© Pirjo Appelgren
Friendship park is a nature conservation area established in the Kuhmo and Suomussalmi region in 1990 to promote co-operation between Finland and the Soviet Union in environmental research, to protect the Kainuu wilderness, and for environmental research purposes – particularly for nature conservation and for monitoring the status of ecosystems (see the Act and Decree on Ystävyyden puisto, 1990). To meet the needs of research as prescribed by law, a research centre was established in the town of Kuhmo.
The Friendship park research centre (in Finnish: Ystävyyden puiston tutkimuskeskus) has been part of the Finnish Environment Institute (Syke) since 1 January 2010.
The research centre began its operations in 1993. In the early stages, inventories and assessments accounted for a large part of its operations. Later, research came to focus on the species and biotope diversity of forests and mires, endangered species, as well as the impacts of land use and climate change on diversity.
The research centre currently employs four full-time personnel, and its other employees work on a fixed-term basis.
The Friendship Park Research Centre works in extensive co-operation with research groups of Finnish universities, the North Karelia Biosphere Reserve, Finland’s state forest administration Metsähallitus, the Natural Resources Institute Finland, the Finnish Meteorological Institute, and the Geological Survey of Finland. Scientific co-operation with universities, museums and other research institutes worldwide is a characteristic element of the activities of the research centre.
Results of the collaboration include more than 10 doctoral dissertations, over 30 other theses, as well as over 200 scientific publications, of which ca. 120 in peer-reviewed scientific series. In addition, the co-operation covers seminars and scientific symposia, scientific reports and compilations, along with encyclopaedias, films, and educational materials on the nature and wildlife on the Finnish–Russian border.
Contact information
- Address: Lentiirantie 342 B, FI-88900 Kuhmo
- Tel: +358 295 251 000
- The e-mail address format is firstname.lastname@syke.fi
More information
- senior research scientist Gergely Várkonyi, firstname.lastname@syke.fi
- research assistant Pirjo Appelgren, firstname.lastname@syke.fi