Environmental monitoring is the continuous surveillance of the status of the environment and the factors affecting it, involving environmental observations, the collection, processing and storage of observation data, the analysis of observation results and the prediction of changes. Its objective is to obtain an overview of the current state of the environment and its changes outside the area of direct human influence.
Overview
The organisation of environmental monitoring is regulated by the Environmental Monitoring Act.
According to the law, environmental monitoring is divided into:
- national environmental monitoring
- local government environmental monitoring
- voluntary environmental monitoring
Environmental monitoring by the companies themselves is important as well, be it organised by the companies on their own initiative or based on the conditions stipulated in the environmental permit.
Although the state of the environment is generally good in Estonia, there are still problems with the spread and reduction of pollution from transport, the preservation of the diversity of nature, and the protection of water bodies. Properly planned and systematic monitoring of the state of the living environment over a long period of time also allows us to evaluate the effectiveness and impact of environmental investments over time.
Environmental monitoring data is generally public. The majority of the data collected during environmental monitoring is compiled into the Environmental Monitoring Database (KESE), which consolidates environmental status data collected under the national environmental monitoring program and related environmental research projects. KESE also includes data from permanent monitoring sites and monitoring objects from the Estonian Nature Information System (EELIS). Additionally, there is a separate information system for company permit-based data called KOTKAS.
More information
- Data
- Legislation