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Many animals that are considered threatened species in the rest of Europe, such as lynx, greylag goose and bumblebees, are very common in Estonia. However, nothing can be taken for granted. The power of nature and the need to protect it has been understood in Estonia since ancient times. In 2010, official nature conservation will celebrate its 100th anniversary. On 14 August 1910, Vaika bird protection area, the first bird sanctuary on Vilsandi, was established, which later expanded and became Vilsandi National Park. Currently, almost 18% of land is protected in Estonia. As of 1 January 2010, there were 3543 protected natural objects in Estonia including: * 131 nature conservation areas;
Lääne County boasts the biggest percentage of protected areas (about 32%); the lowest percentage of protected areas is in Põlva County (about 9%). The smallest protected area is the Roheline turg (the "Green Market", a park in Tallinn) with 0.05 ha whereas the largest protected area is Lahemaa National Park with its 72,504 ha. The average size of protection areas is 759 ha.
A century and more ago, the protection of nature depended on common sense and the initiative of people who loved the nature but, by now, Estonia has acceded to several conventions and applied the requirements of different directives to protect its nature. However, this piece of land, which is hardly recognisable on the map of the world, is home to 1.3 million people. In order to cope in our climate, people need warm houses; in order to heat the houses, it is necessary to use natural resources. Each of us has an impact on the environment - the question is how big this impact will be. Nature conservation is the balancing force between our desires and the possibilities the environment can offer; it has the function of ensuring that our common resources are used economically and will be preserved for generations to come. Nature conservation concerns all of us - each one of us is a conservationist. |
