A week ago, the rural municipality leaders of Nabala area agreed with Jaanus Tamkivi that additional surveys are needed in the naturally complicated environment of Tuhala Witchwell and the whole Nabala area, to get as accurate overview of the situation as possible. „We came to an understanding with the leaders of the rural municipalities that we have similar interests in protecting the environment, and the Ministry will carry out additional surveys to get to know the Nabala karst area better,“ Tamkivi said. The planned surveys also include boring and electrometrical work, as well as working with a georadar. In addition to that, the experts plan to determine the cross-sections of underground rivers and their quantities of current. Ants Talioja, representative of MTÜ Tuhala Looduskeskus, and Aivar Pohlak, chairman of Environmental Committee of Kose rural municipality, also agreed with carrying out these works. At the same time, all the participants emphasized the need for a jointly devised primary task for carrying out the planned studies. For that, a working group will be formed and another meeting will take place in two weeks. „In addition to representatives of the public, we certainly need to involve scientists with different viewpoints and enable independent observers to be present at the surveys,“ Tamkivi emphasized. „We need to reach a conclusion that is understandable and acceptable to everyone.“ These are extremely voluminous surveys and their cost will only become clear in the process of drawing up the primary task, and in the actual work process. After the primary task has been jointly drawn up, the application for funding the project will be submitted to the Environmental Investment Centre. Hopefully, the surveys can begin already this year, but it is too soon to predict the time for getting the final results. At the moment, environmental impact is being assessed in Nabala. The Ministry has also suggested to the Environmental Protection Agency to consider the expediency of establishing a Nabala landscape protection area. „The more data we have, the better we can estimate this area. So let the experts work, Tuhala Witchwell will benefit from it as well,“ Tamkivi remarked. The participants also found it necessary to emphasize in the national development plan of natural building resources that in case of Nabala, we are dealing with an area with a complex water regime. Until the surveys are completed, issuing extraction permits in Nabala mineral deposit is prohibited.
Additional information: (4.05.2010) |
