Eesti-Šveitsi koostööprogrammi teise etapi taotluse esitamine

Suur-Ameerika 1 / Tallinn 10122 / 626 2802/ [email protected] / www.kliimaministeerium.ee/

Registrikood 70001231

Riigi Tugiteenuste Keskus

12.04.2024 nr 4-5/24/2-2

Eesti-Šveitsi koostööprogrammi teise etapi taotluse

esitamine

21. novembril 2022. a allkirjastatud Šveitsi teise toetuse rakendamise raamkokkuleppe kohaselt

edastame teise etapi täpsustatud taotluse toetusmeetme „Elurikkuse programm“ elluviimiseks.

Programm koosneb kahest komponendist, mida rakendavad Keskkonnaagentuur ja

Keskkonnaamet.

Lugupidamisega

(allkirjastatud digitaalselt)

Kristen Michal

kliimaminister

Lisad: Taotlus koos lisadega

Kairi Toiger, 626 2931

[email protected]

Second Swiss Contribution

EstoniaEstonia

Support Measure Proposal 05.02.202405.02.2024

Title Bio-Diversity Programme

Executing Agency Ministry of Climate

Partner State Support Measure Code (if any)

n/a

Support Measure Type Programme

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Content

1. Basic information ...................................................................................................... 4

2. Strategic Support Measure description ................................................................... 5

2.1 Lead ............................................................................................................................ 5

2.2 Context and relevance ................................................................................................. 5

2.3 Impact hypothesis / Objectives .................................................................................. 10

2.4 Intervention Strategy .................................................................................................. 11

2.5 Beneficiaries .............................................................................................................. 12

2.6 Programme Component Characteristics and regional focus....................................... 13

2.7 Overview Swiss Support Measure Partners ............................................................... 13

2.8 Sustainability ............................................................................................................. 14

2.9 Overview tentative budget.......................................................................................... 14

2.10 Other strategic issues ................................................................................................ 14

3. Support Measure readiness .................................................................................... 15

3.1 Context ...................................................................................................................... 15

3.2 Preparation process and documents .......................................................................... 15

3.3 Application for funds from Support Measure Preparation Fund .................................. 16

4. Operational Support Measure description ............................................................. 16

4.1 Applying organisation (Executing Agency) ................................................................. 16

4.1.1 Financial and personnel information (only to be completed for non-state institutions)

.............................................................................................................................. 16

4.1.2 Organisation structures of Executing Agency and Support Measure ..................... 16

4.1.3 Support Measure management team .................................................................... 18

4.1.4 Programme and project management experience ................................................. 19

4.2 Detailed intervention strategy and activities ............................................................... 20

4.2.1 Detailed description of activities and intervention strategy ..................................... 20

4.2.2 Detailed description of selection process for Programme Components ................. 22

4.2.3 Communication activities ....................................................................................... 22

4.2.4 Detailed implementation schedule ......................................................................... 23

4.3 Logframe ................................................................................................................... 25

4.4 Swiss Support Measure Partner(s) ............................................................................ 28

4.5 Stakeholder consultations .......................................................................................... 28

4.6 Tentative Budget ........................................................................................................ 29

4.6.1 Detailed tentative budget ....................................................................................... 29

4.6.2 Tentative Disbursement Plan ................................................................................ 30

4.7 Risk Analysis and Risk Management ............................................................................. 31

4.8 Monitoring and Steering ............................................................................................. 32

4.9 Other operational issues ............................................................................................ 32

5. Annexes .................................................................................................................... 33

Annex 2: Overview of Implementation locations ............................................................. 34

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Basic Programme Component Information ..................................................................... 34

6. Programme Component Operator .......................................................................... 35

6.1 Basic Information ....................................................................................................... 35

6.2 Programme Component Operator Management ........................................................ 35

6.3 Programme Component Management ....................................................................... 36

6.4 Programme and Project Management Experience ..................................................... 37

7. Programme Component Description ...................................................................... 38

7.1 Short Summary .......................................................................................................... 38

7.2 Activities and Expected Results ................................................................................. 38

7.3 Beneficiaries .............................................................................................................. 39

7.4 Sustainability ............................................................................................................. 40

7.5 Budget ....................................................................................................................... 40

7.6 Risk Analysis and Risk Management ......................................................................... 40

8. Annexes .................................................................................................................... 41

Basic Programme Component Information ..................................................................... 41

9. Programme Component Operator .......................................................................... 41

9.1 Basic Information ....................................................................................................... 41

9.2 Programme Component Operator Management ........................................................ 42

9.3 Programme Component Management ....................................................................... 43

9.4 Programme and Project Management Experience ..................................................... 45

10. Programme Component Description ...................................................................... 46

10.1 Short Summary .......................................................................................................... 46

10.2 Activities and Expected Results ................................................................................. 46

10.3 Beneficiaries .............................................................................................................. 48

10.4 Sustainability ............................................................................................................. 49

10.5 Budget ....................................................................................................................... 49

10.6 Risk Analysis and Risk Management ......................................................................... 49

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1. Basic information

Title Bio-Diversity Programme

Support Measure Type ProgrammeProgramme

Objective Protecting the environment and the climateProtecting the

environment and the climate

Thematic Area Nature conservation and biodiversityNature conservation

and biodiversity

Planned Duration [months] 52

Requested Swiss contribu-

tion (CHF)

6 930 000

Requested co-financing

rate of Switzerland [%]

85%

Name of the Executing

Agency

Ministry of Climate

Type of entity National administrationNational administration

If type of entity is “other”,

describe the type briefly

-

Name of contact person Kairi Toiger

Position Senior Officer, Financial Department, Ministry of Climate

Correspondence address Suur-Ameerika 1, 10122 Tallinn, Eesti

E-Mail [email protected]

Webpage and social media

(if any)

https://kliimaministeerium.ee/

https://www.facebook.com/kliimaministeerium

https://twitter.com/MOEestonia

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfeXgaJw0LCpLx7-

X169F6w

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfeXgaJw0LCpLx7-

X169F6w

Phone +372 6262 931 Mobile

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Has the Executing Agency previously received funding from the

Swiss Contribution? Yes☒ No☐

Abbreviations:

EELIS – Estonian Nature Information System

KAUR – Estonian Environment Agency

KeA – Environmental Board of Estonia

KeMIT – Information Technology Centre of the Ministry of the Envi-

ronment

KESE – Environmental Monitoring Information System

MoC – Ministry of Climate

NCU – National Coordination Unit

2. Strategic Support Measure description

2.1 Lead

The goal of the Programme is the creation of preconditions for the improvement of conserva- tion status of threatened habitats and species through decision making that relies on high- quality data, e. g.:

• Implementation of innovative monitoring solutions.

• Ensuring operative data transition between different databases.

• Making environmental data more accessible for public.

• Setting up and validating digital toolset for the governance.

• Evaluation of management effectiveness planning of protected areas, revision of site- based conservation objectives and measures for protected species and habitats and additional compilation of site-based management plans.

• The evaluation and additional compilation of national action plans for species and hab-

itats and the revision of protected categories of species (category I, category II and

category III). The intervention will build on the results of various past and ongoing initiatives, like applied research projects on nature conservation in relation to climate change and on existing state monitoring and planning systems for protected areas.

2.2 Context and relevance

Current Situation

Estonia's land area is 45,339 km2, which is slightly larger than Switzerland and the sea area is

36,622 km2. 60% of Estonia is covered with forest and mires and 20.5% of the land is under

nature protection. Also, 18.7% of the sea is protected. With a unique location, Estonian nature

is very diverse, and it is especially important for migratory birds, who stay here to rest and nest.

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During the migration period, millions of birds pass through Estonia, and it is the bottleneck for

most of the Artic waterbirds.

Although in a significant share of Estonia nature values are protected, the status of biodiversity

in Estonia is far from being without concern. Of the 15,000 species assessed during 2017-

2021 for the update of the Red List in Estonia, only half are in status “Least Concern“, which

means that the other half of the species are „Near Threatened“, „Vulnerable“, „Endangered“,

Critically Endangered“ or „Extinct in the Region“. Unfortunately, the population sizes of mam-

mals, birds, fish, amphibians and reptiles have seen an alarming average drop of 68% since

1970 in the whole world. According to the EU Habitats Directive reporting (2019) 57% of the

habitats and 56% of the species in Estonia are in favourable status, which is better than in

most of the EU member states (in EU, only 14.7% of the habitats and 27.5% of the species

are in favourable status). But 44% of the species and 43% of the habitats are in unfavourable

(inadequate or bad) conservation status in Estonia.

We must continue to preserve and improve the status of the species and habitats. To do so,

we have created a network of protected areas and system to assess the status of the species

and habitats. However, it is not enough and Estonia must contribute to global target to protect

at least 30% of land and sea area. At the moment, there are six national parks, 234 nature

conservation areas, 148 landscape conservation areas, 312 limited-conservation areas and

1,847 species’ protection sites in Estonia (November 2022) (Looduskaitse statistika | Keskkon-

naportaal). Approximately 70% of the protected area in Estonia is managed according to man-

agement plans. However, all protected areas still do not have an appropriate management

plan or existing management plans are based on out-of-date data. Only 52% category I (i.e.

rare and at risk of disappearence) species, 12% of category II species (i.e. species in danger

of disappearance if the existing factors continue operating ) and 2% of category III species (i.e.

species whose population is endangered by the deterioration or damaging of habitats and has

been reduced to a point where they are believed to move into the endangered category if the

causal factors continue operating) have a national action plan. Relevant and updated site-

based management plans and national action plans with specific targets are necessary to as-

sess the efficiency of the implemented measures. A systematic understanding is needed to

understand which of the applied conservation measures are fit for purpose and what needs to

be changed. Most management plans lack the level of detail.

The compilation of management plans has been a time-consuming process and needs to be

revised. To achieve and maintain the good status of protected areas in Estonia, it is crucial to

continue the successful interventions and replicate them in areas where the status of habitats

and the functioning of ecosystems is still not good. To do so, an appropriate framework in

Estonia, including a methodology and an action plan for its implementation, for the assessment

of effectiveness of biodiversity conservation measures needs to be established. An effective

framework will allow Estonia to understand the main factors hindering the protection of biodi-

versity and design better targeted conservation and restoration measures. Also, surveys, in-

ventories and monitoring must be carried out to observe how the conditions change over time.

There are more than 50 different types of biodiversity monitoring schemes implemented every

year and mostly it is carried out by humans. Also, the status and abundance of game species,

including large carnivores is monitored. The volume of the monitoring depends on the available

budget and also on the available specialists and developed methodologies. Often, monitoring

can be carried out in a specific period (e.g spring, summer, vegetation period, nesting period,

etc.) and limited number of specialists are not capable to cover the necessary area in one year.

For decades, same methodologies have been used in monitoring, but technology is evolving

at a tremendous rate and sometimes more specific data is needed (e.g. DNA data to assess

whether the population is strong and genetically diverse and how it changes over time).

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New solutions and technology should be used more in biodiversity monitoring as this can be

helpful in the absence of specialists and with the help of technology larger areas could be

covered during the short suitable period for monitoring. Also, thanks to the new technology

additional valuable information can be collected, which is necessary in decision making (e.g.

the size of a specific species` habitat etc). There are already 3D bird radars, bird sound recog-

nition applications, artificial intelligence (AI), affordable cameras, remote monitoring solutions,

etc., which could be adjusted and tested in the biodiversity monitoring. We have already tested

some solutions on a smaller scale like AI in the monitoring of the game species, drones, sen-

sors, acoustic and telemetry transmitters. Potential of the technology is not sufficiently recog-

nized and as new methods are costly to test on a large scale and long time period, good solu-

tions are often discarded (e.g eDNA). It is necessary to implement old and new methods at the

same time in a short period in order to allow smooth transition and providing enough time for

the new solution to justify itself. Also, one reason for using the same methodologies for dec-

ades, is the reason of uninterrupted data series that new methodologies could affect. Imple-

menting old and new at the same time is necessary to understand whether and how much the

results differ and this gives the opportunity to continue uninterrupted data series.

Nature related data is inserted and processed mainly in two systems in Estonia: Estonian Na-

ture Information System (EELIS) and Environmental Monitoring Information System (KESE).

