2nd meeting of the Support Measure Steering Committee

Kuressaare, Estonia

15.04.2025

Minutes

Chaired by Mr Timo Kark

Head of Biodiversity Protection Department

Agenda

08:30 - 08:45 Introduction from Programme Operator, the Ministry of Climate

08:45 - 10:15 Presentation on the progress of “Biodiversity Programme” 2024 and plans for

2025 by Programme Operator and Programme Components

Kairi Toiger, the Ministry of Climate

Lauri Klein, Environmental Agency

Riina Kotter, Environmental Board

10:15 – 11:00 General discussion and questions

Participants

Members of the Steering Committee

- Timo Kark, Programme Operator, the Ministry of Climate

- Tanel Ross, Programme Operator, the Ministry of Climate, through Microsoft Teams

- Christoph Liechti, Swiss Contribution Office

- Ieva Junevičienė, Swiss Contribution Office

- Helena Musthallik, National Coordination Unit (NCU)

- Lauri Klein, Programme Component 1, Environmental Agency

- Riina Kotter, Programme Component 2, Environmental Board

Observer:

- Margit Tennokene, the Ministry of Climate

Steering Committee Secretary

- Kairi Toiger, the Ministry of Climate

The Chair, Mr Timo Kark, opened the meeting and welcomed the participants. Mr Kark

presented the agenda and briefly outlined the main issues to be addressed during the meeting.

Kairi Toiger provided an overview of the 'Biodiversity Programme' on behalf of the

Programme Operator, covering the period from May 1 2024 to April 10, 2025

Key highlights:

- The Ministry of Climate organized the opening event which was held in May 2024 at

Palmse. Event was successful, with approximately 75 participants.

- The “Terms and Procedure for the Use of Support under the Swiss-Estonian Cooperation

Programme” was approved in July 2024 and came into force on 6 August 2024.

- The first Steering Committee meeting was held in October 2024. The Steering Committee

agreed on the rules of procedure, and the Programme Operator and Programme Component

Operators provided an overview of the developments within the „Biodiversity Programme“.

- Support measure implementation agreement between the NCU and the Programme

Operator was signed on December 19, 2024.

- The Minister´s directive for the components was signed 28th of February 2025.

- The Annual Support Measure Report was submitted to the NCU on 30 March 2025,

including a revised implementation schedule and procurement plan.

- Organization of the second Steering Committee meeting and a monitoring mission in

Saaremaa. - Submission of the Reimbursement Request is planned for September 2025.

- The third Steering Committee meeting is tentatively scheduled for September or October

2025.

Presentations and discussions

Budget and expenditure

Kairi Toiger gave overview of the budget and Christoph Liechti asked why there are less spent

than planned. Kairi Toiger answered that our salaries are lower than planned and also opening

event was cheaper. Christoph Liechti asked why less had been spent than planned. Kairi Toiger

explained that this resulted from salaries being lower than anticipated and the opening event

being more cost-effective than planned.

Programme Component 1 „Development of Innovative Monitoring Technologies and

Improvement of Environmental Databases and Systems“

Component Operator - Environmental Agency

Lauri Klein provided an overview of Programme Component 1, covering the period from 1

May 2024 to 10 April 2025

- Personnel consists of 8 staff members who work directly on the implementation of the

component, and 13 or more employees who are partially involved in monitoring methods

testing as part of their state-level duties.

- The acquisition of mobile 3D bird radars, as part of Action 2.1 under Component 1, is

currently at the stage of finalising procurement documentation. The public procurement is

planned to be announced by the end of April 2025, with the expected contracting period

between 15 and 30 June 2025. The Terms of Reference and Assessment Methodology

documents were presented for discussion at the meeting (see discussion details below).

Procurement feedback:

A discussion was held regarding the procurement of 3D bird radars. The Swiss Contribution

Office reviewed the documents and expressed satisfaction that, in addition to price, quality is

also being considered in the evaluation process.

Christoph Liechti and Ieva Junevičienė raised the following issues:

- As the amount is smaller than originally planned, a question was raised whether it will cover

maintenance until the end of 2027. Lauri Klein confirmed that it will, and added that the

remaining funds will be used, for example, to purchase a trailer for transportation and to

cover other minor expenses such as insurance and additional security measures.

- A question was raised regarding the maintenance of the radar after the project ends. Lauri

Klein responded that the agency will take over responsibility and will be required to

continue maintenance using its own budget. He also noted that renting the radar is a possible

option. The Committee agreed that Lauri Klein will provide information at the next meeting

on how the radar's use will be sustained in the future and how maintenance costs will be

covered.

