Northern Lights in Pasvik-Inari Trilateral Park (c) Torben Kühle
Pasvik-Inari Transboundary Area (FI/NO)
Borders separate – Nature unites!
Pasvik-Inari Transboundary Area has been working bilaterally between Finland and Norway since February 2022. Cooperation in Pasvik-Inari Area was first established as a Trilateral Park in 2008 as a result of long-term cooperation between the nature protection authorities in Norway, Russia and Finland dating back to early 1990’s.
Pasvik-Inari Transboundary Area consists of five nature protection areas; three areas in Norway and two in Finland. The total area of Pasvik-Inari Transboundary Area is 2666 km ².
Pasvik-Inari – where species and cultures meet
The lush valley of the Pasvik river stretches from Lake Inari towards the Barents Sea, appearing as a vital nerve in the mosaic landscape of small lakes, mires and wetlands and virgin Taiga forests. The region comprises a unique nature system where European, Eastern and Arctic species meet. Here, some of the species reach the ultimate limits of their distribution. The area is also an important nesting and resting place for many migratory birds.
The Pasvik–Inari region is a multicultural meeting point, where different peoples and cultural traditions have coexisted for centuries. In addition to Norwegians, Finns and Kvens, the area is home to three Sámi groups: the Northern, Inari and Skolt Sámi. Each Sámi group has its own language, culture and historical siida system.
Although the cultures interact with one another, they have preserved their distinct identities. This cultural diversity is part of the region’s identity and, alongside its nature and history, enriches the current cross-border cooperation in nature conservation.
Bilateral cooperation in action
The main themes of the international cooperation are nature monitoring, environmental enlightenment and promotion of sustainable nature-based tourism. Annual bird registrations have been carried out along the Pasvik river since the mid 1990’s. The joint brown bear population has been monitored every four years since 2007.
There is a network of Norwegian and Finnish schools cooperating in Phenology of the North Calotte -program. We have also a travelling Brown bear DNA-laboratory workshop for school children in Pasvik-Inari Transboundary Area.
The partners and stakeholders of the parks work together in different projects to promote sustainable nature-based tourism to support sustainable local development in the border areas.
From trilateral to bilateral cooperation
Since 2022, there Finland and Norways have been working together in Pasvik-Inari Transboundary Area.
Trilateral cooperation with Russia ended due to the ongoing war against Ukraine. This has led to a name change: from the former trilateral setup, we now speak of Pasvik-Inari Transboundary Area.
Despite the challenging situation, the Transboundary Area continues to hold tight bilateral connection, and it has been re-certified in 2025 by Trans Boundary Park -program of EUROPARC Federation.
Learn more
Short story about Pasvik-Inari Trilateral Park, duration 5 min (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pG2mZYa_gh4)
Read more about the Pasvik-Inari Transboundary Area: https://prosjekt.statsforvalteren.no/en/pasvik-inari/