Both systems need to be improved to make them more user-friendly and easier to use, both

for public servants and ordinary citizens. Those systems are not prepared for today’s and fu-

ture needs. The current system does not provide sufficient information to assess whether the

conservation actions are adequate to sustain resilient ecosystems and halt biodiversity loss.

The present system does not take into account socio-economic impacts. Also, some of the

important data is maintained in third-party systems (e.g PlutoF Biodiversity Platform) and ig-

noring this data in decision making would be a mistake. It is necessary to create connections

which would enable data transfer between systems. Authorities lack the tools and sufficient

competences to analyse the effectiveness of conservation measures and conduct a multi-pur-

pose interpretation of large datasets in an interdisciplinary manner. Decisions made using the

monitoring results depend on the volume and quality of the data. Among other things, it is

necessary to speed up the data flow. For example, information of the protected species must

be transformed from one system into another manually (from KESE to EELIS), which is time-

consuming and there is always a risk that important data is not taken into account in the plan-

ning process or while issuing permits. Also, the analytical capacity should be improved, which

can be done by improving information systems and creating automatic solutions that can

quickly analyse great amount of data in a few moves. This will ensure the quality, transparency

and reliability of the data.

Nature information must be public, easy to understand and attractive. According to the survey

carried out in Estonia in 2020, 21% of Estonians think that environmental data is not accessible

and according to the survey carried out in 2022, interest in the environmental issues has de-

creased compared to 2020. Information systems as important resources were rarely men-

tioned. It is also necessary to promote citizen science. Citizen science can be defined as the

non-professional involvement of volunteers in the scientific process, commonly in data collec-

tion, but also in other phases such as quality assurance, data analysis and interpretation, prob-

lem definition and the dissemination of results. Citizen science can play an important role by

filling data gaps where conventional data sources may not be sufficient, providing complemen-

tary temporal and spatial data that supports official monitoring systems. However, and despite

its value and potential, it is still underused. Besides collecting additional data, promoting citizen

science gives the opportunity to raise environmental awareness, which is one of the keys in

the implementation of the Green Deal and moving towards a sustainable economy. We have

already developed the Nature Observation application, but at the moment it is not possible to

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submit observations via the website. Also, where possible, the volunteers should be integrated

into the monitoring schemes.

Strategies

The Support Measure contributes directly to the implementation of the Estonian Environmental

Development Plan until 2030 (draft)

According to the draft plan the goal of nature conservation is that the status of native species,

ecosystems and landscapes has improved - Estonia is nature positive.

The targets to achieve the goal are:

1. We preserve and improve native species and habitats and biodiversity rich key

landscape features such as small water bodies and other wetlands, coastal and

the condition of coastal areas, semi-natural grasslands and primary and old-

growth forests, including forest key habitats.

2. We ensure a timely and relevant overview of the status of wildlife for decision

making in the field of nature conservation, among other things, we use innova-

tive monitoring and inventory solutions and applied research more than before

and update and supplement databases and web applications.

3. We will improve the system for evaluating the effectiveness of protection

measures to ensure the operational renewal and improvement of current

measures.

The proposed Support Measure contributes directly to the targets 2 and 3, which are also the

basis for achieving the first target.

The Support Measure has a clear connection with Estonian Environmental Strategy for 2030

and with requirements and obligations stated in EU directives, regulation and strategies and

international conventions:

• EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030;

• EU Nature Restoration Regulation (draft);

• Sustainable Development Goals and Development Plan. Especially to following goals:

1. 3. Good Health and Well-being;

2. 6. Clean Water and Sanitation;

3. 7. Affordable and Clean Energy;

4. 12. Responsible Consumption and Production;

5. 13. Climate Action;

6. 14. Life Below Water;

7. 15. Life on Land.

• Convention on Biological Diversity and its Global Biodiversity Framework;

• CITES convention;

• Ramsar convention;

• Bern Convention;

• Bonn convention, including AEWA and Eurobats agreements;

• HELCOM;

• United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Paris agreement.

Complementarity/synergies with funding programmes of other donors

• Technical Support Instrument financed by the European Commission. An ongoing pro-

ject with the objective to develop the relevant assessment methodology for Estonia.

This methodology will be implemented under the Swiss Contribution.

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• European Structural Funds 2014-2020. The methodology of the National Assessment

and Mapping of Ecosystems and Ecosystem Services was developed. We will continue

to improve it and it will be taken into account in the planning and assessment process.

Also, development of the Estonian Nature Information System was partly financed from

Structural Funds.

• European Structural Funds 2021-2027. Development of the Artificial Intelligence for the

monitoring of games species is financed under this programme. It is an ongoing project.

• State budget. National monitoring is financed from the state budget. Swiss Contribution

does not replace it but enhances and helps to further develop existing methodologies

and solutions. Also, it helps to speed up and expand the development of IT systems,

which are being developed at the moment.

• Environmental Investment Fund. Some of the assessments of the protected areas and

monitoring of the species are financed from the national fund. Also, the Nature Obser-

vation Application was financed from the Fund, which is used to involve volunteers in

the biodiversity monitoring.

• Cohesion Fund 2021 – 2027. Restoration of habitats to increase preparedness for ad-

aptation to climate change. Species and habitats action plans and protected areas

management plans prepared by Swiss contribution will be used to select the restoration

sites at the end of this financial period and in the following period.

First Swiss Contribution

With the help of First Swiss Contribution, the capability of environmental (water, air and radia-

tion) monitoring was increased, but specifically monitoring and protection of the biodiversity

was not supported.

Social Inclusion and Climate change mitigation and adaptation

Structure of the management plans will be improved, and new topics will be covered. Topics

that have not been covered or have been covered insufficiently in existing management plans

are how to mitigate the impact of climate change on species and habitats, what the social

impacts of protected areas are, how protected areas are integrated in the overall green infra-

structure, how to manage forest habitats in buffer zones, how cumulative impacts on habitats

and species need to be analysed.

Also, Citizen Science will be improved and volunteers will be involved in the biodiversity mon-

itoring. Where possible, this will be integrated into the monitoring schemes and necessary

solutions will be developed. Developed systems will be helpful in preparation and implemen-

tation of different nature observation campaigns that would increase citizen awareness about

species and nature conservation issues. With that, we will create better conditions for social

inclusion and initiatives.

New technical solutions will help to speed up the transition towards green energy and climate

neutrality. Nature conservation restrictions and the lack of knowledge about species and hab-

itats are often the reasons behind the pace of developments.

Developed IT systems and solutions help to make environmental data easier to access, use

and understand for the citizen. It is necessary to make data more visible and attractive, which

helps to increase interest in data and environmental awareness and improve behaviour and

decision making of the public.

Stakeholders

Stakeholders of the measure are basically all citizens, who will benefit from the preservation

and improvement of the status of species and habitats. Ecosystems provide different services

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from clean air to meditation opportunities. Quality and condition of ecosystems affect the qual-

ity of people. Also, developed systems and solutions will bring nature conservation and citizens

closer together. Citizens will be involved in nature observation campaigns and wildlife moni-

toring. Developed systems will be used in order to make participation easier and more con-

venient, which hopefully will increase the number of volunteers.

It is necessary to collaborate with environmental experts and scientists. Support Measure will

increase the knowledge about the biodiversity and support science and innovation. Also, it

gives the opportunity for the scientists to test and implement new methods and ideas in wildlife

monitoring. Some of the ideas (e.g. eDNA) have been proposed by the scientists. Their role is

also to validate and evaluate the suitability of the new solutions. It is also necessary to create

collaboration between scientists of the natural sciences and IT experts, who must find solutions

how to use new technologies for biodiversity monitoring.

As it is necessary to speed up the transition towards green energy and climate neutrality, wind-

farm developers are the important stakeholders. Nature conservation restrictions and the lack

of knowledge about species and habitats are often the reasons behind the pace of develop-

ments. In the design of the wind farms, it is often mandatory to carry out time consuming sur-

veys and the number of specialists is also limited, which affects the development. Thanks to

support measure, necessary studies could be carried out over a shorter period.

New tools and solutions are necessary for the public authorities, who are responsible for the

biodiversity protection, monitoring and decision making. Better knowledge is needed to make

science-based decisions to prevent damage to biodiversity and at the same time contribute to

economic activity, including the development of clean energy.

The information acquired from the project will help local municipalities in their general planning

process. The decisions made in spatial planning will take more nature protection needs into

account. The developers and business organisations can refer to the data and when assessing

the effect of their activities on habitats and species.

The stakeholder consultations was carried out on 5th of June 2023 to elaborate the support

measure proposal for the second loop.

2.3 Impact hypothesis / Objectives

The goal of the Programme is to create the precondition for the improvement of conservation

status of threatened habitats and species through decision making that relies on high-quality

data.

Being part of Europe, our environmental decisions and developments affect the ecosystems

and species populations more widely. Preserving and improving the quality of the ecosystem

services helps to strengthen the socio-economic situation in different fields providing income

and jobs, but also decreasing the negative impact of human activity and climate change. As

Estonia is small and the planned actions of this intervention cover the whole country, it will

affect more or less all people.

Better technological tools and hence the overviews of protected sites make understanding the

need for habitat and species protection more understandable for the public and accurately

described protection measures give the possibility for other institutions to take the initiative and

participate in protection activities.

High-quality data helps to increase the developments, including the developments of wind

farms, which will ensure the necessary energy and security for citizens. Also, developments of

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wind farms would decrease the pressure for forest cutting and wood burning. This has positive

effect on habitats and green network. Taking into account that most of the car industries are

planning to stop the production of cars with an internal combustion engine by 2030, the need

for electricity will increase significantly in the next decades. This is one example of the potential

positive impact of the measure, but the main objective is to preserve and restore the natural

values through decisions based on high-quality data.

If the protection measures are planned using up-to-date data and a reliable assessment pro-

cedure is carried out, it is easier to explain the need of the measures to the government, min-

istries and other policy makers, also developers and local people. For example, in Estonia

there is some political resistance to restoring river habitats and people do not understand the

necessity of restoring peatlands.

To achieve the goal of the Programme the existing planning and assessment methodologies

and information systems should be improved. It is important to improve the connection of plan-

ning and assessment with the national monitoring schemes and information systems. With the

help of Swiss support, the existing systems and solutions will be taken to the next level.

Planned intervention logic is presented in Annex 1 and in log-frame (4.3).

In summary, if comprehensive and high-quality information, including in sufficient volume is

available, then preconditions for improvement of the conservation status of species and habi-

tats are created, because planning and decision making is more justified, relevant information

is taken into account and assessing the effectiveness of the actions is based on more reliable,

qualitative and accurate information.

2.4 Intervention Strategy

The Programme Operator is the Ministry of Climate (MoC). The task of the Ministry of Climate

is to create conditions that guarantee a species-rich natural environment and a clean-living

environment for the people of Estonia today and for future generations and that ensures the

sustainable use of natural resources. MoC coordinates the Support Measure Programme prep-

aration and implementation and is responsible for Programme design and monitoring, also for

communication activities at the programme level.

The Programme goal will be achieved by implementing two Programme components that are

linked by a common theme - biodiversity. Programme Components will be implemented by

state authorities under the jurisdiction of the MoC (Administrative area | Ministry of Climate

(kliimaministeerium.ee)).

Programme Component 1 “Development of innovative monitoring technologies/solu-

tions and improvement of Environmental databases and systems”

For Programme Component 1 the Programme Component Operator- is Estonian Environ-

ment Agency (Keskkonnaagentuur or abbreviated KAUR). KAUR is a state authority admin-

istered by the Ministry of Climate. KAUR is responsible for the fulfilment of the national envi-

ronmental monitoring programme, the preparation of national and international reports in the

field of environment, evaluating environmental status, ensuring vital services, including

weather forecasts, and the maintenance and renewal of monitoring stations and equipment.

The tasks of the KAUR in the field of biodiversity are to collect, process and publish information

about nature and nature protection in Estonia, fulfil the national and international reporting

obligations and maintain nature protection databases. The information on nature and nature

protection collected in databases are the foundation of the preservation of objects under pro-

tection, species and their habitats.

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The KAUR will be responsible for delivering outputs connected to development of new tech-

nologies and innovative monitoring solutions and improvement of databases and systems.

As a partner organisation the Information Technology Centre of the Ministry of the Envi-

ronment (KeMIT) will be involved, since KEMIT is responsible for IT tools and services for the

employees in the administrative area of the Ministry of Climate and environmental e-services

for the public.

