Climate change is often discussed as a challenge that creates new costs for municipalities and communities. We need to prepare for changing weather conditions, take care of our environment and adapt our infrastructure.
But could climate adaptation also create new business?
This is an interesting question especially in rural areas. We have natural resources, local companies with different kinds of machinery and skills, and people who know the local conditions very well. Maybe some of the challenges caused by climate change can also create new work and business opportunities.
In the Finnish Resilience Hub of the NURISH project, Ranua, Pudasjärvi, Pohjois-Suomen Biokaasu Oy and VTT are exploring this question through lake restoration and the possible use of lake biomass and suitable dredged material. The approach connects climate adaptation, water quality, circular economy and rural business development.
What can we do with material removed from lakes?
Lakes are an important part of life in Ranua and Pudasjärvi. They support nature, fishing, recreation and the attractiveness of both municipalities. At the same time, some lakes are affected by nutrient loading, vegetation growth and the accumulation of organic material and sediment.
One possible way to improve the condition of these lakes is dredging.
But dredging also creates a practical question: what do we do with the material that we remove from the lake?
Normally, the material must be transported somewhere and stored or disposed of. This costs money. In NURISH, we want to find out if at least part of this material could instead be seen as a resource.
One option being investigated is whether suitable lake biomass and selected dredged material could be used as supplementary feedstock in biogas production. This requires material characterisation and practical testing, so the material should be treated as a potential resource rather than an established feedstock.
From planning to practical experiments
During spring and summer 2026, the partners moved the idea towards practical investigation in the Finnish Resilience Hub.
Two stakeholder workshops were organised in May 2026: one in Pudasjärvi on 27 May with 18 participants and one in Ranua on 28 May with approximately 20 participants. Local residents, water-area owners, associations, municipal and business representatives, researchers and project partners took part.
The purpose was to move beyond general discussion, map stakeholder roles and identify practical actions related to lake restoration, biomass utilisation and climate adaptation.
One proposed action is experimental dredging, accompanied by studies of material quality, handling, transport and potential use.
Following the workshops, the partners began preparing a dredging plan and examining possible experimental locations, dredging methods, temporary storage areas and potential contractors.
Even a small experiment requires substantial preparation. Consent from water-area owners, the necessary notifications or permits, suitable temporary storage and a contractor all need to be addressed. Material quality, environmental safeguards and the requirements for any subsequent use must also be assessed.
This is an important part of the NURISH work. We are learning not only if the idea works technically, but also what is needed to make it happen in practice.
Biogas plant gives an interesting opportunity
The Finnish Resilience Hub has an important practical asset: a local biogas plant operated by Pohjois-Suomen Biokaasu Oy in Ranua.
The plant gives us a possibility to study whether material removed from lakes could be used as one of the inputs for biogas production.
The idea is interesting from the circular economy point of view. Nutrients and organic material have accumulated in the lake. We remove some of this material to improve the condition of the lake. If the material is suitable for biogas production, it could then be used to produce renewable energy.
Biogas production also generates digestate. Any use of digestate would depend on its quality, nutrient content and compliance with applicable requirements.
Conceptually, the approach could link nutrient removal from water bodies with renewable-energy production and, where safe and compliant, nutrient recovery. Practical testing is needed to establish which parts of this circular pathway are feasible.
But we do not yet know if this will work.
The material needs to be studied and tested. We need to understand how it behaves in the biogas process; what it costs to dredge and transport it and what environmental and regulatory questions have to be considered.
This is why we need practical experiments.
From local motivation to an implementable service chain
The workshops showed strong local interest in healthier lakes and practical restoration. Participants connected water quality with fishing, recreation, tourism, local identity and regional attractiveness. In both locations, the central message was that projects should move from discussion to experimentation and visible action, while communicating honestly about what can and cannot be delivered.
The stakeholder mapping also showed that motivation alone is not enough. Water-area owners, associations, municipalities and business actors have important implementation roles, while many highly interested residents and research actors have limited formal influence. Collective structures, including water and village associations and clearly organised volunteer activities, can help turn individual interest into coordinated action.
What would a local business chain require?
Lake restoration can create demand for surveys, planning, permitting support, dredging, vegetation management, machinery, transport, temporary storage, laboratory analysis and environmental monitoring. Rural companies may already possess some of the required equipment and practical knowledge. However, the workshops identified an implementation gap: responsibilities, logistics, costs and the distribution of benefits across the full chain are not yet defined.
Participants were interested in biogas, biochar, nutrient recovery and other uses of lake biomass, but they repeatedly emphasised economic realism. A feasible business model would need to show who collects and transports the material, who processes it, who pays for restoration and how benefits are shared. External funding and co-financing were seen as important enabling factors, particularly while the solutions remain experimental and are not yet market-driven.
What local knowledge adds
The interviews reinforce the workshop findings. In Pudasjärvi, a water-area representative described shorter snowy and lake-ice periods based on personal weather records kept since the 1980s, as well as darker and more turbid water. In Ranua, an interviewee was cautious about linking individual weather events to climate change, but reported more humus-rich water, changes in fish stocks, eutrophication, siltation and overgrown shores. Both perspectives support combining scientific baseline information with long-term local observation.
The interviews also highlighted interest in concrete restoration results and in using removed material locally where this is technically and environmentally justified. At the same time, they underline the importance of avoiding simple claims of causality and of testing whether proposed uses of sediment or biomass are safe, practical and economically reasonable.
A new story for northern municipalities
Recent national news coverage presents Pudasjärvi through log construction, export business, northern nature, education and regional politics, while Ranua appears through tourism, e-commerce, community-led services, voluntary work and northern everyday life. Water quality and circular-economy solutions are less visible. NURISH can complement these familiar images by showing how environmental restoration, local knowledge and rural business development can be connected.
This communication should remain grounded in evidence. The current work is not a finished business model but a structured learning process. Its value lies in testing the technical options, clarifying permits and responsibilities, assessing costs and logistics, and identifying where local companies and communities can realistically contribute.
Can a local experiment become something bigger?
The planned experiments are small compared with Europe-wide climate challenges, and it is not yet known whether lake biomass or dredged material can be used in biogas production in a technically, environmentally and economically reasonable way. Some parts of the concept may prove feasible while others may not.
This uncertainty is precisely why projects such as NURISH are useful. Ideas can be tested under real conditions with researchers, companies, municipalities, water-area owners and residents. Both successful results and practical constraints can then inform future restoration, funding and service models.
Rural areas across Europe face different climate-related pressures, but adaptation commonly requires new services, technologies and ways of managing natural resources. The wider question is therefore whether adaptation can be designed not only to reduce risks, but also to create credible local work and value. In Ranua and Pudasjärvi, the NURISH partners are taking the first practical steps towards answering that question.
About the authors:
Mikko Pöykkö works as Development Manager at the Municipality of Ranua in northern Finland. His work focuses on business development, investments, tourism and creating new opportunities for local companies. He is also involved in the NURISH project and especially interested in how climate adaptation, circular economy and new business opportunities can be connected in rural areas.
