Sustainable growth for Northern Ostrobothnia – the monitoring system for green transition - Visio (investment)

In ‘Sustainable growth for Northern Ostrobothnia – the monitoring system for green transition’ -project, a regional climate and water bodies (in land and coastal areas) monitoring system is being built for monitoring the effects of the Green transition in North Ostrobothnia. The monitoring system covers the measurement of regional greenhouse gas (GHG) sinks and emissions, river water quality monitoring, autonomous monitoring of the water quality at coastal area, and land use change monitoring in intensive peat land areas. With the monitoring network, it is possible to influence the management of GHG emissions and sinks and watercourse emissions in Northern Ostrobothnia and target land use measures so that they support the climate and land use road map and water management measures. The current regional environmental monitoring network in Northern Ostrobothnia does not enable verification of the regional and local effects of the green transition in water bodies, the coastal area and the atmosphere. There are deficiencies in regional measurements of GHG sinks and emissions, monitoring of the river environment, especially in peat-rich runoff, monitoring of coastal and marine areas, assessment of ecosystem-level impacts of restoring peat production areas, monitoring of good natural reference areas, and partially also monitoring of peat fields.

The short-term goal of the project is to build and develop a regional monitoring infrastructure for the climate and water body effects of the green transition. The long-term goal is monitoring the effects of the green transition, developing regional measurement technology, and improving practical teaching and business opportunities in the subject area. The operation is closely related to national and international networks. The project uses the latest measurement techniques to monitor water quality and GHG emissions. This gives new opportunities for local companies to offer services and solutions. The goal is to establish a regional ecosystem of long term environmental monitoring based on local and regional cooperation and long-term goals to achieve a sustainable and healthy environment.

The monitoring system is being built in cooperation with the University of Oulu (UOULU), the Natural Resources Center (Luke), the Finnish Environment Institute (SYKE) and the Finnish Meteorological Institute (IL). From the University of Oulu, the project is led by the Water, Energy and Environmental Engineering Research Unit, and the Intelligent Machines and Systems, Ecology and Genetics and Developmental Biology units and the Oulanka research station are also involved.

The project includes the following work packages: 1) Establishment and implementation of the monitoring system, and project management; 2) Regional GHG monitoring and intensive sites; 3) River basin level and coastal area water quality monitoring; 4) Management and visibility of monitoring data; and 5) Communication and stakeholder activities.