RAPORT ESTONIA

THE STATE OF COASTAL ZONE/MARITIME SPATIALPLANNING

TALLINN-PÄRNU 2013

PREFACE

This paper provides an overview of the the state of coastal zone planning /marine spatial planning in Estonia.

Complied by Valdeko Palginõmm,

2 Content PREFACE ...... 2 1. ESTONIA COASTAL ENVIRONMENT ...... 4 2. OVERVIEW OF COASTAL/MARINE SPACIAL PLANNING IN ESTONIA ...... 6 REFERENCES ...... 12 APPENDIX ...... 13

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1. ESTONIA COASTAL ENVIRONMENT

Due to the Soviet occupation, Estonian coastal areas stayed out of regular use for a long time, when strict usage and travelling restrictions were in effect on the shores bordering the sea. Many permanent residents were forced to leave their homes at that time.´

In 1946, the Council of Ministers of the Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic issued the secret regulation No. 058 “About the restricted border coastal belt in the Estonian SSR and the regime within it” (Järv et al, 2012). This regulation established a restricted coastal border zone, which included with few exceptions most of the coastal area in North and North-West Estonia, all the Estonian sea islands and the town of Paldiski.

People were allowed to move and operate in the border zone only on the basis of special permits, which were demanded even from those working in the border zone. All the activities of the local people of the coastal areas were largely controlled by Soviet border guards. These harsh restrictions were accompanied by drastic changes in the former way of life – many residents were forced to leave, traditional ways of land use dwindled and a number of manmade objects and values were left to face the forces of nature.

But, as is often the case, this also had some positive impacts. Partly thanks to that, coastal areas are still well preserved and in a relatively untouched state. Compared to many other European countries, the Estonian coastal areas are in a better condition (taking into account natural and cultural values), which is why among other things these areas have also great tourism potential.

Construction pressure on the coastal areas increased just after the restoration of independence in Estonia, when the closed coastal areas were re-opened and the land reform started. Unlike in the Nordic countries, where major coastal settlement expansion took place after WWII a revival in coastal land use and a rapid increase in coastal settlement have occurred over the last 15–20 years

In 2007, the National Audit Office conducted audits to assess whether building activities on shores and banks of water bodies are organised so as to ensure the efficient protection of public interests and elimination of possibilities of environmental damage and illegal construction. The institutions audited were local governments, the Ministry of the Environment, the Ministry of the Interior (including county governments) and the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications. As a result of the audit, the National Audit Office discovered that the natural value of shores and banks of water bodies and other public interests are not sufficiently protected against private interests and illegal construction activities and natural values may be damaged to the extent which makes it costly or impossible to restore them. The root of the issue is inadequate public involvement in the planning process of shores and banks, and construction is permitted without considering the need for such exceptions and implications. Supervision over construction activities on

4 shores and banks exercised by local governments lacks efficiency and illegal construction activities do not lead to appropriate punishments (Ehitustegevus ranna- ja kaldaalal, 2007).

There may have been a culture of out-of-sight out-of-mind in respect of the sea`s environmental problems. The sea has been the poor relative of terrestrial conservation, planning and environmental understanding over many years.

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2. OVERVIEW OF COASTAL/MARINE SPACIAL PLANNING IN ESTONIA

The first Estonian legal act on spatial planning came into force in 1939. It was the Building Act, regulating city planning only.

During the occupation years, planning was carried out according to the rules that were in force in the Soviet Union. Although there was no Planning Act in the Soviet Union, the rules and regulations were in place, providing instructions for the content and organisation of the preparation of plans. Mostly densely populated areas were planned, for which the general plans of cities and towns, projects for rural settlements planning and housing, project plans for industrial zones, schemes of general plans for groups of enterprises and projects of detailed plans were prepared. Planning documents were kept in secrecy or for official use.

The Planning and Building Act came into force on 1995 and remained in effect without major amendments for more than 7 years. During that time, the first National Spatial Plan Estonia 2010 (adopted in 2000), county plans dealing with general territorial-economic development in all counties (adopted during the period 1998 - 2002) and a number of comprehensive plans and detailed plans of rural municipalities and cities were prepared.

The new Planning Act that came into force on 2003 retained the structure and terminology of the previous Planning and Building Act as much as it was reasonable.

The first National planning covers the whole territory of the state and usually affects areas such as transport, energy, tourism policies and the location of nature protection areas. County planning affects similar issues as national planning within the territory of the given county or a part of it and must be approved by the county government. The municipalities prepare comprehensive and detailed plans. Comprehensive planning establishes more specific land use requirements and obligations and defines the primary purpose of certain areas within a local community, town, or particular property. It also determines parts of rural areas where detailed planning is mandatory. Only the immediate coastal zones are included in spatial planning, but not the offshore areas.

The regulation of coastal areas is included in the routine establishment of terms and conditions for land use and building or the comprehensive plan of the entire municipality details the principles for developing coastal areas.

