Transcript Estonian Ornithological Society LIFE00NAT/EE/7082

Estonian Ornithological Society
LIFE00NAT/EE/7082
Project title:
Restoration and management of the Häädemeeste
wetland complex
• Duration:
01.08.2001-30.04.2005
• Total budget: 675 286 EUR
LIFE Nature contribution 75 % (506 465 EUR)
• Location:
SW-Estonia, Pärnu County, Häädemeeste,
Tahkuranna and Surju local communities. 10 000 ha
• Partners:
Pärnumaa Environmental Department
Häädemeeste Community
The State Forestry Centre
Littorina Sea
dunes
Timmkanal
Ancylus Lake dunes
The location and borders of
the Rannametsa-Soometsa
Nature reserve
Conservation status of the
project site
• Rannametsa-Soometsa NR established in 2000
• Partially the area was the Landscape Reserve
since 1968
• No personnel and management plan
• Due to high values area is getting more
international designations:
IBA (global level)
Candidate of Ramsar area
Candidate SPA & cSAC (Natura 2000)
Need for the Project
• Habitat degradation, habitat loss
• Poor local economical situation
• Not enough resources on governmental
level
• Land ownership
• Land use (hunting, drainage, logging)
• Tourism pressure
• Community (un)awareness
Main goals
• to secure the favourable
conservation status of the
habitats and species of the European
Community importance
• to get experiences in management
of a reserve with the complex range
of habitats, threats and interests and
as a potential Natura 2000 site
• to get control over the land use,
recreation and tourism activities
and lead them towards sustainability
Main goals
• to use the project as demonstrative example for various kind of pilot
activities of conservational management
• to test the model of protected area management, based on NGO,
state, local authorities, private landowners/landusers and other
stakeholder interplay
• to involve the local society into the conservational management
activities and improve the economics
• to rise the public awareness and enhance the understanding of
current nature conservation highlights
A1. Management plan
C7. Bufo calamita ponds
E12. Map, leaflet for visitors
A2. Steering committee
formation
C8. Cleaning coastal
meadows
E13. Leaflet for farmers
A3. Bog hydrological
assessment
D1. Livestock purchase
E14. Tourism facilities
A4. Public meeting
D2. Grazing on coastal
meadows
E15. Camp sites
A5. Contracts and
management agreements
D3. Mowing coastal meadows
E16. Bird watching towers
A6. Survey of land ownership
and status
E1. Work with media
E17. Bird-watching hide
B1. Land lease
E2. Guided visits
E18. Information building
B2. Land purchase
E3. Children’s summer camp
E19. Signs, info-boards
C1. Blocking drainage
ditches in Tolkuse Bog
E4. Stakeholder meetings
F1. Work of steering committee
C2. Bog restoration
E5-E7. Seminars
F2. Project daily management
C3. Restoration of sand
patches
E8. Pupils creative competition F3. Monitoring of effects
C4. Restoration of fishpond
E9. Photo database
F4. Assign of experts
C5. Water level management
on coastal meadows
E10. Travelling photo
exhibition
F5. Project audit
C6. Sheds, fences on coastal
meadows
E11. WEB page
Project preparation process
• We organised a public meeting during the project
writing process, where we informed the local community
about possibility of getting funds from LIFE Nature and
asked peoples´ opinions about the actions.
People gave their impressions about the changes in
nature, showed their discontent about the specific issues
like coastal meadow overgrowing, lack of information
and knowledge, also an interest to contribute. Several
project actions and practical solutions came from locals,
knowing the area and management techniques best.
Obvious problems in bogs:
40 ha of peat cutting fields
Large scale marginal drains
Channel, dug through the bog in 1860-ies
Changes in landscape
• large bog waterbodies, open in 1950-ies,
have changed to swamps or quagmires
• Owergrowth with pine
Collaboration with:
• Nigula Nature reserve
• Tallinn Pedagogical University, Institute of
Ecology, Mire research group
• Univerśity of Wageningen
• Agricultural University of Uppsala
• Technical designs from company “Maa ja
vesi”
Problems quite underestimated in press and public:
Interviews in Estonian radio, BBC
The dam was built to close
the “Kalakraav” ditch in
summer 2005
Water table has risen 175 cm during 3 weeks
The mire restoration seminar in Ministry of Environment
The pictures,
management plan
and text of
mire restoration report
can be found
www.luitemaa.eoy.ee
Thank You