Programme Component 2 “Implementation of a systematic assessment of the social

and conservation outcomes of protected areas”

For Programme Component 2 the Programme Component Operator is Environmental Board

of Estonia (Keskkonnaamet or abbreviated KeA). KeA is a government agency which oper-

ates within the area of the Ministry of Climate. The main task of KeA is to implement state

policies on environmental use, nature conservation and radiation safety and to monitor the

fulfilment of the laws and norms established for the protection of the natural environment. KeA

provides services related to nature conservation, for example: planning of activities related to

the organisation of nature conservation, management of permits for activities related to nature

conservation restrictions, organisation of nature conservation work, organising surveys of bio-

diversity values and assessing the effectiveness of nature conservation.

The KeA will be responsible for delivering outputs connected to the enhancing the process of

the effective conservation management planning. As the conservation objectives and

measures are revised and they are more specific and goal-oriented, it is easier to plan conser-

vation activities. The support measure helps to set site-specific, clear, precise and quantifiable

conservation objectives, underpinned by scientifically reliable favourable reference values.

To fulfil their main tasks KeA uses the data provided by the KAUR. Also KAUR receives the

input into KAUR databases from KeA. Thus, two Programme Components are closely re-

lated to each other.

For example, the use of the output of Programme Component 1 that is up-to-date data and

new technological tools that help carrying out assessments of conservation effectiveness and

conservation measures, make conservation management planning in Estonia more effective

and less time-consuming and can be used by KeA to update conservation management plans

of protected areas and action plans for species and habitats.

2.5 Beneficiaries

Direct beneficiaries

Direct beneficiaries of the Support Measure are KAUR and KeA who are responsible for the

implementation of the monitoring schemes, organization of the protection of protected areas

and assessment of the efficiency of protection measures. Also KEMIT as responsible for IT

tools and services and development of the databases and systems.

Indirect beneficiaries

Indirect beneficiaries are the State Forest Management Centre who carry out protection ac-

tivities on state land according to conservation management plans and also local municipal-

ities who use the data of habitats and species and also the information provided by conserva-

tion management plans in their overall planning of green infrastructure.

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As the beneficiaries are public authorities, they work for the public. Decisions and develop-

ments affect the whole population. It also has a cross-border effect as Estonian protected ar-

eas are part of the EU Natura 2000 network and only a few species live only in Estonia. So,

measures implemented in Estonia affect the populations which are part of much wider popu-

lations. Most Estonians (1.3 M people) benefit more or less directly from this Measure and

more or less indirectly the whole Europe benefits from it.

2.6 Programme Component Characteristics and regional focus

Is the benefit of the Project national or regional? National☒ Regional ☐

If regional, indicate the benefiting NUTS-2 region(s):

2.7 Overview Swiss Support Measure Partners

Is/are a/several Swiss Support Measure Partner(s) foreseen to be

involved in and contributing to the implementation of the Support

Measure?

Yes☐ No☒

Institutional partnership is not planned, however, the Environmental Board will organise two study trips to Switzerland (they have contacted the Swiss National Park): five days for six spe- cialists each, the emphasis of one or the study trips is habitat protection and the emphasis of the other study trip is species protection. The aim of the trips is to learn about conservation management planning/strategies, habitat and species data collection, using GIS). Also Envi- ronment Agency will have one study trip to Switzerland in late stage of the programme to share the experiences and present the results. Some of the planned public procurements exceed international threshold and Swiss organizations can participate in the process and make their offer.

Name of the partner organisation

If collaboration foreseen in Pro-

gramme Component, indicate name

of Component

Partnership status Choose an element.

Type of organisation Choose an element.

Type of support or partnership Choose an element.

Name of contact person

Position

Correspondence address

Webpage and social media (if any)

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E-Mail

Phone Mobile

Has the partner organisation been previously involved in the Swiss

Contribution Yes☐ No☐

2.8 Sustainability

Sustainability in terms of financial viability:

National budget is reserved for implementing routine monitoring schemes and maintaining the

information systems. Developed methods should be cost-efficient and development of IT sys-

tems should decrease the human workload. Improvement of the decision making will have a

positive effect as well as the decisions will be more science-based and take into account pos-

sible negative consequences to the ecosystems. Preserving the condition is cheaper than re-

storing them. After the project, thanks to the monitoring programme, we are able to maintain

and further develop the methods and systems.

The main result for the KeA is that the protection effectiveness of protected areas will be as-

sessed and the process of preparing conservation management plans and national action

plans for species and habitats is more effective. KeA will be able to carry on conservation

management planning using the national budget. The Support Measure will help the KeA to

review its current conservation management planning practices in order to match them with

contemporary needs.

Sustainability in terms of capacity building:

One of the challenges for the KeA is the lack of experts in Estonia who can carry out inventories

and gather the data of habitats and species. In order to carry out inventories of habitats and

species it is necessary to raise the level of expertise among conservation management plan-

ning and conservation management specialists in the KeA. The competence of the specialists

can be improved by organising seminars and study trips in the frames of Programme. It is also

possible to use foreign experts (e.g. Swiss experts).

Another challenge is the opposition to conservation measures and activities among the repre-

sentatives of local people and developers. So, it is necessary to involve stakeholders in the

conservation planning process and find the solutions that are acceptable to the people living

in or near the site. Involving stakeholders to conservation management planning can be time-

consuming, so it is necessary to analyse how it should be carried out effectively and plan it

regarding the specifics of the area.

2.9 Overview tentative budget

Please see 4.6.

2.10 Other strategic issues

N/A

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3. Support Measure readiness

3.1 Context

Is the Support Measure proposal a continuation of a Project or Pro-

gramme supported under the Swiss Contribution (I)? Yes☐ No☒

Was the Support Measure proposal declined during a funding-application

process by other donors (e.g. EU, Norway/EEA)? Yes☐ No☒

If it was declined, explain why.

3.2 Preparation process and documents

Feasibility study None necessary / Not applicableNone nec-

essary / Not applicable

Baseline study, assessment or analysis None necessary / Not applicableNone nec-

essary / Not applicable

Neither a feasibility study nor a baseline study is necessary.

Estimated number of tender dossiers to

be prepared

# of dossier not yet prepared 4

# of dossier provisionally pre-

pared

0

# of dossier completely pre-

pared

0

Permit(s)/Authorisations required and

pending? Yes☐ No☒

If permit(s)/authorisation(s) required,

specify (e.g. building, environmental, pur-

chase of land etc.) and note when the cor-

responding permit(s)/authorisation(s) are

expected.

Are legislative changes necessary to im-

plement the Support Measure? Yes☐ No☒

If legislative changes are necessary, ex-

plain and note when the corresponding

change is expected to have been made.

Are other (political) decisions necessary

to implement the Support Measure? Yes☐ No☒

If other (political) decisions are necessary,

explain and note when the corresponding

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decisions are expected to have been

taken.

Implementation of the Programme can start immediately after the signing of the Support Measure Agreement.

3.3 Application for funds from Support Measure Preparation Fund

Is support from the Support Measure Preparation Fund requested? Yes☒ No☐

Support Measure Preparation Fund was requested by the MoC to cover Programme Opera-

tor’s costs connected to the preparation of the second-stage Support Measure Proposal. The

Preparation Fund was used for Programme Operator’s staff costs assigned to preparation of

the second-stage Support Measure Proposal. Also, for stakeholders consultation, signing cer-

emony and study trip to Switzerland.

4. Operational Support Measure description

4.1 Applying organisation (Executing Agency)

4.1.1 Financial and personnel information (only to be completed for non-state

institutions)

Date of establishment N/A Tax number (if applicable) N/A

Number of employees N/A

Financial Turnover for each of the 3 previous years [in Choose.] N/A

Ministry of Climate is a governmental authority which performs the functions provided by law

and the functions assigned by the Government of the Republic pursuant to law.

4.1.2 Organisation structures of Executing Agency and Support Measure

The Programme Operator is the Ministry of Climate (MoC), that was formed on the basis of the Ministry of the Environment on 01.07.2023. By this reorganisation the area of responsibility of the Ministry of the Environment was significantly extended: transport, energy, housing and construction, maritime economy were transferred from the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications to the formed Ministry of Climate. The main aim of this reorganisation is to implement the green reform more effectively. The structure and responsibilities of the MoC are assigned by the statute of the ministry (https://www.riigiteataja.ee/akt/108072023005). The management structure of the MoC is presented on the scheme bellow (scheme 1). Min- istry is directed by the Minister. The Secretary General of a ministry directs the work of the structural units of the ministry, co-ordinates the activities of state authorities within the area of government of the ministry and manages the operations of the ministry. There are seven Dep- uty Secretary Generals and 24 departments in the MoC. The main departments that are directly involved into implementation of the Support Measure are Financial Department and Biodiver- sity Protection Department (they are marked with coloured rings on the scheme). The main tasks of the Financial Department are to coordinate and organise the budgeting and financial management of the ministry and the area of government, including monitoring and analysing

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budget implementation, organising financial reporting, organising the development and use of support programmes and measures financed by external funds and monitoring their use. The main tasks of the Biodiversity Protection Department are to design and organise the imple- mentation of nature protection policy, including soil protection policy. Other departments (for example Public Relations Department, Legal Department etc) of the MoC will be involved upon need based on the procedures of the MoC. The tasks of the depart- ments are fixed internally in the statutes of the departments. Scheme 1: management structure of the MoC

The jurisdictional structure of the MoC is presented on the scheme 2. Both Programme

Component Operators are within the area of government of the ministry and financed from

state budget. Estonian Environmental Agency is the state authority and Environmental Board

is governmental authority (they are marked with coloured rings on the scheme). The manage-

ment structure of Programme Component Operators is presented in 6.2 and 9.2.

Scheme 2: jurisdictional structure of the MoC

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4.1.3 Support Measure management team

Will external management personnel be hired to implement the Support

Measure? Yes☐ No☒

What personnel capacity will be dedicated

for the management of the Support Measure

implementation (in full-time equivalents

FTE)?

Internal resources

0,3 FTE

External resources

Programme will be managed by the Programme Operator (MoC). 0,3 FTE of the internal re-

sources will be dedicated for this task: 0,15 FTE in Financial Department and 0,15 FTE in

Biodiversity Protection Department. The Financial Department acts as the main managing unit

within the Programme Operator. Financial Department will have the coordinating role and will

be the main contact point at the Programme level. Biodiversity Protection Department is re-

sponsible for the Programme’s thematic area. The tasks of the employees and officials of the

MoC are regulated with job descriptions and other relevant documents. The Programme Op-

erator will guide and monitor the implementation of the Programme Components. Annual ac-

tivities are defined in the annual work plan of the ministry. During year work plan is regularly

monitored. Each Programme Component Operator will nominate the Programme Component

manager, who will coordinate the implementation of the concrete component. The manage-

ment team at the Programme Component level is described in 6.3 and 9.3.

There will be Task Force for ongoing monitoring, that will meet at least two times per year and

will consist of Programme Operator, Programme Component Operators, National Coordination

Unit and Partner (KEMIT).

As prescribed by the Regulations there will be the Steering Committee established by the

National Coordination Unit, that will be composed at least from the NCU, SCO, Programme

Operator and Programme Component Operator. The Steering Committee will supervise the

progress of implementation and make suggestions for improvements and approve modifica-

tions to the Support Measure. The Steering Committee will meet at least once per year.

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The Programme Operator will also participate at Annual Meetings of the Cooperation Pro-

gramme.

The function mentioned in Regulations Article 6.8 p.3 will be implemented by the State Shared Service Centre. In accordance with the Regulations Article 3.4.2. no Intermediate Bodies shall be set up for the implementation of the Support Measure. State Shared Service Centre, which acts as the competence centre for the implementation of structural and other funds in Estonia, carries out the tasks in accordance with Article 6.8 p.3 of the Regulations for the implementa- tion of the Support Measure. The activities that are carried out in accordance with Article 6.8 p.3 by the State Shared Service Centre are financed from the Support Measure. The fulfilment of the functions of the National Coordination Unit, which is located in the same organization and is financed from the Technical Assistance Fund, is completely separated from these ac- tivities.

The implementation scheme of the Programme is attached in Annex 7.