Systematic spatial planning in Estonia has so far mostly been limited to mainland. The existing plans therefore do not include marine areas. The currently existing Planning Act in principle can be applied also in marine areas but there are still various unclear aspects related to competence, planning level, the extent of the rights of county governments in planning of marine areas (there are no county/administrative borders defined in the sea), spatial planning in the exclusive economic zone, etc (Veersalu et al, 2011).

6 According to the analysis composed by the Estonian Environmental Law Centre (EELC) in 2010 (Saunanen, Vaarmari, 2010), maritime planning with a county plan is not possible according to the valid legislation as the Territory of Estonia Administrative Division Act and other legislation do not provide a basis for extending the boundaries of a county to the territorial sea; thus counties have no territory at sea and the competence of county governors regarding the territorial sea is undefined.

At present legal zoning of coastal/marine areas in the Estonia has not been practiced. The existing spatial plans do not cover marine area and legal framework for marine spatial planning is still unclear (f.e. the borders of municipalities and counties are not fixed in the sea) (Merealade.planeerimise metoodika.., 2010)

Initiatives such as those focused on the coastal and marine areas, have been successful in bringing stakeholders together, raising awareness of the need for co-ordinated planning and action and in producing the first policy frameworks. They are, however, non-statutory, voluntary initiatives of limited duration.

Next there is summarized some examples of the already accomplished/ongoing pilot projects.

Saare County coastal zoning

The objective of zoning was to find the best solution for the development of Saaremaa coastal zone by applying the integrated management principles. The main objective was to design a set of common principles, which would form the basis for managing sustainable use and conservation of the Saare County coast, and to give the people who live on the coast and use this area a long-term sense of security.

Considering the provisions laid down in legislation and scientific determinations of the width of the coastal zone, it was agreed that the recommendation 15/11 by HELCOM about the coastal zone, which includes both sea and mainland, is best suited for the proposed zoning. For zoning purposes, the coast of Saaremaa was treated as a zone, which landward border was 3 km from the mean coastline and which seaward border coincided with the imaginary line linking the peninsulas and islands jutting furthest into the sea. The zone was termed coastal zone in the work.

A strategy was set for the zoning process: the coast is the biggest natural resource in Estonia that can be regarded as a non-renewable resource. Due to this the coastal zone must be used and protected in a sustainable manner to preserve it for the future. To sum it up, this work as an attempt to determine the coastal zone and develop integrated land use rules for it was the first of its kind in Estonia. The understanding of the purpose of coastal planning has changed; for example, in the early 2000s, coastal planning mainly stood for building on coastal areas (summer houses/private houses) and the regulation of the building activity;

7 Zoning helped divide the coastal zone into different zones and areas (Appendix, figure A) that specify various use options. Instructions and rules for planning were adopted. Although the work was successful and necessary, a number of issues that require resolution were revealed.

When developing solutions, the wishes and visions of the local authorities were more strongly represented than those of the state, because the work more specifically outlined development actions and cleared the restrictions and confirmed that they were justified. The local authorities were especially glad about the collected data that they could use in future for preparing strategies, development plans and in planning.

There is a strong need to perform such work on all coastal areas in Estonia. Despite the need for integrated use of mainland on coastal areas, more attention should be paid to the line between land and sea and the marine areas.

Offshore windparks

Offshore wind energy is a newcomer to the sea, and many argue that it will play a key role in moving towards a sustainable energy system in Europe in 2020 and beyond. Offshore wind energy deployment is foreseen to expand dramatically in the years to come and pressures on marine space are increasing.

Under the pressure of stakeholders who is developing an offshore wind farm to the marine waters of Northwest Estonia and plans to erect wind turbines in the Gulf of Riga, numerous wind farms are planned or already going through an Environmental Impact Assessment process.

Main effort of the pressure of stakeholders is that in February 2010, amendments to the legislation entered into force, including, for the first time, provisions that deal with off-shore wind parks and a thematic plan on wind energy of the county plan for the territories of Saare, Hiiu, Lääne and Pärnu counties together with a strategic environmental impact assessment were initiated.

Unfortunately important procedure aspects were left unregulated when this completely new planning type was added to the planning system, which may make marine planning impossible to implement in practice through a county plan. It is unclear which institution should initiate such county plans, which counties should organise preparation of these plans, how decisions will be made etc. (Tuulikud ja tuulepargid Eestis ...., 2010)

Potential conflicts of interests in marine areas solved on a case-by-case basis. This in turn does not enable a systematic approach on the development of marine areas.

8 Towards a Pilot MSP for Pärnu Bay

Although Estonia has no legal authority or capacity to carry out marine spatial planning in its marine areas, it did develop a pilot marine plan under the BaltSeaPlan Project for two sea areas (the Saaremaa and Hilumaa Islands and Pärnu Bay).

The projects focused on data inventories, including how to generate information in the case of missing data sources. They also undertook preliminary stakeholder involvement and conflict analyses.

