This is the oldest transnational nature conservation agreement. Estonia joined the wetland protection agreement, or the Ramsar Convention, in 1994. “Initially, the Ramsar Convention concentrated on the protection of wetlands from the viewpoint of the wellbeing of waterfowl,” Chief Specialist at the Ministry of the Environment Herdis Fridolin said. ”By today, all 160 countries that have joined the Convention are cooperating on protection and rational use of all different wetland ecosystems, acknowledging the highly diverse role of wetlands, first and foremost, in ensuring the well-being of people,” he specified. The parties of the Convention are taking steps for protection of wetlands, one of the most definite of which is submitting wetlands to the list of wetlands of international importance. From Estonia, 12 areas have been added to the Ramsar list and four additional areas have been submitted, but the Ramsar office has not approved of them yet. “First and foremost, Estonia has valued our unique bog landscapes and integral marsh complexes as Ramsar areas, including Alam-Pedja, Emajõe-Suursoo, Murakas and Soomaa,” Fridolin said. ”Other areas worth mentioning are the important gathering spots of waterfowl on the coast of the Baltic Sea, for example, Matsalu and Vilsandi National Park, which are internationally known among bird-lovers,” he noted. Fridolin specified that together with the Latvians we also have a cross-border Ramsar area Northern Livonia, including Latvian Ziemelu purvi in addition to Estonian Nigula and Sookuninga bogs. ”All Estonian Ramsar areas are also valued nationally – as protected or special conservation areas, as well as Natura 2000 areas in the European context.” Needless to say that protection of wetlands is not merely limited to naming of areas and placing them under protection; efforts are also made for restoration of wetlands. A good example in Estonia is the restoration and maintenance of coastal meadows and meadow fields, also restoration of old peat excavation sites and marshes ruined by drainage as functional wetlands. Wetlands are the communities in which the main shaper of living conditions of plants and animals is water: rivers and lakes, swamps and bogs, flooded meadows, wet forests and low sea areas. Additional information on the Ramsar Convention is available at www.ramsar.org. |
