Updates from the Archipelago Sea Basin: A Governance Lab for Nutrient Recycling
On 16 June 2026, GREENHOOD and the Finnish national project OHRAKE brought together key national and regional stakeholders for a Governance Lab workshop on policy instruments for nutrient recycling, focused on the Archipelago Sea Basin demo-region.
The session opened with OHRAKE presenting its findings on the current state of nutrient recycling in Finland and the policy instruments needed to advance it further, followed by an introduction to GREENHOOD's work in the Archipelago Sea Basin and the role of the workshop within the project's governance model.
Two ministerial perspectives framed the discussion that followed. Sanna Tikander, from the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, presented a national overview with particular attention to food chain security of supply, while Maria Laamanen, from the Ministry of the Environment, focused on the Archipelago Sea Programme and the region's progress toward removing its HELCOM Hot Spot status for agriculture.
In the discussion that followed, participants pointed to impact-based support as one of the most promising policy instruments currently on the table for water protection and nutrient management, and voiced strong interest in deepening collaboration with GREENHOOD's work in the region. Several speakers also called for stronger environmental permitting frameworks and clearer end-of-waste criteria for recycled fertilising products, as Finland works to align new regulations with existing legislation on fertiliser quality and use.
Communication, too, was flagged as an ongoing challenge. Despite sustained outreach efforts, some farmers remain difficult to reach, a gap participants said could be narrowed through more direct contact and closer cooperation between projects and programmes. There was also broad agreement on the need to better monitor the real-world impact of advisory services, rather than simply tracking how many farmers are contacted.
Overall, the workshop reaffirmed the strength of open dialogue and cross-sector cooperation in the region's nutrient recycling landscape, bringing together representatives from the Ministries of Agriculture and Forestry and the Environment, MTK and MTK Southwest Finland, the Finnish Biocycle and Biogas Association, the Centre for Economic Development Southwest Finland, and researchers from SYKE and LUKE.
This was the first of two Governance Labs planned for the Archipelago Sea Basin, with the second taking place in Loimaa, Finland, on 17 September 2026 in collaboration with the Nutribudget project.