The objective of The BaltSeaPlan pilot project was to try it out in the two sea areas, to find out difficulties, gaps in information and contribute to development of marine spatial planning methodology for Estonia. In the course of the BaltSeaPlan project, it was not possible to officially initiate a plan for the marine areas or conduct strategic environmental assessment, but the description of the current situation, analysis of controversies and recommendations for spatial planning of the areas contained in the draft shall serve as input for a future official plan.

The Pärnu Bay pilot area – located in the northern part of the Gulf of Riga – is characterised by intensive human uses as well as problematic environmental conditions. In addition to traditional uses such as shipping, fishing and recreation activities, there are also plans for offshore wind parks as well as an expansion of Pärnu Port (Appendix, figure B). The main environmental issue is eutrophication, which manifests itself in increased biological production and worsened light conditions for the seabed while at the same time positively affecting fish populations.

The BaltSeaPlan Report No 13 “Towards a Pilot MSP for Pärnu Bay” (2011) shows the stocktake of the area including methods for how to generate information in case of missing data sources. It also describes the stakeholder involvement and conflict analysis undertaken. In view of missing legislation for marine spatial planning in Estonia at the current stage it does not go the full cycle by actually proposing an marine spatial planning for the area.

However, the pilot projects have stimulated the government in 2011 to begin an initiative to establish legal processes for creating MSP legislation and to start a real planning process. The BaltSeaPlan pilot areas will be the areas where also the official planning will start.

9 SUMMARY

Estonian`s marine area is becoming increasingly crowded with demands on space for marine activities and designations. Space is particularly in demand near to the coast, in shallow waters. Technological advances and the demand for resources mean that marine activities are now moving into ever-deeper waters and more remote areas.

Although Estonia has no legal authority or capacity to carry out marine spatial planning. Martime activities are not much regulated and the relevant administration is quite scattered. Different criteria for permitting or prohibiting maritime activities are missing. The mechanisms for (international and national) co-planning are not clear.

There is no integrated system of planning control or a mechanism for producing a cross-sectoral, comprehensive, forward plan for the sea.

The Estonian Government plans to initiate Marine Spatial Planning in pilot sea areas that border with Pärnu and Hiiu County. These areas also overlap partly with the zones of Estonia’s two big offshore wind farm projects.

The preparation of planning and strategic environmental assessment will be delegated to the governors of both counties and it should be ready latest by 31.12.2016.

The financing of Marine Spatial Planning together with its strategic environmental assessment is partly ensured from the state budget and partly from the Estonian-Latvian cross border cooperation program and Environmental Investment Centre’s marine environment program.

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1. Ehitustegevus ranna- ja kaldaalal. 2007, Riigikontrolli aruanne Riigikogule. Tallinn, 2. JÄRV, H., SEPP, K., VEERSALU, T., LÕHMUS, L. 2012. Comprehensive study of Estonia’s coastal zone protection and conservation. In Sterr, Maack & Schultz (eds.):Development Concept for the Territory of the Baltic Green Belt - A Synthesis Report of the INTERREG IVB Project Baltic Green Belt. Coastline Reports 20 3. Merealade planeerimise metoodika. 2010. Hendrikson & Ko Tartu. http://www.siseministeerium.ee/public/Merealade_planeerimis e_metoodika.pdf. 4. PALGINÕMM, V., VEERSALU, T. 2009. Zoning of the coastal area of Saare county. In: Kont, A., Tõnisson, H. (eds.): Effects of the climate change on the coast of Estonia. Research results of ASTRA project. Tallinn University, Institute of Ecology publications 11/2009 Tallinn : 128-146. 5. SAUNANEN, E., VAARMARI, K. 2010. Maritime spatial planning. Analysis of valid legislation and solutions for amendment thereof. Estonian Environmental Law Centre. 6. Towards a Pilot Maritime Spatial Plan for the Pärnu Bay. 2011 Authors: Georg Martin, Robert Aps, Madli Kopti, Jonne Kotta, Laura Remmelgas and Merle Kuris. BaltSeaPlan Report 13 http://www.baltseaplan.eu/index.php?cmd=download&subcmd=dow nloads/0_BaltSeaPlan_13_final.pdf 7. Tuulikud ja tuulepargid Eestis. 2010. Senine planeerimine. Probleemid. Ettepanekud lahendusteks. Compiled by: Vaab, T; Keerberg, L; Vaarmari, K. www.eko.org.ee/wp- content/uploads/.../Tuulikud-ja-tuulepargid-Eestis.pdf 8. VEERSALU, T., SEPP, K., JÄRV, H., SEMM, M. 2011. The best practices of coastal zone protection and conservation in spatial planning. Report. Estonian University of Life Sciences.

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APPENDIX

Figure A. Distribution of the coast of Saaremaa into zones (Palginõmm, Veersalu, 2009).

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Figure B. Legally ensured human use of the marine area of the Pärnu Bay pilot area along with the planned wind farms and the related underwater cables and military practice area (Towards a Pilot Maritime..., 2011)

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