Stream waters form a crucial bridge between different habitats, and free-flowing water is important for the vitality of these aquatic ecosystems. The biodiversity of inland waters encompasses migratory fish, but it also includes the restoration of habitats for other endangered species such as green club-tailed dragonfly, freshwater pearl mussel, and thick shelled river mussel.
Our stream water program promotes biodiversity through the removal of migratory barriers, such as defunct dams, and the replacement or modification of old culverts with new ones. Our primary restoration sites are in areas owned by UPM or close to UPM's hydropower plants. We are continuously on the lookout for new sites to include in our program.
We restore rapids and streams to their natural state and participate in pilot and research projects in cooperation with local expert organizations, companies, and local centers of economic development.
The verification and monitoring of released and restored stream waters as part of UPM's program is based on the Finnish Environment Institute’s (SYKE) geospatial data. The baseline year for our 500 km goal is 2015. The EU’s goal is to unblock 25 000 kilometers of river water in total, but the calculation method has yet to be determined.
By the end of 2024 just over 287 kilometers of waters have been released or restored by us. We funded the removal of two fish migration barriers and continued the restauration of two rivers in Finland. We also started eDNA piloting in Finland and Uruguay to assess the results of our actions.
