Central

• The general steering, surveillance and development;
• Define environmental policies and law;
• Set up administrative controls;
• Draft national strategic plans;
• Set targets for environmental protection;
• Oversee international cooperation;
• Overall guidance and supervision of nature and landscape conservation;
• Draft a nature conservation programme.

The Finnish Environment Institute

• Produces and compiles environmental data;
• Develop new ways to protect water, the air and the soil;
• Improve waste management and the supervision of chemicals;
• Provide experts for participation in the drafting of environmental legislation;
• Monitor the State of environment.

Regional State Administrative Agencies (State authorities)

• Permits for larger and medium-sized industrial plants;
• Permits issued under the Water Act;
• Processing environmental permits for waste processing facilities;
• Restoring permits for contaminated sites.

Centre for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment (State authorities)

• Implementation of environmental protection measures;
• Ensuring that environmental legislation is observed in their respective areas;
• Monitoring the State of environment within their areas;
• Promoting and supervising nature and landscape conservation within their areas.

Regional

Regional Council

• Manage the cooperation and coordination of the natural resource and environmental  planning in the region

Åland competences

• Environmental and nature protection;
• Recreational use of nature;
• Water law

Local

• Promotion and supervision of environmental protection on a local scale;
• Issuance of environmental permits needed by smaller plants and facilities;
• Monitoring the State of environment according to local conditions;
• Promoting and supervising nature and landscape conservation within their areas.

Responsible ministries/bodies

Ministry of the Environment

Sources:

Act 7/2014 The law on regional development and the management of Structural Fund operations

Act on the autonomy of Åland (1991/1144), Section 18 and 27

Ministry of the Environment portal, Environmental protection

Joint website for Finland's environmental administration

Nature Conservation Act No. 1096/1996 of 20.12.1996 as amended