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The world Wetlands Day celebrated on 2 February

Thursday, 2 February, marks the 41st anniversary of the signing of the Convention on Wetlands of International Importance in Ramsar, Iran.  In Estonia, this day will be celebrated by holding several events.

Wetlands are ecological communities where the main source of living conditions for the flora and fauna is water: rivers and lakes, fens and bogs, flooded meadows, wet forests and shallow sea areas.

 

The Ramsar Convention, signed for the protection of wetlands and stressing the great ecological role of wetlands, is the oldest international agreement on nature conservation. At present, a total of 160 countries have joined the Convention and the List of Wetlands of International Importance includes 1,994 wetlands. Estonia joined the Convention in 1994.  On 20 January of this year, the Ramsar office added three new areas from Estonia to the list: Agusalu, Leidissoo and Lihula. This brings the total number of Estonian sites (including the national parks of Matsalu, Vilsandi and Soomaa and the nature reserves of Alam-Pedja and Endla) included in the List of Wetlands of International Importance to sixteen.

The topic of this year’s World Wetland Day was sustainable tourism. In Estonia, this day will be celebrated by holding several seminars:
 
On Thursday, 2 February at 10 there will be a seminar “Estonian wetlands 2012 - where are we now and where are we heading?” at the Tartu office of the Environmental Board (at Aleksandri 14). The seminar will cover topics on the status of wetlands, especially swamps - the plans and actions of state authorities, businesses and NGOs in this field. The subject fields included the preservation, protection and restoration of swamps, water policy, excavation of peat and oil shale, swamp tourism, nature education and swamp archeology. Projects related to wetlands will also be introduced. The seminar is organised by the Estonian Fund for Nature, the Environmental Board, MTÜ Eesti Märgalade Ühing (NGO Estonian Wetlands Association) and MTÜ Peipsi Koostöö Keskus (NGO Peipsi Centre for Transboundary Cooperation). The event is supported by the Environmental Investment Centre and all organising organisations.
Additional information: Piret Pungas, Project Manager, MTÜ Peipsi Koostöö Keskus, , 5344 0791, www.ctc.ee.
 
On Thursday, 2 February the State Forest Management Centre (RMK) will hold a student conference for students from southern Läänemaa at the Penijõe centre of the Matsalu National Park. The aim of the conference is to raise the students’ awareness of environmental issues and to induce them to study and analyse nature. The conference is dedicated to the 55th anniversary of the Matsalu National Park and the 100th anniversary of the birth of Eerik Kumari.
Additional information: Marju Pajumets, Visitor Manager of Western Estonia, RMK, .
 
On Friday, 3 February the Environmental Board will hold a conference “Matsalu 55” in the Penijärve manor.  In the conference changes in the nature of Matsalu and research conducted in the field will be discussed, and tourism activities throughout the existence of the protected area will be compared. Speakers who will share their memories include the first and the latest director of the Matsalu administration. Also, an exhibition celebrating the 100th anniversary of the birth of Erik Kumari, an internationally noted scientist, will be presented. The target group of the conference will be the local key personnel, representatives of local municipalities and nature conservation workers. The conference will be free of charge and the organisation of the conference will be supported by the Environmental Investment Centre.

More information and registration: Tiina Smõtskov, Assistant Adviser, Administrative Department, the Environmental Board, 472 4234, .
 
On 8 and 9 February the Environmental Board will hold a seminar “Protected areas, tourism and local communities” in the Vanaõue Holiday Centre in Viljandimaa. The main topic of the first day is nature tourism in general, various networks and organisations. On the second day we welcome local organisations, local governments, NGOs, local residents and tourism businesses to participate in a panel discussion. The seminar is supported by Enterprise Estonia and the Environmental Investment Centre
Additional information: Anneli Roosalu, Specialist on Cultural Heritage, Pärnu-Viljandi region, the Environmental Board, 5308 9165.
 
In addition to seminars you can also find study materials on Estonian wetlands on the website of the Environmental Board: (http://www.keskkonnaamet.ee/teenused/keskkonnaharidus-2/oppematerjalid-2/). A presentation “Estonian wetlands” with additional information for teachers, study programmes on wetlands in Estonian and Russian and the film clips and hand-outs of the teaching aid “Turbakohver” (PeatCase). This teaching aid has been prepared in order to introduce the creation and development of swamps, swamp flora, the ecological links in a swamp, the content and uses of peat. The teaching aid can be rented for free from the Tartu Environmental Education Centre, the Peipsi Centre for Transboundary Cooperation and from the Otepää, Võru and Räpina offices of the Environmental Board.