This report presents the main results of the Kainuu mire survey project and the conclusions drawn from them. The aim of the project carried out in 2010−2012 has been to improve the knowledge base about Kainuu’s mires and thus to create the prerequisites for reconciling the various forms of mire usage and at the same time to highlight the potential relating to the mires in Kainuu. The project considered the use of mires broadly, including not only the various forms of economic exploitation but also the importance of mires for people’s recreation and well-being as well as for biodiversity and numerous regulatory functions.

The background to the project is the Finnish national mire strategy prepared at the same time. According to this strategy, activities which considerably change the natural state of mires, i.e. agriculture, forestry and the peat industry, should in the future be carried out on mires which have already been drained or otherwise significantly changed. This will leave more room for those forms of mire usage and ecosystem services benefiting from the mires being in their natural state to operate in.

Kainuu is the third most mire-rich region in Finland, and mires are an integral part of its natural environment and landscape. Mires are also a diverse and significant natural resource. The majority of the mire area in Kainuu has been drained. The project has produced new data with GIS methods and targeted terrain surveys. The report covers the use of Kainuu’s mires, the remaining undrained mires, the integrity of the water economy of protected mires, drained mires being withdrawn from forestry use, the importance of mires for recreation and tourism, as well as the assessment of the 143 mires surveyed on site from the perspective of peat extraction and biodiversity.

The report shows that the national mire strategy’s goal of the sustainable and responsible use and conservation of mires can be achieved through co-operation between the different actors and through land use guidance. It requires commitment to the policies in the mire strategy as well as improvement of the knowledge base about mires and about the impacts of various activities. The Kainuu mire survey project has contributed to producing this data and has also developed methods for obtaining it.