Are CVs attached to this documentation? Yes☐ No☒

Are terms of reference for the management functions to be established

attached to this documentation? Yes☐ No☒

4.1.4 Programme and project management experience

The ministry has a comprehensive experience on use, management and monitoring of grants

allocated by the European Union or other donors, as pursuant to the act of Government of the

Republic, the minister monitors the accurate and purposeful implementation of the budget and

the purposeful use of funds, aid and grants in the area of government of the ministry. Ministry

coordinates and organises the development and use of support programmes and measures

financed by external funds (European Regional Development Fund, Cohesion Fund, Just Tran-

sition Fund, Recovery and Resilience Facility, European Economic Area and Norwegian Fi-

nancial Mechanisms, Swiss-Estonian Cooperation Programme) and monitors their use. Also,

ministry is involved as project leader or partner into implementation of concrete projects.

As described in the previous sections the Ministry of Climate was formed on the basis of Min-

istry of the Environment (MoE). MoE was the intermediate body for the programme “Enhanc-

ing public environmental monitoring capacities” supported by the previous Swiss Contri-

bution in amount of 8 426 189,90 CHF. The objective of the programme was to enhance public

environmental monitoring capacities for the whole country in order to reduce environmental

pollution, to increase the quality of environmental information and living standards and to pro-

mote sustainable economic development. As clean water resources, high ambient air quality

and radiation safety are of vital importance for humans and ecosystems, the programme was

focused on development of surveillance capacities in these sectors. The biodiversity monitor-

ing was not covered by previous contribution.

Ministry of Climate acts as lead partner in several LIFE Integrated Projects:

• “Comprehensive management of forest and farming landscapes to improve the

conservation status of Natura 2000 habitats and species” (LIFE18 IPE/EE/000007,

ForEst&FarmLand, 3 FTE). Implementation period 01.01.2020 - 31.12.2029. Total eli-

gible budget is 19 561 784 EUR, from which EU contribution is 11 611 434 EUR. The

main objective of the project is to implement the most critical part of the Estonian Pri-

oritised Actions Framework (PAF) for Natura 2000 related to forests and agricultural

land. The aims are 1) to improve the conservation status of forest and farmland habitats

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and species to achieve results that benefit whole ecosystems; 2) to improve conserva-

tion practices and collaboration between administrative authorities; and 3) to raise

awareness and capacity of main stakeholders and general public, including the use of

innovative conservation tools and solutions.

• “Development of an integrated water management and its modern tools in Esto-

nia - strategic choices for future” (LIFE17IPE/EE/000007, CleanEST). Implementa-

tion period 01.01.2019 - 31.12.2028). Total budget is 16 666 000 EUR. The main ob-

jective of the project is to implement the most critical part of the East Estonian water

management plan. The project's main fields of activity are reducing harmfulness of re-

sidual pollution, identifying and restoring the goods of ecosystems, developing solu-

tions to reduce the pressure from agriculture on the environment, identification of the

need for reclamation of the local management systems, liquidation of migration barriers

to improve the ecological status of the rivers, increasing environmental awareness.

There are 4,8 FTE from MoC involved in this project.

• “Implementation of national climate change adaptation activities in Esto-

nia” (LIFE21-IPC-EE-LIFE-SIP AdaptEst/101069566). Implementation period

01.01.2023 – 31.03.2032. Total eligible budget is 18 859 312 EUR, form which EU

contribution is 11 294 017 EUR. Climate Change Adaptation Development Plan until

2030 sets eight subgoals based on the priority sectors of the economic and adminis-

trative structure in the Republic of Estonia (independently and partially combined) from

which the implementation of five is supported by the project: (1) health and rescue

capacity, (2) land use and planning, (3) natural environment, (4) bioeconomy, (5) so-

ciety, awareness and cooperation.

• “Pursuing Estonian national climate ambition through smart and resilient reno-

vation” (LIFE20 IPC/EE/000010). Implementation period 01.11.2021 – 31.12.2028.

Total eligible budget is 16 226 711 EUR, form which EU contribution is 9 500 000 EUR.

The long-term objective of the project is to increase the ambition, and pave the way for

reducing CO₂ emissions, of Estonia’s existing building stock by up to 100% (~4.5 mil-

lion tCO₂/yr) by 2050. In the short-term, the project aims to pursue the 2030 goal of

reducing the CO2 emissions by 32% (~1.4 million tCO₂/yr). Achieving the objectives

will help to mitigate the effect that energy performance of buildings has on climate

change.

4.2 Detailed intervention strategy and activities

4.2.1 Detailed description of activities and intervention strategy

One of the objectives of the programme is to enhance wildlife monitoring through the testing

and implementation of new solutions and technologies. New technology will be integrated into

monitoring schemes. For example, 3D bird radars will be used in bird monitoring, which will

increase the accuracy of the data and also, it will increase the efficiency and operativeness.

There are few programmes that support testing new solutions and tools in wildlife monitoring

and this is one of the reason that this field is not developing as fast as it could. It is especially

important to implement new and old methods at the same time in order to calibrate the results,

so the longtime series of data sets will be continued. Also, eDNA, laser binoculars and other

suitable tools and solutions will be tested and integrated into monitoring schemes.

Environment Agency is developing AI for the monitoring of game species. According to the

existing method, data of the game species is collected in winter and the presence of snow

cover is important. Due to the climate change, Estonian winters are smoother and there are

fewer days with snow cover, especially in areas that are close to the sea. Developing and using

AI is one alternative for the existing method. That also requires great amount of tracking cam-

eras. Development of the AI and purchasing of the tracking cameras is financed from other

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funds, but additional personnel is necessary in order to speed up the training and using of the

AI and implement new Random Encounter Model in game species monitoring. At the moment

there are around 100 cameras in use, but by 2024 there will be 700. There are 7 times more

work in installing cameras and managing data. After the new system is in place and AI is smart

enough to sort empty pictures and recognize different species, this extra person is no longer

required.

As the main objective of the Swiss Support is to improve decision making through qualitative

data, it is important to improve IT systems and databases that would decrease human work,

help to analyse great amount of data and make it easier to understand. Data is often scattered

in different systems and quality of data varies. It is necessary to bring the data together, de-

velop analytical tools and make it more attractive, visible, and understandable. Also, it is also

necessary to improve citizen science. Citizen science can play an important role by filling data

gaps where conventional data sources may not be sufficient, providing complementary tem-

poral and spatial data that supports official monitoring systems. Besides collecting additional

data, promoting citizen science gives the opportunity to raise environmental awareness.

The second component of the programme is related to enhancing the protection of natural

values in protected areas and endangered species. So far, the effectiveness of protection

measures has been evaluated in few protected areas, so it is not clear which protection

measures are the most effective for protecting species and habitats. Therefore, an evaluation

of effectiveness of protected areas is carried out, and based on these results, it is necessary

to update area-based conservation management plans. Management plans must also take

into account those aspects that have not been paid attention to, e.g. how to contribute to the

survival of species and habitats in changing climate conditions. Also, how to integrate conser-

vation management plans (the state's responsibility) into the green networks specified in gen-

eral plans of municipalities. Improving the effectiveness of the green network is also important

for achieving the conservation objectives of the protected area by providing green corridors for

the spread of species between the areas. In order to evaluate the effectiveness, it is necessary

to carry out additional inventories, otherwise it is not possible to have adequate up-to-date

information about the status of species and habitats in protected areas. In order to ensure the

uniform quality of the inventories, the inventory methodologies will be updated, and inventory

guidelines will be prepared for those habitat groups where they are still missing.

Area based conservation objectives are not enough to achieve the favorable status of species

and habitats. For this purpose, nationwide objectives will be set, including favorable reference

values for each species and habitat, and measures on how to achieve the objectives. For this

purpose, national action plans for habitat and species will be prepared for those habitat groups

and protected species, where this has not yet been done. In addition to determining the threat-

ness of species according to the Red List, species are divided into different protection catego-

ries, which are subject to different rules. For example, 100% of the localities of species of

protection category I must be protected, at least 50% of localities of species of protection cat-

egory II, and at least 10% of localities of species of protection category III. The current distri-

bution needs to be reassessed because, for various reasons, the status of some species has

improved in the meantime and that of other species has deteriorated. Designation of updated

protection categories will help to protect more effectively those species that need it most.

The inventories made by the Environmental Board are inserted into the database managed by

the Environmental Agency, the results of the inventory are the basis for national monitoring,

while additional information about the natural values of protected areas can be obtained based

on the monitoring results. Creating an automatic transfer between the Estonian nature infor-

mation system (data on protected areas, protected species, inventories) and the monitoring

database enables the use of relevant information, so that there is no need to use different

databases. Manual workload will be reduced. The information needed to manage the protected

areas will be relevant, and easy to use for both state authorities and the wider public. The

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protection of natural values is more effective, is based on data that is comprehensible to all,

and ensures the improvement of the status of species and habitats. Greater involvement of

interest groups and voluntary monitoring will help to improve the understanding of the need to

protect nature more broadly. These are the basic conditions for the general improvement of

the state of nature, which in turn helps to contribute to the fulfillment of the goals and the targets

of Global Biodiversity Framework.

4.2.2 Detailed description of selection process for Programme Components

Not relevant, as all components have been selected.

4.2.3 Communication activities

Programme´s launching and closing event is organized by the Ministry of Climate. We are

planning to involve media, stakeholders and competent authorities on both events for the pur-

pose of increasing awareness of Programme and also environmental awareness.

We are planning to send joint press releases and social media posts once a year during the

implementation period. Throughout the period, the public will be informed about the progress

of the programme through various activities by Programme Component Operators. Also, we

are monitoring media (articles, press releases etc) through “Station” (Estonian media monitor-

ing programme).

There will be communication activities (articles, social medias posts, television and/or radio)

at the Programme Components level (Annex 1, 3.1):

Environmental Agency

• We will use our social media channels (Facebook and Instagram) to post news of the

results of the project (at least 20). Our Facebook page has approximately 10 000 fol-

lowers;

• Social media boosts: we will boost important and attractive posts (2) and with that, our

posts will reach at least 200 000 social media users;

• We will publish at least 4 blog posts, which will be shared in the list of journalists. With

that, we can reach biggest Estonian newspapers (Postimees, Delfi, Päevaleht, Maaleht

etc), both paper and web, which are covering most of the population in Estonia;

• 8 articles of the new solutions and technologies in the wildlife monitoring (AI, 3D radars,

etc), target group wider public;

• 2 events where new solutions and technologies will be demonstrated, target group up

to 150 persons, experts in the field and data users (scientists, hunters, windfarm de-

velopers, etc). This will also enhance networking and collaboration among different

stakeholders;

• Citizen science campaigns (20) to involve volunteers in wildlife monitoring. During the

campaigns we aim to reach up to 1000 people;

• 2 bigger events for volunteers to present the results of the campaigns, recognize vol-

unteers, enhance networking and collaboration for the future. This helps to strengthen

the network and also this helps to bring the results of the project to more people through

dedicated people. Target group up to 150 persons, volunteers, wildlife enthusiasts and

specialists, active community members and environmental specialists of the local coun-

ties;

• Television, we will propose our topics at least to 2 national broadcasts and shows like

Terevisioon (80 000 viewers) and Osoon (160 000 – 180 000 viewers);

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• At least 8 appearances/interviews on radio shows (e.g Vikerraadio, Ökoskoop etc).

Vikerraadio is the most listened radio (120 000 listeners/day and during a week they

can reach up to 228 000 people);

• In the final stage of the project, we plan to make a presentation in Switzerland to intro-

duce the results of the project to interested target groups (wildlife experts and special-

ists, scientists, officials, financiers of the programme, etc) who could benefit from our

experience and who could replicate the results.

The Environmental Board

• The overall communication and management costs for Programme Component 2 in-

clude newspaper and social media articles (e.g more than 36,000 print circulation of

the national newspaper, more than 12,000 Facebook users) and compilation of the

webpage. Examples of management plans and action plans are translated into English.

• When assessing the management effectiveness (Activity 1) of larger areas where dif-

ferent stakeholders are involved, meetings are organised to introduce the results of the

assessment and get the input from stakeholders. There is a need to publish newspaper

advertisements in local and/or national newspapers, introduce the topic on the

webpage. When organising meetings with stakeholders it may be necessary to rent

rooms and organise coffee breaks. During hybrid meetings it is necessary to rent extra

technical equipment for audio and video solutions. The results of management effec-

tiveness assessment will be introduced to the public: a digital report/summary will be

published in Estonian and English. The report has to be digitally designed.

