SEVERAL Finnish and us environmental groups have requested the Finnish Guarantee Board (FGB) and the US Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) to include mechanisms for environmental protection, transparency and public participation in their investments affecting Russia's fragile ecosystems. The two organisations are holding negotiations for investments worth millions of dollars in northwest Russia in the oil, timber and transport sectors. The FGB, a Finnish government agency, provides grants worth millions of dollars in state and export guarantees to Finnish exporters, financial institutions and enterprises that operate in other countries. OPIC is a us government agency that provides subsidised loans and political risk insurance to us corporations investing abroad.