reserves additionally limit activities such as camping, hunting, the use of motor vehicles, and access to sensitive areas during the nesting season. Such restrictions are listed separately for each area.

The list below summarises the main rights and responsibilities within everyman’s right:  

You may walk, ski or cycle freely, except very near people’s homes, or in fields and plantations which could easily be damaged.
camp out temporarily, a reasonable distance from homes pick wild berries, mushrooms and flowers, as long as they are not protected species fish with a rod and line use boats, swim or bathe in inland waters and the sea walk, ski, or drive a motor vehicle or fish on frozen lakes, rivers and the sea.
You may not disturb people or damage property disturb reindeer, game, breeding birds, their nests or young let pets off lead cut down or damage trees collect moss, lichen or fallen trees from other people’s property light open campfires without permission, except in an emergency disturb people’s privacy by camping too near them or making too much noise leave litter drive motor vehicles off road without the landowner’s permission hunt without the relevant permits fish with nets, traps, or a reel and lure without the relevant permits