estonian agriculture, rural economy and food industry

11.
Rich biodiversity
When compared to other regions of the same latitude,
Estonia's flora and fauna are one of the
world's richest in species. In Estonia there are nearly
5,000 plant species and 3,500 species of mushrooms
and fungi, 11,000 species of invertebrates,
and 500 species of vertebrates. Besides other factors,
the great biodiversity owes to the great percentage
of natural landscapes and the survival of
traditional land usage, as well as the preservation of
semi-natural communities. There are often more
than 50 plant species to be found within a single
square metre of a meadow that is covered with
scattered trees (puisniit).These areas are one of the
semi-natural communities. The plant community
richest in species is the Vahenurme puisniit in
Pärnu County, where 74 plant species have been
counted in a single square metre. Such areas are
home for a large number of different insects and
snails and they are a stopping and resting place for
migrant birds.
The impact of human activities on the formation
of semi-natural communities is significant. The
appearance and values of such communities have
come to be, and have survived, owing to the
Estonians' sustainable use of nature. Other seminatural
communities in Estonia include limestone
terrains; coastal, valley flat, and marshy meadows;
and pastures covered with scattered trees.
Estonia endeavours to protect
natural diversity
While the diversity of Estonian landscapes was
threatened during the Soviet period by intensive
land improvement and agriculture, and the resulting
pollution, now a new danger has emerged: The
danger lies in the overgrowing of cultivated land,
and the disappearance of sea views and semi-open
landscape types in coastal areas and on the islands.
Four goals have been set to preserve landscapes
and wildlife:
conservation of semi-natural communities;
protection and preservation of valuable species
and habitats;
preservation of the cultural landscape of the
region, taking into account the historical landscape
structure and the existing elements of the landscape;
protection and preservation of historical and
cultural heritage.
Landscape and nature conservation areas have
been established to preserve and protect the diverse
landscapes of Estonia, of which activities are continuing.
Twelve per cent of the country's territory
was covered by conservation areas in 2001. In the
year 2000, the government ratified a programme
for setting up a Natura 2000 network. Natura 2000
is a network of European Union nature conserva-
38