• In the process of preparing of site-based management plans (Activity 2) interest groups

are involved. The project will produce a total of 64 management plans. All of them are

introduced to the public on the website (www.keskkonnaamet.ee), newspaper adver-

tisements are published in local or national newspapers, meetings are organised (in-

person meetings, hybrid meetings using MS Teams), letters are sent to stakeholders.

When organising meetings with stakeholders it is necessary to rent rooms and organise

coffee breaks. During hybrid meetings it may be necessary to rent extra technical

equipment for audio and video solutions.

• In the process of preparing habitat action plans (Activity 2) interest groups are involved.

The project will produce at least three habitat plans. They are introduced to the public

on the website (www.keskkonnaamet.ee), newspaper advertisements are published in

national newspapers, meetings are organised (in-person meetings, using MS Teams),

letters are sent to stakeholders. During hybrid meetings it may be necessary to rent

extra technical equipment for audio and video solutions. When organising meetings

with stakeholders it is necessary to rent rooms and organise coffee breaks.

• In the process of proposing the changes in protection categories of species and pre-

paring action plans for protected species (Activity 3) interest groups (mostly universities

and experts) are involved. The project will produce 60 action plans. When preparing

the action plans http://www.keskkonnaamet.ee/ meetings with experts/universities are

organised (in-person meetings, hybrid meetings using MS Teams). When organising

meetings it is necessary to rent rooms and organise coffee breaks. During hybrid meet-

ings it may be necessary to rent extra technical equipment for audio and video solution.

• Communication with local authorities (79 local municipalities): one seminar per year

(conservation management and green infrastructure) is organised. The costs include

advertisements, room rent, coffee breaks, renting equipment for audio and video solu-

tions.

4.2.4 Detailed implementation schedule

Please see annex 6.

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4.3 Logframe

Hierarchy of objectives

Strategy of Intervention

Key Indicators

(incl. target values and baseline)

Sources & Means of Verifi- cation

Assumptions & Risks (External Factors)

Impact Impact Indicators Impact: Sources and Means of Verification

Improved conservation status of threatened habitats and species

Proportion of habitat types and species with an improved status, 30% by 2030. The baseline is the 2019 assessment of the Habitats Directive Article 17 report. A 30% improvement should be achieved compared to the results of this report (therefore baseline is 0).

National reports and data- bases

Depends on other measures implemented in Estonia.

Outcomes (Support Measure objectives /purpose)

Outcome Indicators

Outcome: Sources and Means of Verification

Outcome Assumptions & Risks

1. The efficiency and reliability of bio- diversity monitoring has improved

2. The effectiveness of management planning of protected areas as well as protected species and habitats has improved

1. Data collected as part of the biodiver- sity monitoring programme reaches the databases within one year through auto- mated process

Baseline: no automated process, most of the date reaches databases within more than one year

2. New guidelines for drawing up man- agement plans of protected areas have been implemented

Baseline: The previous guidelines are outdated (2012, updated 2018)

1. Estonian Nature Infor- mation system; National Bi- odiversity Monitoring Pro- gramme

2. Support Measure Com- pletion Report with exam- ples of guidelines, manage- ment and action plans

• Insufficient financing of national biodiversity mon- itoring programme and bi- odiversity protection in the future due the na- tional security and changes in priorities and that can affect the sus- tainability of the support measure

• Institutional reforms

• Changes in legislation

Outputs: Support Measure deliverables/re- sults per outcome

Output Indicators

Output: Sources and Means of Verifica- tion

Output Assumptions & Risks

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1.1. Existing IT systems (databases

and portals) and their connectivity is

improved

At least 4 additional connections or tools for the exchange of data between the IT systems have been established

Baseline: 0 for additional connections and tools (overall, IT systems has already many other existing connections and tools)

Support Measure Comple- tion describing the connec- tivity of IT systems

Risks:

• Price of the services and

equipment will increase

• IT developments take

longer than planned

• The number of potential

service providers (includ-

ing experts) is limited that

impacts public procure-

ments and public pro-

curements may fail

• The quality of services is

low

• Being unable to hire the

personnel for the pro-

gramme

1.2. New technologies and novel so-

lutions for biodiversity monitoring are

mapped, developed, tested and im-

plemented

At least 5 new developed and piloted so- lutions (Random Encounter Method, Arti- ficial Intelligence, 3D bird radar, eDNA and, other new technical solutions that will be worked out in first stage of the pro- ject

Baseline: 0

National Biodiversity Moni- toring Programme

2.1. Site-based and national conser-

vation objectives and measures for

protected species and habitats are

revised

• The effectiveness of the management of at least 300 protected objects (dif- ferent types of protected areas) is as- sessed

Baseline: 0 (using new methodology)

• 5 action plans for habitats; 64 conser- vation management plans for pro- tected areas using a new format, 5 action plans for habitats and 24% of all the protected species in Estonia have action plans

Baselines: 2 action plans for habitats; 0 conservation management plans for pro- tected areas (using the new format)

• 16% of all the protected species in Estonia have action plans. The pro- tection categories of all the protected species’ groups (not separate spe- cies) are evaluated

• Support Measure Com- pletion with examples of guidelines, manage- ment and action plans

• Final report of manage- ment effectiveness as- sessment

• Management plans and habitats action plans are compiled and are pub- licly available through the database

• The draft regulation for the change of protection categories of species is prepared.

2.2. The conservation management

plans of protected areas, action plans

for species and habitats are revised

and updated

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Baseline: 0

• Draft document to change the regu- lations of protection categories is pre- pared

Baseline: 0

• The toolset for conservation manage- ment effectiveness assessment is set up and in use in the Environmental Board

Baseline: 0

3.Competence of the specialists as

well as public awareness and en-

gagement is improved

• At least 21 trainings/seminars

• At least 8 study trips

• A network of volunteers is created

• At least 20 campaigns to involve vol- unteers in wildlife monitoring

• 2 bigger events for volunteers

• 2 bigger events for stakeholders

• At least 8 articles of the new solutions in wildlife monitoring

• At least 8 appearances in radio shows

• At least 2 appearances in TV shows

• 1 presentation in Switzerland to intro- duce the results of the project

• CC_CI_1 Number of people benefit- ing from training to improve institu- tional and professional capacity

• Annual Support Meas- ure Reports

• Registration lists

• In crosscutting indicator the disaggregation of training participants only by gender, but not along disadvantaged and non-disadvantaged groups will be made

4.4 Swiss Support Measure Partner(s)

Institutional partnership is not planned, however, the Environmental Board will organise two study trips to Switzerland (they have contacted the Swiss National Park): five days for six spe- cialists each, the emphasis of one of the study trips is habitat protection and the emphasis of the other study trip is species protection. The aim of the trips is to learn about conservation management planning/strategies, habitat and species data collection, using GIS). Also Envi- ronment Agency will have one study trip to Switzerland in late stage of the programme to share the experiences and present the results. Some of the planned public procurements exceed international threshold and Swiss organizations can participate in the process and make their offer.

4.5 Stakeholder consultations

Stakeholder consultation took place on the 5th of June 2023. The invitation was sent to about

150 persons and institutions: to all local authorities, universities, organisations involved into

monitoring or biodiversity protection (please see invitation letter in annex 10). There were 32

participants (please see registration list in annex 10). After the event there was an opportunity

for written feedback (please see afterword and event materials in annex 10).

At the beginning of the event the objectives and expected results of the programme were in- troduced and an overview on the development trends in nature conservation was given. After-

wards each programme component operator introduced main actions to the participants and

two different workshops were organized where participants had the chance to point out prob-

lems, propose new ideas and actions.

Ideas and actions that were described in the proposal and introduced to the stakeholders, were

all supported. Those were: 3D bird radar, development and training of the AI, including imple-

menting the Random Encounter Model more widely in game species monitoring, testing new

solutions and technology in wild life monitoring (eDNA, remote monitoring solutions, automa-

tion, laser binoculars, drones with thermos cameras, telemetry surveys), promoting citizen sci-

ence and also development of the IT systems.

Stakeholders agreed that data should be easier to collect, more accessible and more under-

standable. The interface of different systems was considered necessary which would make

data queries easier and faster. Data up-to-dateness was considered important, especially in

decision-making. Stakeholders pointed out that entering data into databases should be simpli-

fied, including creating solutions for mass-data. If possible, some of the IT systems should be

as mobile applications. Testing the capabilities of eDNA was strongly emphasized.

The project activities proposed by the Environmental Board, were also supported. The repre-

sentatives of local municipalities said that they would like to participate more in the process of

compiling management plans. They pointed out that updating species data and management

plans is crucial in general planning processes and decision making. It is necessary to know

which areas are suitable for development and planning the use of mineral resources. The En-

vironmental Board will organise joint seminars for local municipalities in order to discuss how

conservation management and principles of green infrastructure work together.

The representatives of universities said that they are ready to carry out necessary inventories,

give expert opinions and put together methodologies for habitats inventories. They agreed that

protection categories of species need to be updated as well. Expert opinions about species

give input to action plans and help decision making and law enforcement.

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It was pointed out that updated site-based management plans and action plans that describe

objectives, pressures, risks and measures are necessary for environmental impact assess-

ment.

In summary, the proposed ideas and activities were supported, no one objected neither con-

cept nor content of Programme.

4.6 Tentative Budget

4.6.1 Detailed tentative budget

The budget is attached in Annex 4. Budget is split between three main parts:

1. Management costs:

o This part includes costs only for Programme Management (costs done at the Pro-

gramme level). Costs connected to the management and implementation (including

involvement of partners) of the Programme Components are included into the

budget of components.

o This part includes also the costs of State Shared Service Centre for the fulfilment

of the function in accordance with Regulations Article 6.8 p.3 In accordance with

the Regulations Article 3.4.2. no Intermediate Bodies shall be set up for the imple-

mentation of the Support Measure. State Shared Service Centre, which acts as the

competence centre for the implementation of structural and other funds in Estonia,

carries out the tasks in accordance with Article 6.8 p.3 of the Regulations for the

implementation of the Support Measure. The activities that are carried out in ac-

cordance with Article 6.8 p.3 by the State Shared Service Centre are financed from

the Support Measure. The fulfilment of the functions of the National Coordination

Unit, which is located in the same organization and is financed from the Technical

Assistance Fund, is completely separated from these activities.

2. Programme Component 1 “Development of innovative monitoring technologies/solutions

and improvement of Environmental databases and systems”

3. Programme Component 2 “Implementation of a systematic assessment of the social and

conservation outcomes of protected areas”

4.6.2 Tentative Disbursement Plan

Reimbursement

Period

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Estimated reim-

bursement of

Swiss Contribu-

tion in CHF

926 117,50 926 117,50 843 284,71 843 284,71 854 997,31 854 997,31 836 038,88 836 038,88 9 122,84

4.7 Risk Analysis and Risk Management

Risk Impact

[1 – 5]

Likeli-

hood

[1 – 5]

Risk level Mitigation measure(s)

Institutional reforms

1 3 Low Internal institutional reform is on-

going in the Environmental

Board, but it has low impact on

support measure, because the

project activities can be adjusted

to the new structure of the insti-

tution.

Changes in legislation 3 3 Low-Medium Necessary adjustments in the

programme will be made follow-

ing the legislative changes

Price of the services and equipment will in- crease

3 3 Low-Medi-

umLow-

Medium

To mitigate the risk, we have taken this into account in the preparation of the budget and we have added necessary buffer. In case buffer will be not needed we will make a proposal to transfer it to another budget line.

IT developments take longer than planned

3 4 Medium-

HighMe-

dium-

High

We are already developing pro- curement documents to save time and start as soon as agree- ment is signed.

The number of potential service providers (in- cluding experts) is lim- ited that impacts public procurements and pub- lic procurements may fail

3 3 Low-Medi-

umLow-

Medium

To mitigate the risks, we have in- volved stakeholder in the prepa- ration of this programme and we will actively spread the infor- mation of the public procure- ments and as the number of po- tential service providers is limited in Estonia, we will use interna- tional public procurements if nec- essary and mandatory according to the law.

The quality of services is low

3 3 Low-Medi-

umLow-

Medium

When ordering services it is nec- essary to plan well ahead and provide the quality criteria that need to be followed. The ser- vices have to be described in de- tail in contracts, if work does not confirm to the contract, a chance to improve the work is given. It is necessary to check the quality services offered regularly.

