Biodiversity ensures the well-being of people One of the most important ideas of the Age of Enlightenment was that man stands outside nature, studies and rules it. Unfortunately, this idea is still present in Western civilization today and may also be the main cause of the modern ecological crisis. In ecological terms, man does not stand outside nature, but is critically dependent on it. The...

Sustainable development improves people’s quality of life in line with the resilience of the environment Sustainable development is one of the most important priorities of the policies of the world, the European Union, the Baltic Sea region, and also Estonia. The aim of sustainable development is to achieve a balance between the social, economic, and environmental spheres and to ensure a full...

A green office pays attention to the environmental awareness of employees and the promotion of it among them, as well as the general environmental and health friendliness of the office premises The goal of an environmentally friendly or green office is to continuously monitor and reduce the organisation’s environmental impact, which results in cost savings, sustainable use of natural resources...

Green events are events with little or no environmental impact. A key component is reducing the natural resources used at the event, such as water, food, energy, and waste [1]. The inclusion of green thinking in the organisation of events began at the 1992 Rio de Janeiro conference, when it was noted that events also have negative effects. This, together with Agenda 21, provided the basis for...

A procurement is purchasing goods or services under the terms of an agreement A green public procurement, or GPP, means the procurement of products or services with a minimal environmental impact. The main objective of green procurements is to reduce the environmental impact of products and services that arises from their production, use, and disposal, i.e. throughout the life cycle of the product...

In Estonia, nature conservation is organised by several agencies of the Ministry of the Environment The Ministry of the Climate is responsible for organising environmental and nature conservation, performing tasks related to land and spatial databases, organising the use, protection, reproduction, and accounting of natural resources, ensuring radiation protection, performing tasks related to...

In the section on green initiatives, we take a closer look at how any organisation or company, or indeed any person, can reduce the negative environmental impacts of their activities and thus contribute to improving the state of the environment and protect biodiversity. Green procurements are a powerful administrative tool for both the public and private sectors in moving towards more...

As at 31 December 2024, there were a total of 4506 protected natural objects in Estonia. That is 51 objects more than in the previous year. In the following, the difference in the number of objects compared to 2023 is shown in brackets. The more detailed breakdown by type is as follows: nature reserves – 242 (no change ↔); landscape protection areas – 150 (no change ↔); national parks – 6 (no...

The aim of the fisheries agreements is cooperation on the sustainable exploitation of fisheries resources and the fight against illegal fishing Under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), adopted in 1982, states have the right to control fishing in the waters adjacent to their coasts. Under the convention, countries are required to conclude reciprocal fisheries agreements...

The aim of the agreements is to regulate cooperation between countries on the sea, with the main emphasis of combating marine pollution There are many agreements for the protection of the seas in the world. Estonia has joined several of them [1]. The aim of the agreements is to regulate cooperation between countries on the sea, with the main emphasis of combating marine pollution. The most...