Oct 02, 2008. /Lesprom.com/. 13 % of Finland's forest area is either protected or subject to restricted commercial use. The strictly protected forest area has increased and is already 9 % of Finland’s forest area, Nordic Forest Owners Association reported. In Finland there is 2,9 million hectares of protected forests and forests subject to restricted commercial use. That is 13 % of the country's total forest area. The great majority of such forests, 2,5 million hectares, are situated in Northern Finland where they cover 22 % of the forest area. The corresponding figure in Southern Finland is 0,5 million hectares, i.e. 4 % of the forest area in Southern Finland. Almost 70 %, i.e. 2 million hectares of protected forest and forest subject to restricted commercial use are strictly protected, which means that all fellings are prohibited. That is 9 % of the total forest area. The most important areas in this category are wilderness areas and national parks. Almost 90 % of strictly protected forests are located in Northern Finland. In comparison with the year 2005 the total area of strictly protected forests has increased by almost 8 %, i.e. 63 thousand hectares. In Southern Finland the area has increased by 25 % (51 thousand hectares) and in Northern Finland by 5,6 % (94 thousand hectares). According to MCPFE - Ministerial Conference on the Protection of Forests in Europe - almost half of the Europe’s strictly protected forests are located in Finland.