Tuusula 1998

6th Annual Conference, Tuusula, 17-19 September 1998
of the European Environmental Advisory Councils EEAC

Policy Integration and Implementation

Hosted by The Finnish Council for Environment and Natural Resources

Conference Location

The conference took place at the Conference Hotel Gustavelund on Lake Tuusula, 30 km north of Helsinki.

The Theme of the Conference

The Conference theme is Policy Integration and Implementation.

The Conference started with an introductory plenary session with presentations on different levels of policy integration (EU-, national and local level). Thereafter, the theme was divided into four workshops on sub-themes of policy integration and implementation.

Conference Language

The conference language is English.

Workshops

The objective of the workshops is to produce conference conclusions on environmental policy integration and implementation on behalf of the European Environmental Advisory Councils reflecting their experience and knowledge. Broadly, the conclusions will:

1. outline the importance and general principles of achieving environmental policy integration and implementation (Friday morning plenary session)
2. recommend how policy integration and implementation across the four sectors considered in the workshops can be achieved, using the examples discussed to illustrate the process.

To achieve this in the workshops, the workshops should focus on how integration and implementation can be achieved in each sector and, in so doing, give clear recommendations illustrated by the papers presented in the workshop. The workshops should be interactive and give each participant the opportunity to express their views. Those with papers should be given the opportunity to provide brief summaries.

There are three hours available. To maximize this time it is suggested that appropriate techniques are used to encourage participation, to capture the workshop debate and ensure the shared ownership of the workshop outcomes. These could include brainstorming, the use of analyzing techniques such as SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) and supporting use of visual aids.

The Chair has a central role in coordinating the workshop discussion to achieve the objectives. The supportive role of the rapporteur is in recording the discussion, facilitating the workshop and reporting the outcomes to the meeting on the following day.

As the workshops take place simultaneously, the participants are asked to register for one workshop only. The contact addresses of the chairpersons and the rapporteurs are listed at the end of the preliminary list of participants.

Contributions

Participants are invited to submit a short paper (1-2 pages) describing their national views and experience on individual workshop themes:

Environmental policy integration and implementation in

1. Forestry
2. Agriculture
3. Tourism
4. Transport and Infrastructure

Excursion

On Saturday afternoon an excursion leads into the surrounding countryside. After lunch a bus takes the participants to places where Finnish solutions on policy integration are demonstrated in the fields of forestry, agriculture and nature conservation.

Proper outdoor clothing, i.e., walking shoes and a raincoat or an umbrella, is recommended for the excursion.

The first stop is Kuumola Farm at Vanhanmyllyntie, Hyvinkää. The farm has specialized in dairy and crop farming and has 85 hectares of field and 68 hectares of forest. The owners, the Salste family, joined the Finnish Agri-environmental Programme in 1995. The farm is run by Mr. Erkki Salste (crop) and Mr. Juha Rättö (dairy). This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. , Secretary General of the Finnish Central Union of Agricultural Producers and Forest Owners (MTK) explains today's situation of farmers in Finland.

In Janakkala UPM-Kymmene, one of the biggest forest industries in Europe, presents its forest management practices. The Harviala forest area is about 8000 hectares and very rich in wildlife including elk, wolves and even bears. We take a tour through the forest and visit a forest farm on Lake Isojärvi owned by UPM-Kymmene. UPM-Kymmene also serves a dinner at Kesijärvi Lodge (järvi = lake). The tour is guided by Raimo Koskinen.

Click to enlarge

The excursion bus is back at Hotel Gustavelund around 22:00 hours. Please note that if you participate in the excursion, it is impossible to reach Saturday evening flights from Helsinki.

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