Flying Squirrel LIFE

The City of Espoo participates in the Flying Squirrel LIFE project funded by the European Union (2018–2025). The project is coordinated by Parks & Wildlife Finland, which is part of the state-owned organisation Metsähallitus, and includes 17 partners from Finland and Estonia.

The flying squirrel is an endangered species and its breeding and resting places are protected under the EU Habitats Directive and the Finnish Nature Conservation Act. There are approximately 1000-1500 flying squirrels in Espoo. Flying squirrels have spread fairly evenly across Espoo, and they live both in the forested areas of Northern Espoo and in the middle of densely built Southern Espoo.Photo: Ari Seppä/Vastavalo.fi

The project improves the conservation of the flying squirrel

The goal of the project is to improve the conservation status of the Siberian flying squirrel. The project focuses on safeguarding flying squirrel habitat networks, developing operating models and increasing cooperation between different actors.

Espoo acts in the project as an expert in reconciling flying squirrel conservation with land use. Espoo has extensive experience in considering flying squirrel habitats in land use planning. The project is an opportunity for us to share our best practises with other actors. This page contains more information on the various things that the City of Espoo is involved in within the Flying Squirrel LIFE project.

The project has received funding from the European Union’s LIFE programme. The content of the material reflects the views of its authors and neither the European Commission nor CINEA is responsible for the use of the data contained in the material.

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