Lea Tuvikene

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News of Lake restoration in Estonia

• Lea Tuvikene
• Centre for Limnology
• Estonian University of Life Sciences
• lea_at_limnos.ee

13.04.2007, Vitskøl Kloster, Denmark
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From SWOT analysis in the Estonian information
package

• WEAKNESSES
• No good example of successful and fully completed
  restoration projects in Estonia
• Weak monitoring after restoration

• STRENGHTS
• Big interest among the local inhabitants and
  authorities to make the lakes better

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• THREATS
• Different groups of interest do not agree about
  the aims and scope of restoration
• Hurrying and economizing in the phase of planning
  the restoration of a lake
• No or insuffisient prior investigations
• Selection of wrong method(s)

• OPPORTUNITIES
• Economic growth and availability of EU funds
  create possibilities for funding of restoration
  projects

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Problems identified recently

• The legislation does not require necessarily
  investigations and project for restoring of a
  water body
• The water specialists in local environmental
  districts give a permit for restoring of smaller
  water bodies easily

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What happens

• The aims and cope are not defined
• No prior investigations
• Not expected or not stable result
• Difficult to correct the mistakes

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What to do?

• Improve the legislation
• Educate the water specialists of the
  environmental districts and local
  self-governments
• Rise the awareness of people

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Latest actions in frames of Lakepromo

• Questionary on lake/river restoration activities
  during 2000-2006 was sent to environmental
  districts of all counties
• Seminar-training for water specialists of the
  environmental districts, April 3th 2007
• in co-operation with the Ministry of the
  Environment
• 65 participants (also people from consultancy
  institutions and institutions for establishment
  and sanitation of water bodies)

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Programme of the seminar

• Methods for restoration of water bodies
• Overview of the acts of law regulating the
  restoration of water bodies
• About restoration of watercourses in Estonia
• Reasons and solving the problems of oxygen
  deficiency in lakes
• Results of biomanipulation at Lake Ülemiste,
  2003-2006
• Experiences of lake restoration in Denmark and
  Finland (on the basis of the according Lakepromo
  information packages)
• Overview of the information on recent lake and
  river restoration activities in Estonia based
  on questionary
• Discussion

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Needs/tasks identified

• Need for database of water bodies which should be
  restored
• Need for proper guiding material in Estonian
  language
• Need for co-operation of hydrobiologists,
  limnologists (theoretical teaching) and technical
  executors (engineers)
• Need for improvement of the legislation
• It was suggested to water specialists of
  environmental departments, always to recommend to
  renovators of water bodies the proper preparatory
  work (research, planning).

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First result from seminar

• The law of water is being changed
• the local authorities must report environmental
  service of every planned restoration activity at
  lakes.

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The end