By putting an end to the negotiations Metsähallitus aimed at accommodating
the concerns of small and medium-sized wood processing
industry in northern Finland, which had strongly opposed the
initiation of exclusive negotiations with environmental groups in the
first place. But the prospect of having additional 450 km2 of forest
protected in Kainuu county was received with disappointment by
them. The provincial government in Kainuu also declared its objection
to any new forest protection measures. The staff of Metsähallitus in
Kainuu was equally frustrated; only some half a year earlier they
had finished the regional Natural Resource Planning (NRP) process,
including collaborative meetings with wide array of regional actors
and input from Municipal Councils. The interviewed forestry planners
felt that the new deal made the NRP process lose its credibility