Despite the central role given to Natural Resource Planning in policy,
it is not institutionalised in formal regulations. This applies to both the
substantive goals of the process as well as the procedural rights of citizens
and NGOs. Due to NRP's vague formal role, Metsähallitus can
choose to ignore the plan in the way it did in the Dialogue process,
which resulted in an increase of forest protection by 450 km2 in Kainuu
in comparison to the strategy endorsed in the NRP only half a year
earlier. Furthermore, while the non-regulation of Natural Resource
Planning could allow for innovative approaches to stakeholder engagement,
the history and legal status of Metsähallitus as a timber producing
enterprise combined with the Forestry frames result in weak participatory
rights and inconsistencies in dealing with the citizen input (see
Raitio, 2012). By having delegated the management of public lands to
a business enterprise instead of a public authority, the Finnish state has
distanced state forestry planning from the legal duty of public authorities
to follow the principles of good governance and to provide all citizens
access to decision-making concerning their living environment —
these duties do not bind business organisations. Weak participatory
rights also weaken the practical effect of the societal obligations given
to Metsähallitus in the legislation, because actors concerned with
these goals cannot effectively defend them or challenge Metsähallitus'
decisions concerning these goals in NRP