River management committees in Pirkanmaa
Reviving of freshwater pearl mussel rivers in Pirkanmaa through cooperation
The Centre for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment of Pirkanmaa (Pirkanmaa ELY Centre) will set up river management committees for three of the area's freshwater pearl mussel rivers as part of the LIFE Revives project. The Pinsi枚n-Matalusjoki, Ruonanjoki and Turkimusoja river management groups will cover the catchment areas of the freshwater pearl mussel rivers. The committees act as a link between the different actors during the project and the aim is that they will continue to operate after the end of the project. All those interested in the freshwater pearl mussel and the restoration of rivers are welcome to participate in the committees' activities. Participation in the groups' activities is voluntary and not binding.
Tasks of the river management committees:
路 present the restoration actions planned and implemented in the LIFE Revives project
路 presenting different points of view among stakeholders
路 promote communication between the different actors involved.
Discussion was diverse in the first meetings
The first meetings of the river management committees were held near Pirkanmaa's freshwater pearl mussel rivers in Pinsi枚, Lavaj盲rvi and H盲meenkyr枚 centre in the beginning of April 2022. Online participation was also possible. The amount of participants ranged from 15 people (Turkimusoja) to 36 people (Pinsi枚n-Matalusjoki). The attendance was delightfully diverse, and the participants consisted of landowners, officials, societies, and other people interested in freshwater pearl mussel. In the meetings Pirkanmaa ELY Centre's project coordinator Emmi Lehkonen presented shortly the project and the actions on Pirkanmaa, but most of the time was spend on getting to know each other and on discussions in small groups.
The first meetings set footsteps to the future
The work of small groups and the general conversation in the meeting brought up plenty of ideas for the future meetings and for the more precise targeting of the project actions. The importance of local and historical knowledge was also emphasized. Many key factors affecting the Pirkanmaa freshwater pearl mussel rivers were also brought up. The discussion was diverse and different point of views were introduced. The first meeting showed the importance of this kind of conversation groups. The importance of the committees will be emphasized when the concrete restoration actions will start. The committees will be active through the project and the goal is that the committees will continue their work after the project. The next meeting of the river management committees will be in August-September 2022. You can join the groups any time.