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Risk Impact

[1 – 5]

Likeli-

hood

[1 – 5]

Risk level Mitigation measure(s)

Institutional reforms

1 3 Low Internal institutional reform is on-

going in the Environmental

Board, but it has low impact on

support measure, because the

project activities can be adjusted

to the new structure of the insti-

tution.

Changes in legislation 3 3 Low-Medium Necessary adjustments in the

programme will be made follow-

ing the legislative changes

Being unable to hire the personnel for the pro- gramme

4 2 Low-Medi-

umLow-

Medium

It is necessary to provide the sal- aries that motivate, also, ser- vices can be chosen instead.

Overall Risk Level Support Measure Medium-lowMedium-low

Comments on the overall risk level (if

any)

In general we think the risk is low, but there are

some risk mentioned above that evaluated as low-

medium.

4.8 Monitoring and Steering

In accordance with Regulations the Support Measure Steering Committee will be established

to supervise the progress of implementation of the Programme and make suggestions for im-

provements, to approve in accordance with Regulations any modifications based on the pro-

posal by the Programme Operator.

There will be Task Force for ongoing monitoring of the Programme and Programme Compo-

nents. The Task Force will propose any modifications to the Steering Committee.

The resources for Steering Committee and Task Force meetings are foreseen in the Pro-

gramme Budget.

4.9 Other operational issues

N/A

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5. Annexes

# Annex

1 Intervention logic

2 Overview of Implementation locations

3 Programme Characteristics

4 Budget

5 Procurement Plan

6 Implementation schedule

7 Implementation scheme

8 Detailed Information to Programme Component 1

8-1 Environment Agency actions and personnel

9 Detailed Information to Programme Component 2

10 Stakeholder consultation

11 Feedback on the recommendations

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Annex 2: Overview of Implementation locations

General (Programme Management)

Location name Address

Ministry of the Climate (Kliimaministeerium) Suur-Ameerika 1, Tallinn

Programme Component 1 “Development of innovative monitoring technologies/solu-

tions and improvement of Environmental databases and systems”

Location name Address

Estonian Environment Agency (Keskkonnaagentuur) Mustamäe tee 33, Tallinn

Programme Component 2 “Implementation of a systematic assessment of the social

and conservation outcomes of protected areas”

Location name Address

Environmental Board of Estonia (Keskkonnaamet) Roheline 64, Pärnu

Annex [8]

Detailed Information to Programme Component

Basic Programme Component Information

Title Development of innovative monitoring technologies/so-

lutions and improvement of Environmental databases

and systems

Planned Duration [months] 48

Requested Swiss contribu-

tion (CHF)

2 883 589,89

Requested co-financing

rate of Switzerland [%]

85%

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6. Programme Component Operator

6.1 Basic Information

Name of Programme Com-

ponent Operator

Environment Agency

Type of entity National administrationNational administration

If type of organization is

“other”, describe the type

briefly

Name of contact person Mr Lauri Klein

Position Wildlife monitoring coordinator

Correspondence address: Mustamäe tee 33, Tallinn, Estonia

E-Mail [email protected]

[email protected]

Webpage and social media

(if any)

https://keskkonnaagentuur.ee/en

https://www.facebook.com/Keskkonnaagentuur

Date of establishment 01.06.2013 Tax number (if applicable) EE101646790

Number of employees 208 (31.10.2023)

Financial Turnover for each of the 3 previous years [in

EUREUR]

2020 – 12 075 890;

2021 – 11 873 025;

2022 – 12 0111 311.

Has the Programme Component Operator previously received

funding from the Swiss Contribution? Yes☐ No☒

6.2 Programme Component Operator Management

Since 1st of April 2022, matrix management is implemented in the Environmental Agency. There are three functional managers who are responsible for different functions and services. As seen in the chart, there are six main departments reporting to the director and functional managers. Wildlife department will be the main department responsible for the management and implementation of the Swiss-Estonian cooperation programme.

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6.3 Programme Component Management

Will external management personnel be hired to implement the Pro-

gramme Component? Yes☒ No☐

What personnel capacity will be dedicated

for the management of the Programme Com-

ponent implementation (in full-time equiva-

lents FTE)?

Internal resources

1,0

External resources

4,0 FTE

It is necessary to use external resources to implement the actions planned with the Swiss-

Estonian cooperation programme. All those people will be working in the Wildlife department.

Project manager (full-time, period 2024-2027) (hereinafter the term “project” refers to the term

“Programme Component”) – responsible for the project team management and the implemen-

tation of the actions, preparation of the public procurements, documentation and budget, or-

ganizing study trips, communication and translation of the documents, etc. Potential project

manager is already involved in the preparation of the application.

Chief specialist (monitoring specialist, full-time, period 2024-2027) – additional employee, who

will be responsible for the development, testing and implementation of new monitoring meth-

odologies, including contribution to the preparation of the acquisition of mobile 3D bird radar

and responsible for the implementation and integration of the equipment into the national mon-

itoring methodologies. In cooperation with scientists and technical experts, map possible novel

methodologies, solutions (eDNA) and equipment (night observation equipment, transmitters,

remote sensing solutions, etc.) to be used in the wildlife and ecosystem monitoring. Arrange

testing of mapped novel monitoring methodologies, equipment, and solutions. Also, monitoring

specialist will be responsible for the involvement of volunteers and organization of the cam-

paigns.

Specialist (monitoring assistant, full-time, period 2024-2027) – additional employee, who will

help to implement the new REM (Random Encounter Model) methodology, contributes to the

collection of data through track cameras, data management and training of the artificial intelli-

gence (AI) to be created.

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Chief specialist (IT specialist in the Environmental Agency, part-time, internal specialist, work-

load 0.5, period 2024-2027) – contributes to the compilation of the initial IT tasks: advises the

IT developer, tests and introduces the results. A person with the same work load (0.5) will start

working in the IT Centre of the Ministry of the Climate in the period 2024-2027. He/she will be

responsible for the business analyses, organizing IT related public procurements and he/she

will be the main contact person for developers. Also, he/she will be responsible for the quality

of the services.

Specialist (data specialist, full-time, period 2024-2027) – organizes the entry and updating of

data in Estonian Nature Information System (EELIS) collected within the framework of inven-

tories ordered by the Environmental Board. Also contributes to the development of IT systems.

It is more cost-effective to hire a person than outsource the service. It also ensures operational

efficiency, better control of the work and sustainability of the results as it helps to preserve the

institutional memory.

At the moment terms of reference for the functions is not yet established, but main tasks and

actions have been described in the annex.

Are CVs attached to this documentation? Yes☐ No☒

Are terms of reference for the management functions to be established

attached to this documentation? Yes☐ No☒

6.4 Programme and Project Management Experience

In the last 5 years, Environment Agency has implemented 9 environmental projects (15 addi-

tional FTE-s) and monitoring programmes (2019-2023). Most programmes are implemented

on regular bases and are still ongoing. For example, implementing the national wildlife and

landscape monitoring programme, developing the prototype of AI (game species), developing

the nature observation mobile application.

Wildlife and landscape monitoring programme is mostly financed from national budget. In the

past years, the yearly budget has been 455 000 euros (without VAT, personnel costs ex-

cluded), which is used to outsource services (e.g monitoring of eagles, amphibians, flying

squirrels, bats, seals, forest birds, etc.) from wildlife experts. Every year there are around 50

monitoring works. Mostly public procurement is used or simpler procurements which is accord-

ance with the law and internal procedures of the Agency. Monitoring team consists of 12 per-

sons and their salary is covered from the state budget.

KAUR is the leading partner of the ELME project. The main objective of the project is mapping

and assessment of Estonian ecosystems and related ecosystem services. Besides, new meth-

odologies and technologies were tested in wildlife monitoring, including Random Encounter

Methodology (REM), drones and acoustic sensors. Project activities started in 2016 and it will

be finished in the end of 2023. Total cost of the project is 1,65 million euros and it is financed

from the EU Cohesion Fund. Co-financing comes from the state budget and National Environ-

mental Programme. Employees responsible for managing the project and implementing the

activities are still working in the Agency.

Also, an AI prototype was developed in 2020-2021 (duration 15 months), which was financed

from European Regional Development Fund. Total cost of the development was 95 400 euros.

The aim of the project was to develop an AI prototype that could recognize species from the

tracking camera photos. In the first stage, AI had to recognize pictures with animal and without

animal and remove pictures where no animal was recognized. The prototype had to learn two

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species (roe deer and marten), but it was able to learn other species too (accuracy depended

on the quality and number of training photos). Public procurement was used to find the best

developer. Employees responsible for the preparation of the public procurement documents

and development of the AI, are still working in the Agency.

7. Programme Component Description

7.1 Short Summary

Goal of this Programme Component is to develop and implement new monitoring methods,

technical solutions and approaches in wildlife monitoring to improve the quality and volume of

the data. Also, cost-efficiency is also taken into account.

Wildlife monitoring has been done for decades using the same methodologies. On the one

hand, it is important to use same methodologies so the data would be comparable and long

time series would not be interrupted, but on the other hand, with the development of technol-

ogy, it could be possible to do the same work more efficiently, faster and with higher quality.

Taken into account the costs, including salary and travel costs necessary to conduct field works

and at the same time, the limited number of specialists, new solutions are essential. But it

takes time to test new methods, solutions and approaches and compare the data that was

collected with old methodologies. It is also important to validate new solutions and data.

With the use of modern technological solutions, we hope to achieve a new and higher level in

wildlife monitoring. This will also improve the quality of the environmental decisions as smarter

decisions can be made based on higher quality and more data.

7.2 Activities and Expected Results

Development and implementation of the new methods, technology and approaches (Annex 1,

1.2.1). This includes acquisition of mobile 3D bird radar and also other new technologies for

wildlife biodiversity monitoring – the aim is to map and test new technologies and solutions in

wildlife monitoring to increase the quality and reliability of data. More specifically, the ambition

is to create remote sensing solutions for mapping the spread of forest losses and reeds, auto-

matic renewal of the maps of ecosystem services completed in previous projects, acquiring

modern technology and testing them in wildlife monitoring (new night observation equipment

for monitoring e.g. Western Capercaillie (Tetrao urogallus) and Great Snipe (Gallinago media),

drones with thermosensors, binoculars measuring height and distance for bird monitoring,

etc.). Technologies and solutions must be mapped in cooperation with the experts in the field,

which is why the list of activities is left open.

Output: 1 mobile 3D bird radar acquired and at least 3 new methodologies/solutions have been

tested and integrated into wildlife monitoring programme. Result: These new methodolo-

gies/solutions can supplement or replace existing ones. Data volume and quality improved.

Wider deployment of Random Encounter Methodology (REM) and training of Artificial Intelli-

gence (AI) (Annex 1, 1.2.1) – The Environment Agency has tested the REM method to collect

data in a small area using track cameras and created a prototype of AI that can identify different

animal species from track camera photos and assess their abundance. The prototype will be

further developed, and 700 track cameras have been procured (financed from the European

Union Cohesion Fund), allowing them to be installed all over Estonia. Over the next years, the

number of track cameras and photos they take, will increase at least by 7 times, which means

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more workload to install and maintain them and to work through the photos cameras automat-

ically take. It is temporarily necessary to hire a person to introduce a new methodology and

train AI, which would allow replacing the old methodology with a new one.

Output: AI trained, REM fully developed and tested. Result: The REM methodology has been

applied all over Estonia. Alternative method for monitoring of the game species developed and

time-consuming photo-analysis automated with usage of AI.

Environmental DNA (eDNA) testing (Annex 1, 1.2.1) in wildlife biodiversity monitoring – use of

eDNA in biodiversity monitoring is a rapidly developing field, but its potential has not yet been

tested in Estonian national biodiversity monitoring. Potential species or species groups will be

mapped, pilot areas will be selected and eDNA usability will be tested for biodiversity monitor-

ing.

Output: usability potential of eDNA is evaluated, method is tested and where appropriate it is

integrated into wildlife monitoring methodologies. Result: Data volume and quality is improved,

cost-efficiency is increased.

