How do agri-environmental measures affect the number of bumblebees? In Estonian, bumblebees (genus Bombus) are called rural bees or forest bees. These insects are an essential link for the normal functioning of the living environment and the economy, including agriculture. We look at the benefits of environmental measures, which should, among other things, help save pollinators. Bumblebees belong...

Each of us can preserve biodiversity when we move around as tourists Over the last hundred years, the tourism industry has become an important and constantly growing industry. Travelling and discovering new places is a popular hobby and recreational activity for many people. Unfortunately, there is a price for curiosity, which is also reflected in environmental problems, for example – air travel...

There is more and more talk of biodiversity-friendly tourism There is an increasing focus in the world on making informed choices to conserve natural resources and the environment. This also applies to the tourism industry, and includes saving and using water and energy wisely, reducing and sorting trash and waste, consuming local products, favouring environmentally friendly materials, and...

A species protection site is a protected area established for the protection of the habitats and sites of protected species A species protection site is an area located outside of a protected area or in the limited management zone of a protected area, which is delimited according to the Nature Conservation Act and can be used in accordance with special requirements, and which is: the reproduction...

A protected species is a taxonomic unit of an animal, plant, or fungal species whose specimens, habitats, or places of finding are protected under the Nature Conservation Act or are listed in Annexes A to D of EU Council Regulation (EC) No 338/97. A protected fossil or mineral is a fossil or mineral included in a protected category, the specimens or deposits of which are protected on the basis of...

At the local government level, a protected natural object may be a landscape, valuable agricultural land, valuable natural community, a single element of the landscape, a park, a green area, or a single element of landscaping that is not protected as an individual protected natural object or located in a protected area. Only the limited management zone regime applies to an area protected by the...

An individual protected natural object is a living or non-living natural object of scientific, aesthetic, or historical-cultural value, such as a tree, spring, erratic boulder, waterfall, rapids, cliff, terrace, outcrop, cave, karst site, or a group of them, which is protected under the Nature Conservation Act Upon the entry into force of a decision on the protection of an individual protected...

The function of the biodiversity information network is performed by the Loodusveeb portal The national contact point/person of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) is the Ministry of the Environment/Liina Vaher, whose task is to coordinate the implementation of the CBD and the policy for the protection and use of biological diversity. The national contact point of the biodiversity...

Estonia has submitted five general reports on compliance with the requirements of the convention Article 26 of the Convention on Biological Diversity requires the acceded countries to report to the secretariat of the convention on the achievement of the objectives set out in the convention, as well as to describe what has been done and its effectiveness. Estonia has submitted five general reports...

The purpose of monitoring is to provide information on changes in the state of the environment in Estonia. The objective of wildlife monitoring is to determine: the changes in species abundance and distribution and in communities; the impact of land use on biodiversity (such as the impact of the increasingly intense agricultural activity on insects or birds). The purpose of monitoring species and...