As at 31 December 2022, a total of 23% of Estonia’s area, including both land and waters, is under protection The area of protected areas in Estonia increased significantly in 2004, when the Natura 2000 network was established. As a result, the share of protected areas increased from 11% to 17% of land and then continued to increase gradually. The area of protected areas in the territorial sea...

Special permits are often required for activities in sensitive areas. Certain activities may be prohibited altogether The beaches and shores of water bodies and protected natural objects (national parks, nature reserves, landscape protection areas, limited-conservation areas [1] and habitats of protected species [2]) cover quite a large part of Estonia. The protection procedure of a protected...

At the same time, a cultural monument can also be a protected natural object In addition to traditional species protection, nature conservation also focuses on maintaining the integrity of habitats and promoting people’s awareness of nature. The aim of nature conservation is to preserve the diversity of nature, or biodiversity. The legal basis for nature conservation is the Nature Conservation Act...

It was only after World War II that nature conservation was beginning to be systematically addressed in the world Humans cannot do without nature. We get everything we need for life from nature (water, air, food, clothes, etc.); nature also processes waste products and is necessary for the mental well-being of humans. Man has been protecting nature for millennia: the creation of small confined...

At the local government level, a protected natural object may be a landscape, valuable agricultural land, valuable natural community, a single element of the landscape, a park, a green area, or a single element of landscaping that is not protected as an individual protected natural object or located in a protected area. Only the limited management zone regime applies to an area protected by the...

New species are constantly being added to the list of Estonian species Species that naturally expand their range are spreading to Estonia. This is being accelerated by global climate change, which is affecting the distribution, abundance, and characteristics of species throughout the world and is also creating favourable conditions for those species that have not been able to cope in Estonia so...

A habitat (biotope, ecotope) is a set of natural conditions that is necessary for a species or its population to live in that place. The European Union’s Habitats Directive defines the habitat types that must be protected in the Natura 2000 sites. Jaanus Paal has adapted the classifications of these habitat types [1] to the Estonian conditions, based on his own classification of Estonian habitat...

The subsidy may be applied for by a private forest owner whose forest area is at least 0.3 ha and is entered in the Estonian nature information system as a forestland entitled for support Compensation is paid to private forest owners in Natura 2000 areas, as well as in conversation zones of protected areas located outside them, on the basis of the Estonian Rural Development Plan (ERDP) to...

From 2006, you can apply for compensation for agricultural land in Natura 2000 areas which is paid from the Estonian Rural Development Plan The purpose of the support is to partially compensate the land owner for the loss of income due to nature conservation restrictions. The subsidy rate is 27 euros per hectare per year [1]. The grant is an addition to other area-based agricultural payments. In...

The Natura 2000 network aims to ensure the conservation and favourable status of habitats and species endangered across Europe Natura 2000 is a pan-European network of nature reserves, the meaning and content of which are set out in the 1992 European Union Habitats Directive (92/43/EEC). The same directive also included bird areas selected under the Birds Directive (2009/147/EC), which entered...