European Landscape Convention –

approaches and solutions in Estonia

Mart Külvik & Kalev Sepp

Environmental Protection Institute, EstoniaEstonian Agricultural University

EPI EAU

Outline

Maintaining of traditional landscapesSpatial planning - defining valuable landscapesLandscape monitoringFinal remarks

Maintaining of traditional landscapes

Why landscape approach?Landscape as a symbol of local identity

• Landscape as a symbol of local identity fades slowly • The landscape as a quality of the living environment is

decreasing• The quality and diversity of Europe's landscapes are

seriously threatened• Traditional landscapes support often richness of biodiversity

Nature conservation extension outside protected areas• Integration of conservation and environmental measures

and instruments• Integration conservation goals into cross-sector policies

Environmental measures supporting traditional

landscapes in Estonia

Agri-Environmental Programme Regulated by the Ministry of Agriculture

Management support for Semi-natural habitat management

Regulated by the Ministry of Environment

AEP implementation in Estonia up to now

2000 Organic farming nationalEstonian Native Cattle national

0,3 ml EUR

2001 Organic farming nationalEstonian Native Cattle nationalSemi-natural habitat man national

EFM, landscape elementsEst Nat Horse, Ab land man 2 pilot areas

2 ml EUR

2002 Organic farming nationalEstonian Native Cattle nationalEstonian Native Horse nationalSemi-natural habitat man nationalEFM 55 municipalities

EFM, landscape elementsmanag of abandoned land 2 pilot areas

3 ml EUR

2004 All measures in national scale

Location of Pilot Areas

Semi-natural habitat management support

Semi-natural habitat management support is paid for:

Management of wooded, floodplain, coastal and other meadows, alvars and wooded pastures; Restoration of semi-natural habitats; Construction of fences.

In 2002 the amount of support for semi-natural

habitat management was 1.2 ml EUR

Wooded meadow 128 EUR/haCoastal meadow 64 EUR/haFloodplain meadow 42 EUR/haOther meadows 26 EUR/haAlvar 30 EUR/haWooded pasture 32 EUR/haRestoration of habitats 128-320 EUR/haConstruction of fences 0,64 EUR/m

Abandoned alvar

Managed alvar

Abandoned coastal meadow

Managed coastal meadow

Managed wooded meadow

Structure of agri-environmental measure in Estonia

1. SEMI-NATURAL HABITATS

1. LOCAL BREEDS AND VARIETIES

Estonian Native Horse, Estonian Native Cattle

2. MANAGEMENT OF ABANDONED ARABLE

LAND

4. CREATION AND MANAGEMENT OF

LANDSCAPE ELEMENTS

Stonewalls, hedges, ponds and wetlands, forest

patches etc.

4. ORGANIC FARMING

3. ENVIRONMENTALLY-FRIENDLY

MANAGEMENT

1. USE OF GOOD PLANT PRODUCTION METHODS

0. GOOD FARMING PRACTICE

Baseline Requirements= Zero Payment

2. SPECIES PROTECTION PROJECTS

Migrating birdsAmphibians (frogs)

Plants

2. VALUABLE LANDSCAPES

2. ENVIRONMENTALLY-FRIENDLY

AGROTECHNOLOGIES

2. SOIL PROTECTION

2. PROTECTION OF

WATERBODIES

Spatial Planning

Governmental decree for second phase of county planning (1999-2002) “Defining environmental conditions for the development of land-use and settlement structure”Responsible unit: Department of Strategy and Planning, MoE.

Green Network Valuable cultural and historical landscapes

Maintaining of traditional landscapes

Criteria for defining valuable cultural and historical landscapes

Cultural and historical values; Esthetical values; Recreational values;Natural values we considered the abundance of natural diversity, rare species or communities; Identity value, the ability of landscape to allow local people to delimit their territory, to identify themselves with the landscape.

The main idea for defining valuable cultural and historical landscapes

Define valuable cultural and historical landscapes;To work out management plans for valuable landscapes;To implement different support schemes (agri-environmental program) on selected areas.

Landscape monitoring

Proposed concept of landscape monitoring

program in Estonia

Landscapemonitoringprograms

Finacialcapacaties,

availabletechnologies

Scientificprinciples

Social andeconomical

values

Experinces ofother countries

Environmentalpolicy

Environmentaland landscape

indicators

Agriculturallandscapemonitoring

Remotesensing of

landscapes

Monitoring ofcoastal

landscapes

Monitoringprotected and

valuablelandscapes

The main purposes of the agricultural monitoring programme were

defined as follows

To follow up and evaluate the environmental effects of land and agricultural reforms;

To define changes in land use structure in the different type of agricultural landscapes (intensive and extensive land use);

To study changes in land cover types, especially fallow land and semi-natural areas;

To explain the connection between landscape structure indicators and the characteristics of ecological status of agricultural landscapes.

Conceptual scheme of agricultural landscape monitoring programme

MONITORING OFAGRICULTURAL

LANDSCAPES

ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY

LEVEL OF HUMANPRESSURE

- MICROORGANISMS- EARTHWORMS- BUMBLEBEES

SPATIALSTRUCTURE OF

LANDSCAPE

- AREAL ELEMENTS- LINEAR ELEMENTS- POINT ELEMENTS

HISTORICALOVERVIEW OF LAND

USE CHANGES

AERIAL PHOTOS

ENVIRONMENTAL INDICATORS

Some final remarksLocal people should have an active role in decision-making on landscape and land-use;Landscapes and traditional land use should become a mainstream in political concern;Different environmental measures (agri-environment, planning, management plans, landscape monitoring etc) should be combined for preserving landscape values;Our decisions today define the mosaics of landscapes including cultural identity in future