Act relative to the administration of the environment (No. 55 of 1995).

Section 1 outlines the general task of the environment administration, which consists according to section 2 of the Finnish Environment Centre and the regional environment centres. These organizations shall be responsible for the enhancement of sustainable development and the right use of natural resources. Both kinds of public bodies form part of the administration of the Ministry of the Environment. The geographical areas of administration of the regional centres shall be established by the Council of Ministers. The tasks of the regional environment centres are outlined in section 4. The rather general description of the sphere of competence of these regional bodies includes protection of the use of land and water resources, the prevention of damage to the environment, and the monitoring the condition of the environment. The regional environment centres shall take over various tasks from other local bodies currently involved in the protection of the environment in general and the protection of water resources in particular. The tasks of the Finnish Environment Centre seem to lie mainly in the field of monitoring and research. (12 sections)