Riistakolmiot.fi supports decisions on hunting seasons
The customer
Hunters and nature lovers count the numbers of game animals, and hunting seasons and the numbers of animals to be killed are determined by parties such as the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, the Finnish Wildlife Agency and Metsähallitus.
The need
The latest, reliable and comprehensive information is needed on the numbers of small game animals, such as forest fowl, to make decisions related to hunting periods and on whether hunting will be allowed. In the past, the results of game stock assessments were recorded on paper forms and then saved in electronic format. Therefore the results were not available sufficiently quickly. Following the progress of the assessment activities has been difficult, because the people counting the animals have not had a reliable way of monitoring the numbers for their area. The information has not been publically available, or it has not been offered in a format that customers can utilise easily.
The solution
The volunteers counting the animals save the results of their activities directly in the riistakolmiot.fi service. Through this system, the latest and reliable information on the numbers of game animals is immediately available to the people making decisions on the hunting seasons. In addition, the counters can use the service to follow the counting history for their areas of responsibility. In the public online service, anyone can examine the development of game stocks for a period of nearly 30 years and to produce various reports on the basis of the information.
The effectiveness
Thanks to the riistakolmiot.fi website, information on the numbers of game animals and the development of these numbers is available to anyone.
The funding
The EU Life+ programme and the Natural Resources Institute Finland (formerly the Finnish Game and Fisheries Research Institute) Comments from the customer
“The new riistakolmiot.fi system has revolutionised the way information related to game stocks is produced and processed. Without the service, information about the numbers of game animals for each year would not be available this quickly. Because the service was developed in collaboration with users, it is easy to use and meets many needs.”
Olli Kursula, Game Manager, the Finnish Wildlife Agency
Comments from Luke
“Feedback and requests from users have been extremely valuable in the process. They have helped us to understand how users want the service to work. The service also gives researchers new possibilities. Location information can be used to better monitor the effects of environmental changes on the numbers of animals, for example.”
Katja Ikonen, Planner, the Natural Resources Institute Finland
