Plastic bags kill! Choose cloth bags! campaign was recognized as the winner of the Environmental Award of the Year 04.12.2009 Today, on 1 December at 15:00 the Minister of the Environment Jaanus Tamkivi will present the Environmental Awards of the Year. The ceremony is to take place in the ground floor hall of the Ministry of the Environment (Narva mnt. 7a). Fishing in Lakes Peipus, Lämmijärv and Pskov in 2010 04.12.2009 On the 29th meeting of the Estonian-Russian intergovernmental commission on fishing and questions of conservation and use of fishery resources of lakes Peipus, Lämmijärv and Pskov that took place on 23-27 November in Tartu fishing levels with regard to various species were agreed. How to participate in state land sales auctions 10.11.2009 The Land Board sells immovables belonging to the state at public written auctions in which all persons may take part. State land may be purchased both by Estonian as well as foreign citizens and companies. Ministry of the Environment presented Estonia's position to Finland on the Nord Stream environmental impact assessment 04.11.2009 With its earlier letters (June 8, September 15, October 12), Estonia has called Finland's attention to shortcomings in the Nord Stream environmental impact assessment (EIA) report and to problems that have occurred in the process. With the most recent letter of November 2, Estonia again presented its position to Finland on both the EIA process in question as well as the contents of the report. Sale of State Land to Accelerate 30.10.2009 The Act to Amend State Assets Act and Nature Conservation Act will accelerate transfer of state assets and specify application of pre-emptive right. New Competition for the Environmental Award of the Year 21.10.2009 The Ministry of the Environment announces new competition for the Environmental Award of the Year. The competition is organised in three main categories and all individuals, institutions, companies and organisations that have contributed to the conservation of the environment in the last year are invited to participate. The Land Board sells immovables belonging to the state at public written auctions 23.09.2009 The Land Board sells immovables belonging to the state at public written auctions, in which all persons, taking account of the restrictions prescribed in legislation, may take part. State land may be purchased both by Estonian as well as foreign citizens and companies. From September 2009, Eesti Energia will use chipped wood for electricity production in a move to reinvigorate Estonia’s entire forestry sector and to increase the share of renewable energy. Government decided to sell Estonia’s emission credits 28.08.2009 The Government of the Republic decided to sell Estonia’s surplus emission rights on the international market. The necessary negotiations will be held by a working group, which will include representatives from the Ministry of the Environment, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications. International Conference: Public Policy Choices in Hunting in Eastern and Central European Countries 06.07.2009 16.10.-17.10.2009, Tallinn, Estonia. The aim of the conference is to collate the various organizational aspects of national game management and find appropriate solutions for post-socialist countries. It is important to get overview of the Scandinavian and Central European countries, as those countries have a long-settled practice of hunting rights, game damage and sustainable use of natural resources. It is also valuable to get a knowledge about the effects of the reforms in the game management in post-socialist countries, the land owners hunting right associated with the impact of emerging democracy and which are the ownership conditions today. All landfills failing to comply with environmental requirements to be closed 16.07.2009 According to the Waste Act, all landfills which fail to comply with the requirements shall be closed for waste deposit by 16 July 2009 and be conditioned by 16 July 2013. As of now, the last ten landfills in Estonia failing to comply with the requirements have been closed: Oru, Käina, Sillamäe, Sõmeru, Adiste, Kudjape, Aardlapalu, Valga, Viljandi and Räpo. New landfills have also been brought into compliance with environmental requirements and established, and some closed landfills have already been conditioned The Ministry of the Environment presented Estonia's opinion on Nord Stream environmental impact assessment 08.06.2009 On 8 June, the Ministry of the Environment presented Estonia's position to eight countries pointing out problems and shortcomings in the Nord Stream environmental impact assessment (EIA) report. President of the International Union for Conservation of Nature and the Club of Rome Ashok Khosla visiting the Ministry of the Environment 26.06.2009 On 29 June, the Ministry of the Environment will be visited by Ashok Khosla who is the President of the Club of Rome and the International Union for Conservation of Nature. "We will discuss priority issues and development trends of world nature conservation at our meeting," Hanno Zingel, the Adviser of the Ministry of the Environment, said. "After all, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is the biggest nature and environmental conservation organisation in the world, defining the face of nature conservation on the whole planet and working together with scientists and practicians to develop measures for solving the most important environmental issues," Zingel said. One year from the introduction of mobile payments for free-time fishing 30.06.2009 Free-time fishers have had the possibility to pay for the right to fish for recreation with mobile payments for a year already, which had significantly simplified the process of receiving the right for recreational fishing. "Earlier it was possible to pay for the recreational fishing right on the internet or in a bank, whereas from 1 July 2008, it can be done at any location in Estonia if you have a mobile phone working in the EMT, ELISA or Tele2 