Promoting citizen science and creating network of volunteers (Annex 1, 1.1.2 and 3.1) – use

of citizen science and involvement of volunteers in environmental monitoring is an increasingly

important topic around the world. It creates new opportunities to engage people, collect more

data and improve the quality of data, promote cooperation between different parties, involve

civil society organisations in policymaking, prevent and solve problems as well as increase

environmental awareness in society. Among other things, it helps to pay greater attention to

emerging environmental problems, prevent loopholes both in legislation and monitoring data

as well as improve data collection process.

Output: a network of volunteers is created. At least 20 campaigns (some campaigns will be

repeated every year) have been organised in 4 years: 2 bigger events for volunteers. Voluntary

monitoring is integrated into wildlife monitoring methodologies. Result: involvement of volun-

teers in wildlife monitoring is improved and data volume is increased.

Development of IT systems (Annex 1, 1.1.1)– Environmental data is kept in different systems

in Estonia and often those systems are not linked to each other which means that data must

be transferred manually from one system to another. Also, there is a risk, that relevant and

updated information is not used in decision making and analysis. In order to facilitate fieldwork,

it is necessary to create a fieldwork tool that allows the field-workers to enter the monitoring

and inventory data directly to the system already in the field. This would reduce the workload

of officials and ensure a faster data delivery into system. It is also necessary to create a man-

agement efficiency assessment tool for the Environmental Board into EELIS. It should help

officials assess the efficiency of the management of protected areas.

Output: the necessary connections and tools for the exchange of data between the IT systems

have been established; management efficiency tool in EELIS has been created; fieldwork tool

has been created. Results: time-consuming manual human work is decreased, data transfer

between different IT systems is improved and quality of the automated analysis is increased.

Thanks to this, quality of the environmental decisions is improved.

The activities are described in more detail in the annex of the application.

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7.3 Beneficiaries

Environment Agency is the main beneficiary, who will benefit directly from this Programme

Component. In addition, 0,5 position, is planned for the IT Centre of the Ministry of the Envi-

ronment.

According to the law, it is mandatory to organize public procurements in order to outsource

services and equipment. Indirectly universities (eDNA) and enterprises that provided specific

equipment (e.g. 3D bird radar) or service (IT developments) benefit from this programme.

After creating better tools (IT systems, AI) and using more efficient equipment in wildlife mon-

itoring that allows to collect more and improve the quality of the data, different private and

public organizations benefit from this programme – Environment Board, Ministry of the Climate,

companies that do environmental impact assessments, universities and scientists using wild-

life data, etc.

Is the benefit of the Programme Component a na-

tional or regional benefit? National☒ Regional☐

If regional, indicate the benefiting NUTS-2 regions.

7.4 Sustainability

After the end of the Swiss-Estonian cooperation programme, Environment Agency will main-

tain the results and finance the activities necessary to maintain the developed IT systems and

implementing new monitoring methods. Aim of the programme is to develop more efficient

systems and methods (e.g REM and AI), that would replace the old ones. Thanks to the de-

velopment of the IT systems, less human work is necessary and saved budget can be used to

maintain the systems. Capacity will be increased as the object of the programme is to reduce

human work, use new technical solutions and use more automatic solutions that would in-

crease the quality and volume of the data, make data transfers into the systems more efficient

and increase the quality of the analyses. Environment Agency will continue with that also after

the programme, but thanks to this cooperation, wildlife monitoring will be taken on to next level.

Improved quality of the data improves also the decisions made by policy makers.

7.5 Budget

Detailed budget is included in the Annex 4.

7.6 Risk Analysis and Risk Management

Main risks for the Environment Agency are: 1. Price of the services and equipment will increase (risk level: low medium). To mitigate

the risk, we have taken this into account in the preparation of the budget and we have added necessary buffer. In case buffer will be not needed we will make a proposal to transfer it to another budget line.

2. IT developments take longer than planned (risk level: medium high). We are already developing procurement documents to save time and start as soon as agreement is signed.

3. The number of potential service providers is limited that impacts public procurements and public procurements may fail (risk level: low medium). To mitigate the risks, we

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have involved stakeholder in the preparation of this programme and we will actively spread the information of the public procurements and as the number of potential ser- vice providers is limited in Estonia, we will use international public procurements if nec- essary and mandatory according to the law.

4. The quality of services is low (risk level: low medium). When ordering services, it is necessary to plan well ahead and provide the quality criteria that need to be followed. The services have to be described in detail in contracts, if work does not confirm to the contract, a chance to improve the work is given. It is necessary to check the quality services offered regularly.

8. Annexes

# Annex

8-1 Annex 8-1 Environment Agency actions and personnel

Annex [9]

Detailed Information to Programme Component

Basic Programme Component Information

Title Implementation of a systematic assessment of the social

and conservation outcomes of protected areas

Planned Duration [months] 48

Requested Swiss contribu-

tion (CHF)

3 843 456,11

Requested co-financing

rate of Switzerland [%]

85%

9. Programme Component Operator

9.1 Basic Information

Name of Programme Com-

ponent Operator

The Environmental Board

Type of entity National administrationNational administration

If type of organization is

“other”, describe the type

briefly

Government Agency

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Name of contact person Ms Riina Kotter

Position Leading specialist

Correspondence address: Roheline 64, 80010 Pärnu, Estonia

E-Mail [email protected]

[email protected]

Webpage and social media

(if any)

www.keskkonnaamet.ee; www.keskkonnaamet.ee/en

www.facebook.com/keskkonnaamet

Date of establishment 1 January 2021

Merging the for-

mer Environ-

mental Board

and the Envi-

ronmental In-

spectorate

Tax number (if applica-

ble): EE101281142

Commercial register

code: 70008658

Number of employees: 584.05

Financial Turnover for each of the 3 previous years [in

EUREUR]

State budget:

2021 20,657,606

2022 20,979,697

2023 23,052,343

Has the Programme Component Operator previously received

funding from the Swiss Contribution? Yes☐ No☒

9.2 Programme Component Operator Management

The Environmental Board is a government agency which operates within the area of the Min-

istry of Climate.

The Environmental Board’s task is to implement state policies on environmental use, nature

conservation and radiation safety and to monitor the fulfilment of the laws and norms estab-

lished for the protection of the natural environment. It is also involved in the development and

updating of legal acts and other official documents regulating the environmental field.

The areas the Environmental Board operates in are wide-ranging: from issuing fishing and

waste management permits to placing natural assets under protection, and from publishing

environmental fees to offering environmental education programmes. In total, the Environmen-

tal Board offers 65 public services. The clients include individuals, companies and local au-

thorities, and it provides a lot of public services for the benefit of the state and society in the

broadest sense.

The Environmental Board is represented all over Estonia, with 31 offices around the country.

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The Swiss Support Measure programme will be managed by the conservation management

planning department.

DIRECTOR GENERAL

MANAGEMENT ENVIRONMENTAL USE WILDLIFE SURVEILLANCE

Administrative Depart- ment

Climate and Radiation Department

Conservation Manage- ment Department Surveillance Department

Service Department Circular Economy De- partment

Conservation Manage- ment Planning Depart- ment

Environmental Compen- sation Department

Personnel Department Water Department Natural-Resource Use De- partment

Investigation Depart- ment

Public Relations De- partment

Forest Department Legal Department

Strategy and Analysis Department

Environmental Education Department

Internal Control

Adviser

9.3 Programme Component Management

Will external management personnel be hired to implement the Pro-

gramme Component? Yes☒ No☐

What personnel capacity will be dedicated

for the management of the Programme Com-

ponent implementation (in full-time equiva-

lents FTE)?

Internal resources

External resources

15 FTEs

The General Programme Manager (0.5 FTEs, 2024‒2028) will be responsible for the general

coordination of the project in the Environmental Board. He/She will coordinate the activities in

general, be responsible for the use of the budget and procurements, organise the communi-

cation, seminars and study trips. She will also supervise and manage the personnel hired for

the programme component activities.

Activity 1: Conservation Management Effectiveness Assessment

Management Effectiveness Assessment Coordinator (1 FTE July 2024 ‒ 2028) will coordinate

the management effectiveness assessment, supervise the assessors, be responsible for the

use of methodology, analysing and summarising the assessment.

Management Effectiveness Assessment Experts (2 FTEs, 2025‒2028) – carry out the assess-

ment, possible splitting (e.g. part-time assessors).

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Data Analyst (0.4 FTEs, Dec 2024 ‒ 2028) – initially coordinates the preparation and evalua-

tion of the assessment tool, later summarises the results and makes proposals for further de-

velopment of the tool if necessary, analyses the results of assessments, helps to get the nec-

essary data.

Activity 2: Conservation Management Planning

Programme Coordinators (1.25 FTEs, 2024‒2028, will be split) ‒ responsible for the coordina-

tion of Activity 2 regionally: methodologies of habitat inventories, instructions for preparing

management plans, checking the quality of prepared plans etc.

Habitat Action Plan Expert (1 FTE, Sept 2024 ‒ 2028) – prepares national habitat action plans,

plans habitat inventories, if necessary plans the preparation of basic expertise for drawing up

plans, involves stakeholders, analyses the integration of habitat plans in other Estonian stra-

tegic documents.

Conservation Management Planning Experts (3 FTEs, 2024‒2028) – prepare site-specific

management plans, help coordinate the preparation of habitat inventory methodologies, plan

site-specific inventories of habitats and species, plan the preparation of the basic expertise

required for the preparation of the management plan, involve interest groups and stakeholders

in drawing up plans.

Data Analyst (0.3 FTEs, Dec 2024 ‒ 2028) – with a background in statistics and mathematics,

provides input to habitat protecion necessities by organising and analysing habitat data.

Data Specialist (0.5 FTEs, Dec 2024 ‒ 202) – helps organise habitat inventory methodologies,

manages data entry and verification.

Activity 3: Species Protection

Programme Coordinator (0.25 FTEs, Dec 2024 ‒ 2028) ‒ responsible for the coordination of

Activity 3, supervise the preparation of action plans.

Species Action Plan Experts (2 FTEs, 2024‒2028) – preparation of action plans, organising

inventories and studies required for this purpose.

Protection Categories Expert (1 FTE, July 2024 ‒ 2028) – coordinating inventories and expert

assessments in order to propose changes to protection categories, preparing proposals for

changes to protection categories to the ministry.

Data Analyst (0.3 FTEs, Dec 2025 ‒ 2028) – with a background in statistics and mathematics,

provides input to species protection necessities by organising and analysing species data.

Data Specialist (0.5 FTEs, Dec 2024; 2025‒2028) – is engaged in updating the data of pro-

tected species n the basis of inventories commissioned under the project.

Why prefer FTEs to services?

- In Estonia, there are not enough competent bidders outside the Environmental Board

to carry out planned activities (e.g. drawing up plans);

- these are specific activities that are easier to coordinate and guide in a coherent man-

ner;

- when coordinating the activities in the Environmental Board, we can ensure that the

expertise will remain within the Environmental Board;

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- the outsourced service is more expensive;

- in the case of outsourced services, the quality of the work performed is uneven and the

work needs to be improved later;

- when ordering the service, the Environmental Board itself also has a heavy workload

(preparation of initial tasks, preliminary work, acceptance of work, introduction of cor-

rections, approval procedure).

Are CVs attached to this documentation? Yes☐ No☒

Are terms of reference for the management functions to be established

attached to this documentation? Yes☐ No☒

9.4 Programme and Project Management Experience

The Environmental Board is a partner in 25 ongoing similar international projects at the mo-

ment. The total budget of the projects is about 23 million euros. In recent years the amount of

ongoing projects has been approximately the same.

Restoring Semi-Natural Habitats 2023‒2029

The aim of the project is to restore wet semi-natural habitats (boreal Baltic coastal meadows,

Northern boreal alluvial meadows, alkaline fens/wet meadows, molinia meadows on calcare-

ous, peaty or clayey-silt-laden soils (Molinion caeruleae), hydrophilous tall herb fringe commu-

nities of plains and of the montane to alpine levels) in order to adapt to the changes of climate.

The project partners are the Ministry of Climate, the State Forest Management Centre and the

Estonian Seminatural Community Conservation Association. It is an ongoing project and the

member team is part of the organisation.

The project is funded by EU Cohesion Policy Funding. The project period is 2022‒2029, the

total amount of the project is 5 million euros, EU funding is 4.25 million euros.

