On April 16, at 10 a.m., a seminar concerning the possibilities for financing nature protection activities will be held in the Ministry of the Environment. At the seminar, an overview will be given concerning the possibilities and experience of nature protection financing in Finland as a European Union (EU) Member State as well as on the current practices of nature protection financing in Estonia and prospectives after the country’s accession to the EU. Within 2002, nature protection activities were funded from the state budget and the nature protection programme of the Estonian Environmental Investment Centre. According to Mr. Tiit Sillaots, Adviser of the Nature Protection Department of the Ministry of the Environment, the total amount of funding was over 66 million Estonian kroon (EEK) (equivalent to approximately 4.2 million EUR). The largest share was used for seminatural grasslands management support (19 mln EEK) and for the implementation of the Nature 2000 Programme (5.2 mln EEK). 15.6 mln EEK was used for the management of protected areas. The volume of the nature protection programme of the Estonian Environmental Investment Centre in 2002 was 22.7 mln EEK. Increase of biological and landscape diversity is also among the objectives of the agri-environmental support measures. Of the EU funds, the LIFE-Nature Programme - for which Estonia has been eligible since 2001 - has been dealing with nature protection financing to date. So far the LIFE-Nature Programme has decided to finance seven projects submitted from Estonia, with the total amouont of some 50 mln EEK over three years. The future of this programme, however, is not quite clear according to Ms. Liina Eek-Piirsoo, Chief Specialist of the Nature Protection Department of the Ministry of the Environment. In the future, there is hope for funding nature protection activities in addition to national sources also from the EU structural funds. According to Ms. Tiina Pedak, Specialist of the Strategies and Investment Department, the preservation of biological and landscape diversity has been included in Estonia’s National Development Programme (2003-2006) among other objectives of the use of structural funds. This implies that the submission of nature protection projects for funding through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) should be possible in the coming years. According to Mr. Aivar Küttim, Head of the ISPA Bureau of the Strategies and Investment Department, it will also be possible to apply to the EU Cohesion Fund for funding nature conservation projects. For submission, the projects will need to be important from the EU environmental policies viewpoint and coincide with the priorities of both the EU and the member state. For additional information please contact: |