- Lauri Klein needs to clarify whether there is a need for advance payment, as failure to

receive interim payments may affect the ability to deliver at a later stage. After the meeting,

Lauri Klein confirmed that the draft contract included in the procurement documents

contains the following clause (free translation by Lauri Klein): 2.1. The Buyer shall pay for

the devices and services based on submitted invoices following the delivery and setup of

the devices or the completion of services (including training). If the supply or service is

delivered in parts over different periods, the Buyer shall make partial payments accordingly,

based on the acceptance certificate for each supply and service. Maintenance services shall

be paid for after each instance of service provision, based on the respective acceptance

certificate./ This contract form is included in the procurement documentation. If any of the

bidders anticipate the need for an advance payment, they may propose relevant

modifications during the procurement process.

- As this is an international procurement, it was agreed that all documents will be translated

into English.

The Swiss Contribution Office approved the procurement documents.

Progress highlights:

Lauri Klein continued with presentation.

- The wider deployment of REM methodology and training of AI has reached the end of first

year of fieldwork and the analysis of photos from that period is also almost done. Fieldwork

period for 2025 has just started. Software development for using AI in species detection

from trail camera photos is still in testing phase.

- The acquisition and testing of new technologies for wildlife monitoring has progressed to

the testing phase for the first set of devices. These include: rugged tablet computers for

fieldwork (5 units); bat detectors attachable to mobile phones (11 units); bird sound

recorders with integrated GPS (5 units); GPS devices compatible with existing bird sound

recorders (10 units); a drone equipped with a thermal camera (1 unit); binoculars with

distance meters and altimeters (3 units); binoculars with thermal cameras (1 unit); and fully

automated insect monitoring devices (2 units). Testing will be conducted during spring and

summer 2025, after which a new procurement process will be launched to acquire additional

units of the devices that prove successful.

- Environmental DNA (eDNA) testing in wildlife monitoring has been resulting to first

purchase of method development for usage of eDNA in monitoring of aquatic biodiversity,

contract with University of Life Sciences signed in March 2025, results expected by the end

of 2025. Next procurement for method elaboration and testing for terrestrial biodiversity is

planned to be started in second half of 2025.

- Promoting citizen science and establishing a network of volunteers. The following methods

were tested or are planned to be testing:

2024 – otter, diving beetles, wintering bats, amphibians (these campaigns have concluded

and the results have been published);

2025 – moose, wintering bats, amphibians, reptiles (snakes and lizards), globeflower,

northern birch mouse, diving beetles, geese, pollinators, swans;

2026 – wintering bats, amphibians, reptiles, moths, night-singing birds, cranes, diving

beetles, pollinators;

2027 – wintering bats, amphibians, reptiles, otter, dragonflies, swallows, diving beetles,

pollinators, ants, white stork.

- Development of IT systems includes the following components: the EELIS–KESE

interface, the EELIS–PlutoF interface, a management plans assessment tool, and a

fieldwork tool for monitoring and inventories. The year 2024 served as the preparatory

phase, during which a framework contract was signed. In 2025, a so-called business analysis

will be initiated for all four developments, to be carried out under an internal contract

between KAUR and KeMIT. The main development activities are scheduled for 2026, with

finalisation planned for 2027

- Budget usage has been modest as first year has been mainly preparatory. 5% of total and

13% of yearly expected budget has been used. Highest amounts of budget are planned to be

used in 2026 and 2027, because most of the IT developments will be done during these

years and also procurement of 3D radars is expected to reach most payment in 2026.

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

conservation outcomes of protected areas”

Component Operator – Environmental Board

Riina Kotter provided an overview (presentation added) of the programme activities of the

Component 2 covering the period from May 1, 2024 to April 10, 2025.

- By the end of February 2025, 60% of the planned budget for the first year (till the end of

April) is used. The Environmental Board has started two dynamic purchasing systems

(habitats, species) for inventories, expert opinions, action plans.

- The project team has been recruited, and the search for experts to carry out inventories has

been successful.

- One of the risks associated with conducting inventories is opposition from private

landowners. To address this, the Environmental Board will begin issuing notifications to

landowners regarding planned inventories on private land.The process of changing of

categories of species has been really successful, experts want to participate in the process.

The seminar introducing the process took place in January in Tartu, more than 120 people

participated in Tartu and there were about 140 participants online.

- In September or October 2025 the Environmental Board is planning a study trip to

Switzerland.

Closing Remarks

Mr Timo Kark asked for comments. Mr Timo Kark opened the floor for questions and

comments.

The Swiss Contribution Office inquired about potential risks. The following risks were

highlighted:

• An increase in VAT – currently not an issue;

• IT developments – risk of not meeting the timeline;

• Opposition from landowners to the project.

All identified risks are being monitored, and any issues that arise will be addressed at the next

meeting.

Next Meeting:

The members decided that the time for next meeting will be in October and exact dates will be

agreed upon via email.