Restoring the Baltic coastal habitat networks 2018‒2025

CoastNet LIFE (LIFE17 NAT/FI/000544) aims to improve the conservation status of Natura

2000 sites along the Baltic coastal zone. To achieve this, it carries out restoration work on four

types of habitat: boreal Baltic islets and small, open habitats, mosaics of herb-rich, broad-

leaved forests and semi-natural habitats, sun-lit habitats, as well as large coastal meadows

and new forests on previously uncolonised land. The project’s work helps to increase the pop-

ulations of numerous species by giving them new areas to colonise. It also helps to combat

the effects of habitat fragmentation and isolation, as well as boosting the populations’ resilience

to climate change. Several species covered by the Birds Directive will benefit from improve-

ments to their nesting habitats and those on their migration routes.

In Estonia restoration is carried out on 41 project sites, e.g. in Lahemaa National Park, Kolga

Bay and Aegna Landscape Protection Area, Paljassaare Limited-Conservation Area.

It is a joint Finnish-Estonian project, the partners in Estonia are the Environmental Board, Tal-

linn Urban Environment and Public Works Department. The lead partner is Metsähallitus from

Finland.

The total budget of the project is 8.7 million euros, Estonian budget is 1.1 million euros. It is an

ongoing project and the member team is part of the organisation.

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https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/life/publicWebsite/project/LIFE17-NAT-FI-000544/restoring-the-

baltic-coastal-habitat-networks

Restoration of Estonian alvar grasslands 2014‒2019

The LIFE to alvars (LIFE13 NAT/EE/000082) project’s main objective was to restore the most

valuable, but currently overgrown, alvar grassland areas on 2,500 ha of land and to create the

right conditions for local farmers to manage these areas after the restoration. In order to

achieve this aim, the project planned to introduce effective large-scale restoration methods

and to create the necessary infrastructure for continuous management of the restored sites.

The project also aimed to directly involve private land owners and to raise awareness among

the local community and the general public of the value of alvar areas and of the importance

of managing them effectively.

The LIFE to alvars project achieved all its objectives and improved the conservation status of

Estonian alvar grasslands at all the project sites. Specifically, the project restored, in total, 2

501.5 ha of alvar grasslands. This included restoration work on 1,000 ha of private land, with

the involvement of approximately 600 private landowners.

The project won a Natura 2000 award in the socio-economic category in 2018.

The total budget of the project was 3.7 million euros. The Environmental Board was the lead

partner of the project, other partners were Tartu University, Estonian University of Life Sci-

ences and the Estonian Seminatural Community Conservation Association. Some people from

the member team still work in the organisation.

https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/life/publicWebsite/project/LIFE13-NAT-EE-000082/restoration-

of-estonian-alvar-grasslands

10. Programme Component Description

10.1 Short Summary

One goal of the programme is to evaluate the effectiveness of the management of the pro-

tected areas with the new methodology created under Technical Support Instrument financed

by the European Commission. Also, site-based inventories are carried out and site-based con-

servation objectives and measures for protected species and habitats are revised. The con-

servation management plans of protected areas, action plans for species and habitats and

protected categories of species (category I, category II and category III) are revised and up-

dated. The contents of management plans and action plans are revised and this helps priori-

tising what protection measures are most effective. The effectiveness of management of pro-

tected areas as well as protected species and habitats is improved because of national and

site-based conservation objectives are better targeted and measures fully correspond to con-

servation objectives.

10.2 Activities and Expected Results

Activity 1: Conservation Management Effectiveness Assessment

- The operational guidance for the implementation of the TSI project action plan for car-

rying out the evaluation;

- development of the Management Effectiveness Assessment Tool (in cooperation with

the Environmental Agency) (Annex 1, 2.1.1);

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- additional training for the implementation of the Management Effectiveness Assess-

ment Methodology for the assessors and the staff of the Environmental Board (Annex

1, 3.1);

- application of the methodology – the main assessors are from the project. The assess-

ment is carried out for approximately 300 natural objects (Annex 1, 2.1.2) (There are

6 national parks, 241 nature conservation areas, 150 landscape protection areas, 308

conservation areas and 2018 species’ protection sites in Estonia). The assessment

provides input for the preparation of management plans and proposes what kind of

additional expertise and fundamental research is necessary for the preparation of man-

agement plans;

- analysis of the results, compilation of a summary (digital report in Estonian and English)

and its introduction to the public (Annex 1, 2.1.1).

Activity 2: Conservation Management Planning

- Preparation and updating of inventory methodologies for habitats (habitat types listed

in Annex I of the Habitats Directive protected in Estonia). Inventory methodologies are

prepared for lakes, springs, outcrops and caves. For all other habitats, the guidelines

will be reviewed and, if necessary, updated. The completed and updated guides will be

posted on the ministry’s website under the Natura 2000 network materials. The result

is that there is an up-to-date guide for the inventory of all habitats (Annex 1, 2.1.3);

- organisation of training for the experts and specialists working in the Environmental

Board carrying out inventories following the methodology and guidelines (e.g. a total of

two training sessions per year) (Annex 1, 3.1);

- ordering habitat inventories and, if necessary, expert assessments for the preparation

of habitat action plans (e.g. rivers and streams, lakes, springs, outcrops and caves)

(Annex 1, 2.1.3);

- updating the data in the database (in cooperation with the Environmental Agency);

- preparation of habitat action plans (at least three action plans), stakeholder involve-

ment, introducing to the public (e.g. an action plan for rivers and streams, an action

plan for lakes and springs, an action plan for outcrops and caves);

- ordering inventories and expert assessments of habitats and protected species for the

preparation of management plans (Annex 1, 2.1.3);

- integrating climate change issues into management plans. Discussions, seminars,

training sessions (one training day per year) are organised. The guidance materials on

how climate-related issues can be reflected in the management plans is compiled (An-

nex 1, 3.1);

- linking the issues of the Green Network to the preparation of management plans. Co-

operation with local authorities, discussions on how local authorities can integrate man-

agement plans into general planning (one seminar per year with local authorities, i.e.

four seminars). The guidelines for the preparation of management plans are supple-

mented by a guideline on how to integrate the green network into the management

plan, a digital leaflet for local authorities (available on the website) is compiled (Annex

1, 3.1);

- preparation of site-based management plans, involvement of interest groups, publica-

tion of plans. The project will produce a total of 64 management plans.

Activity 3: Species Protection

- Ordering inventories, basic research and expert assessments for the preparation of

species action plans (Annex 1, 2.1.3). The need is determined when preparing the

compilation of the action plan;

- on the basis of inventories, the data is organised and updated (cooperation with the

Environmental Agency), the species data is updated before/at the time of preparation

of the action plan;

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- preparation and coordination of species protection action plans, stakeholder involve-

ment, cooperation with research institutions. 60 action plans for protected species

will be completed within the framework of the project;

- organising trainings/seminars to the specialist of the Environmental Board in order to

explain the principles of the protection of species and discuss and discuss what the

fundamental principles of discretionary decision making are (one training/seminar per

year) (Annex 1, 3.1);

- inventories, studies and expert assessments of species’ groups in order to find out what

changes in protection categories are necessary (Annex 1, 2.1.4);

- preparation of proposals for amendment of protection categories to the ministry (Annex

1, 2.1.4).

Study trips to Switzerland (Annex 1, 3.1)

- Organising two study trips to Switzerland (e.g. Swiss National Park): five days for six

specialists each, the emphasis of one or the study trips is habitat protection and the emphasis of the other study trip is species protection. The aim of the trips is to learn about conservation management planning/strategies, habitat and species data collec- tion, using GIS).

Cooperation with other countries (Annex 1, 3.1)

- Organising a study trip to Czech national parks in order to get experiences from their

project activities of Swiss Support Measure, to study what the principles of habitat and

species protection are in the Czech Republic;

- Possibility of organising similar trainings to Czech specialists in Estonia.

National Procurement (according to Estonian legislation)

- The Environmental Board organises two national (Estonian) public procurements with

open announcements per year (7 calls per project period, one in May and one in Octo-

ber, no longer tendered in the second half of 2027) which commission methodologies

for habitat inventories; species inventories and surveys;

- one national (Estonian) public procurement with an open announcement per year for

the preparation of species conservation action plans (four procurements in total);

- separate ongoing procurements as small purchases.

Procurements are organised on the basis of the Estonian Public Procurement Act and the

procedure for conducting procurements of the Environmental Board.

10.3 Beneficiaries

The direct beneficiary of the component is the Environmental Board who is responsible for

the organization of the protection of protected areas and assessment of the efficiency of pro-

tection measures.

Indirect beneficiaries are:

- the Environmental Agency who can update the data of habitats and species in their

database as the result of the inventories that are carried out;

- the State Forest Management Centre who carries out protection activities on state land

according to conservation management plans and action plans of habitats and species;

- local municipalities use the data of habitats and species and also the information pro-

vided by conservation management plans in their overall planning of green infrastruc-

ture;

- the whole population of Estonia - as the beneficiaries are public authorities, they work

for the public, the aim of the component is to make conservation management more

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effective at the national level in order to make better environmental decisions in the

future.

Is the benefit of the Programme Component a na-

tional or regional benefit? National☒ Regional☐

If regional, indicate the benefiting NUTS-2 regions.

10.4 Sustainability

The main result for the Environmental Board is that the protection effectiveness of protected

areas will be assessed. The assessment will provide information how the current management

planning practices can be made more effective and where the main drawbacks are. Hence,

the process of preparing conservation management plans and national action plans for species

and habitats will be more effective. The Environmental Board will be able to carry on conser-

vation management planning using the national budget. The Support Measure will help the

Environmental Board to review its current conservation management planning practices in or-

der to match them with contemporary needs.

The expertise will remain within the Environmental Board, as the compilation of management

plans and action plans will be part of our overall work. As the positions are open for all the

specialists who have the required education and skills, specialists from the Environmental

Board can also apply for these positions. The Environmental Board will then hire new special-

ists to fulfill their positions. As the project ends, the former specialists from the Environmental

Board will remain within the Environmental Board. As the work requires special knowledge, the

probability that other people who are hired to work in the project will apply for the positions in

the Environmental Board or other institutions who deal with similar topics is very high. Estonia

will have several skilled environmental experts. All the seminars and trainings are organised

for larger audiences, other specialists from the Environmental Board will participate.

One of the challenges for the Environmental Board is the lack of experts in Estonia who can

carry out inventories and gather the data of habitats and species. In order to carry out inven-

tories of habitats and species it is necessary to raise the level of expertise among conservation

management planning and conservation management specialists in the Environmental Board.

The competence of the specialists can be improved by organising seminars and study trips in

the frames of Programme.

Another challenge is the opposition to conservation measures and activities among the repre-

sentatives of local people and developers. So, it is necessary to involve stakeholders in the

conservation planning process and find the solutions that are acceptable to the people living

in or near the site. Involving stakeholders to conservation management planning can be time-

consuming, so it is necessary to analyse how it should be carried out effectively and plan it

regarding the specifics of the area.

In the process of management planning, the Environmental Board proposes changes in the

protection rules of sites in order to improve the protection measures. Also, the proposal to

change the protection categories of species will be prepared, updating the protection catego-

ries of species helps to choose better protection measures.

10.5 Budget

Detailed budget is included in the Annex 4.

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10.6 Risk Analysis and Risk Management

The main risks for the Environmental Board are:

- Institutional reforms (risk level: low). Internal institutional reform is ongoing in the Envi- ronmental Board, however, the project activities can be adjusted to the new structure of the institution;

- changes in legislation (risk level: low-medium). Necessary adjustments in the pro- gramme will be made following the legislative changes.

- the lack of competent experts to carry out inventories and give expert opinions (risk level: low medium). Accordingly, public procurements may fail. To mitigate the risk it is necessary to plan the procurements well in order to provide possibilities for a wide range of experts. The period of the programme is long enough to carry out new pro- curements and change initial plans, the planning of procurements needs to be started right at the beginning of the programme;

- being unable to hire the personnel for the programme (risk level: medium low). It is necessary to provide the salaries that motivate, also, services can be chosen instead.

- the quality of services is low (risk level: medium low). When ordering services it is nec- essary to plan well ahead and provide the criteria that need to be followed. The services have to be described in detail in contracts, if work does not conform to the contract, a chance to improve the work is given. It is necessary to check the quality services of- fered regularly.

- the price of the services increases (risk level: medium high). The budget can be over- viewed, a buffer against it is planned.

# Annex

N/A