Mires are an essential part of Finnish nature. Earlier, one third of the surface area of Finland, that is 10 million hectares, was covered by mires. Today, however, only a third of them remain in their natural state. In southern Finland in particular, uniform and untouched mires are rare. 

Peatlands have had a deep and significant impact in Finnish culture. One of the most famous Finnish novels Under the North Star written by Väinö Linna starts with the unearthing words In the beginning there were the swamp, the hoe – and Jussi. Without those thousands of hectares of mires, dried and hoed by Jussi and his fellow Finns, the Finnish people could not have survived as well as they did. Unfortunately, many peatland species are endangered today due to the much-decreased number of mires.