Abstract
Talking about Finland without mentioning the nature is like forgetting more than 188.000 sparkling lakes, putting away the dense forest and woodland areas fully covering 76 percent of the nation (27 in France), the lung and the pride of any Finnish. That's impossible! Whereas Finland was a rural country until the 50s, with more than 40% of the population earning their living from primary production; the 60s showed a radical change caused by the fastest rural depopulation among the western industrial countries. However, with slightly more than 5 million inhabitants, Finland remains a country with only 17 people per km² and a recent rural past. The verdant natural beauty of this scene with low plateaus, small hills and tiny islands dotting the resplendent landscape, is for the Finnish people part of their every day life. Because nature has always been placed high on the list of Finland's priorities, nature protection areas were established more than 60 years ago.
