Nature protection and biodiversity - Outlook 2020 (Estonia)

Conservation of a diverse wildlife only in protected areas is not a sustainable solution for biodiversity. In addition to protected areas, planning of human activities requires the ability to assess and forecast the impact on the overall natural environment. Experience shows that environmental impact assessments focus primarily on impacts on the human environment with the impacts on wildlife often ignored.

To give biodiversity a chance of remaining at the 2010 the level in 2020, all Estonian planning and environmental impact assessment systems should turn to ecosystem-based balanced planning, building and maintenance of all human activities. To do so, the current status of economic activities and biodiversity should be simultaneously documented for all ecosystems throughout the country and on this basis the necessary areas should be defined both for sustainable economic activity and for the protection of balanced ecosystems. Many guidelines and handbooks need to be compiled, the most important being for defining, valuing and sustainably maintaining ecosystem services.