Enhancing EverGreen.

Indirect Forest Investment Increasing in Finland: Subsidies and Tax Reductions drive Jointly Owned Forests (Yhteismetsät) as an Instrument

The number of Jointly Owned Forests (yhteismetsät) has more than tripled since 2010. This trend is largely explained by the favourable tax schemes and other rather generous tax incentives the Jointly Owned Forests benefit from. At the end of 2022 there were a total of 600 Jointly Owned Forests in Finland, which typically hold thousands or tens of thousands of hectares land across Finland.

Over 200,000 hectares of forestry land have been added to the Jointly Owned Forests since 2010, representing a historic and significantly large wealth transfer from private forest owners into indirect investments vehicles. Today Jointly Owned Forests represent 734,0001 hectares or 3% of the forestry land in Finland.

Currently, some 20,000 hectares of forestry land are transferred annually from private landowners to Jointly Owned Forests. Some 30 to 40 Jointly Owned Forests are founded annually, which is to be compared to a 3-5 total of forest funds operating in the market.

Maanmittauslaitos, 2021.