ELY Centres

The Centres for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment (ELY Centres) manage the central government’s regional tasks as well as develop and support economic activity and sustainable well-being.

The ELY Centres have three areas of responsibility: industries, labour and competence; transport and infrastructure; and the environment and natural resources. They operate under the direction of six ministries and the Finnish Transport Infrastructure Agency. There are 15 ELY Centres in Finland, of which 13 perform tasks related to the environment and natural resources.

The ELY Centres handle water and fisheries issues, monitor the status of waters, and are responsible for the management of surface and groundwater reserves in their regions. They coordinate river basin management in regional cooperation groups, supervise and direct river and lake regulation, develop water and wastewater services and supervise water utilities.

The customer advisers for environmental matters at ELY Centres answer questions relating to the environment and, for example, can provide guidance for initiating lake or river restoration projects.

The ELY Centres disburse discretionary government grants for a variety of purposes.