An individual protected natural object is a living or non-living natural object of scientific, aesthetic, or historical-cultural value, such as a tree, spring, erratic boulder, waterfall, rapids, cliff, terrace, outcrop, cave, karst site, or a group of them, which is protected under the Nature Conservation Act Upon the entry into force of a decision on the protection of an individual protected...

The function of the biodiversity information network is performed by the Loodusveeb portal The national contact point/person of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) is the Ministry of the Environment/Liina Vaher, whose task is to coordinate the implementation of the CBD and the policy for the protection and use of biological diversity. The national contact point of the biodiversity...

Estonia has submitted five general reports on compliance with the requirements of the convention Article 26 of the Convention on Biological Diversity requires the acceded countries to report to the secretariat of the convention on the achievement of the objectives set out in the convention, as well as to describe what has been done and its effectiveness. Estonia has submitted five general reports...

The purpose of monitoring is to provide information on changes in the state of the environment in Estonia. The objective of wildlife monitoring is to determine: the changes in species abundance and distribution and in communities; the impact of land use on biodiversity (such as the impact of the increasingly intense agricultural activity on insects or birds). The purpose of monitoring species and...

The biota of Lake Võrtsjärv is quite rich in species – 35 species of fish have been found here Lake Võrtsjärv is the second largest lake in Estonia. It has an area of about 270 km 2, a length of about 35 km and a width of 15 km in the north, an average depth of 2.8 m, and a maximum depth of 6.0 m. The catchment basin of Lake Võrtsjärv covers 3,380 km 2 [1]. Lake Võrtsjärv is a flow-through lake...

More alien species are found in anthropogenic habitats than in natural habitats There are a wide variety of species in the anthropogenic habitats, from the first inhabitants of waste lands and landfills, many of whom are considered weeds (e.g. dandelion, plantains), to exotic plants planted in parks and arboretums. Anthropogenic terrestrial habitats can be broadly divided into two: purposefully...

Heritage meadows have been created as a result of nature-friendly management Coastal meadow is a grassland on the sea shore that is more or less affected by saline seawater. Coastal meadows are located in flat, turfed coastal areas. As animals have historically been grazed there, they are therefore also called coastal pastures or coastal grasslands. Coastal meadows are mainly located in Western...

Since 2002, the Estonian national curricula have included the cross-cutting theme ‘The environment and sustainable development’ Aristokli Hrebtov, the inspector of the schools of Saaremaa and the founder of the Saaremaa Society of Friends of Nature (founded in 1913), prepared a detailed circular letter for schools, titled ‘For the preservation of nature works’, in which he called on people to...

Restrictions may seem incomprehensible and sometimes annoying, but they contribute to the preservation and enhancement of biodiversity and, ultimately, to the improvement of the surrounding environment There is a long list of restrictions. In a very general sense, they can be divided into the following categories: restrictions on movement in protected areas and species protection sites...

The purpose of the marked trails in nature is to introduce natural values to hikers both in and outside protected areas There is no explanation for the meaning, differences, and similarities of the phrases ‘hiking trail’ and ‘nature trail’. It seems that no need for that has arisen. The Estonian Ramblers’ Association’s Matkaseletussõnastik (Explanatory dictionary on hiking) says that a hiking...