mobile network," Ain Soome, Head of the Fisheries Department of the Ministry of the Environment, said. Private forest owners can use support in millions 20.05.2009 Already for the second year, forest owners receive support for private forest land located in Natura 2000 area through Private Forest Centre; in 2009, the divided sum of money will reach 82 million kroons. Counted together with other support from the EU, the private forest owners can apply for a total of more than 100 million kroons. The total amount of other European Union forestry support implemented through the Private Forest Center is 31.4 million kroons this year. Oil shale national development plan got an operational programme 28.05.2009 On 28 May, the Government of the Republic approved the operational programme of the national development plan 2009-2012 for the use of oil shale, which establishes necessary activities and the sums necessary for achieving the objectives of the development plan. Existence of wolf-dog hybrids proven in Estonia for the first time 15.05.2009 In winter 2008; 8 wolves were hunted in Taebla, Lääne County, and six of the young specimen raised the doubts of local hunters as to whether they really were real wolves. "The coloration of two animals were light yellow, which is atypical for wolves, another four animals were, on the contrary, too dark," Peep Männil, Head of the Department of Game Monitoring of the Centre of Forest Protection and Silviculture, explained the hunters' doubts. "However, two older animals hunted from the same pack were definitely wolves." Estonian national meteorological service becoming 90 years old 18.05.2009 On 18 May, Estonian national meteorological service celebrates 90 years of activity. "In fact, the roots of our meteorological service date back to a much earlier year of 1865 when Tartu Observatory was established," Jaan Saar, Director General of Estonian Meteorological and Hydrological Institute (Eesti Meteoroloogia ja Hüdroloogia Instituut, EMHI), noted. "At the same time, our national meteorological services have always had a high scientific and technical level." The Government approved amendments to the Radiation Act 30.04.2009 On 30 April, the Government of the Republic approved the amendment, by which new requirements of the European Union Euratom Directive will be included in the Radiation Act. The main aim of this amendment is to take over the European Union Council Directive on the supervision and control of shipments of radioactive waste and nuclear spent fuel. Production of renewable energy supported with 150 million kroons from the EU 26.03.2009 Jaanus Tamkivi, Minister of the Environment, signed the regulation of the measure, providing the conditions of support from the European Regional Development Fund (ERF) for improving district heating systems and the production of electricity and heat from renewable energy sources. Environmental supervision improves in Estonia with EU support 26.03.2009 The Government of the Republic approved the Investment Plan for enhancing environmental supervision prepared by the Ministry of the Environment, on the basis of which four Environmental Inspectorate projects receive support from the European Regional Development Fund (ERF). State enhances control over extraction of mineral resources 13.03.2009 Estonian Land Board will implement a mineral deposits mining activities aerocontrol project, supported by the foundation Environmental Investment Centre, in order to get an overview of real extraction volumes of mineral resources. Ministry of the Environment to prepare the Forestry Development Plan 12.03.2009 On 12 March, the Government of the Republic approved the proposal to prepare Estonian Forestry Development Plan until 2020 and appointed the Ministry of the Environment to be in charge of the preparation of the plan. The Baltic Sea countries project for the protection of the crested newt was successful 10.03.2009 The project for the protection of the crested newt has come to an end. During the project, 240 small water bodies were restored in South-West Estonia, considerably improving the living conditions of the endangered crested newt, the common spadefoot and all other amphibians found in the region. Estonian Report on the implementation of the Convention on Biological Diversity completed 10.02.2009 The Report on Estonian Biological Diversity prepared in the Ministry of the Environment recognises the activities of the state in protected and special conservation areas; however, it points to weaknesses of conservation management outside protected areas and in case of unprotected species. Andres Talijärv is Deputy Secretary General of the Ministry of the Environment 20.02.2009 On 23 February, Andres Talijärv will commence work as Deputy Secretary General on Nature Conservation and Forestry of the Ministry of the Environment. Participants in the first open discussion of the development plan for mineral resources used in the construction industry, which took place in the Ministry of the Environment on 19 February, emphasised the need to define state interests in the use of construction mineral resources and noted the importance of increased acceptance of environmental requirements in mining. Wetlands monitoring centre commenced work in Nigula 2.02.2009 On 2 February, the Pärnu-Viljandi region of the Environmental Board opened a research and monitoring centre in Nigula, the aim of which is to support the implementation of innovative work methods in nature conservation and to provide support to scientists for studying the wetlands complex. The Minister of the Environment appointed Andres Onemar as Director General of the Environmental Board 29.01.2009 On 29 January, the Minister of the Environment Jaanus Tamkivi appointed Andres Onemar as Director General of the Environmental Board. The proposal to appoint Onemar as Director General was made by the Competition and Evaluation Committee of Higher State Public Servants at the State Chancellery, which chose Onemar from among 12 candidates. |