The Väinameri Project Linking rural life and coastal nature The Väinameri Project. Linking rural life and coastal nature Compiled and edited by Toomas Kokovkin Primary contributors: Aleksei Lotman, Lennart Gladh, Ola Jennersten, Kaia Lepik, Lia Rosenberg, Kaja Lotman, Elle Puurmann, Toomas Kokovkin Book design by Jaana Ratas Layout by Mart Mõniste English editor Marguerite Oetjen Maps by Urve Pill, Arhipelaag Photographs by Toomas Kokovkin (if not indicated otherwise), Tiit Leito, Tiit Kaljuste, Arne Ader, Ola Jennersten, Ramunas Danisevicius, Vitaly Tsypnyatov, Dainius Labutis, www.fotokogu.com Published by Arhipelaag Kärdla, 2005 ISBN 9985-9583-0-6 FOREWORD 4 INTRODUCTION 6 RATIONALE OF THE VÄINAMERI PROJECT 10 OVERVIEW 16 Nature 16 Socio-economic life 26 PROJECT CONCEPT 32 Quality economies 33 Project organisation 38 ACTIVITIES AND INITIATIVES 44 Landscape management 44 Handicrafts 52 Tourism 58 AWARENESS OF PEOPLE 64 Working with media 65 Spreading the results 68 PROJECT IN A NUTSHELL 76 Overview of activities 77 Project sustainability 84 CONCLUDING REMARK 86 VÄINAMERE PROJEKT: KOKKUVÕTE 88 ANNEX 1 Bird fauna of the Väinameri area 94 ANNEX 2 Mammals of the Väinameri area 98 ANNEX 3 Rare and protected plants of the Väinameri area 100 Foreword I welcomed the first foreign partners in Hiiumaa over ten years ago. Estonia had just recently regained its independence and the Soviet troops had just left the island that had been under strict military surveillance. We went to dine in a restaurant—the hope of an emerging market economy—and ordered a meat dish. “This is local meat, right?” – the Danish partners asked the restaurant owner. “Oh, no, definitely not! It is from Germany!” – declared the owner with undistinguished pride. I recall this incident from time to time when I notice the extent of change in peo- ple’s attitudes over the years. Especially when I see the farmers of Väinameri making attempts to market their produce as unique and representative of all that is local despite all the obstacles. Or when tourism entrepreneurs promote something special, unique and close to nature. Or when craftsmen capture old patterns and techniques in their creation. Another great breakthrough has taken place in the last decade, I think, perhaps, throughout the whole world. The relations between nature protection and local people have shifted from being in opposition into co-operation. This applies to both sides. Nature protection has expanded its activities outside the protected areas by finding more values in semi-natural communities, heritage eco-systems which cannot survive without continuous management. On the other hand, the inhabitants of areas surrounding the protected areas have begun to look for ways to link their economic activities with nature protection more and more, whether in the form of a business or endowments. And people have started to place increasingly more importance on the quality of the living environment and not just the material gains. This has been the background for The Väinameri Project during the recent years. The Swedish World Wide Fund for Nature—WWF—planted the seed of this project in the coast of West Estonia, and—whether it was due to a favourable astrological position of the Moon or fertile soil—the seed has grown into a strong tree and its branches are reaching towards several points of the compass. This book provides a summary of The Väinameri Project, its aims, activities, achievements and blunders. We hope that the experiences of this project can be used far from the sloping coasts of our cool sea. Toomas Kokovkin, editor 4 5 Introduction The contents and tendencies of nature protection have for the whole world. First, existing nature protection gone through considerable turns during the last decade. approaches can no longer ensure the level of nature The changes are especially remarkable in the case of the conservation needed, as the sheer volume of external Estonian coastline. One might not think that surprising problems exceeds their capacity to respond. Second, if we consider that the heavy shackles of Soviet occu- individual countries can’t finance the upholding of the pation were lifted and Estonia became independent, the ecological balance based on existing thinking. soviet border guard system disappeared, re-privatisa- Principal decisions became necessary: to leave tion of land and democratisation of local management the old paradigm which separates economics and na- took place. However, the changes originate from much ture protection, and to search for possibilities for the wider global trends, connected both to alteration in the conservation of nature within society, a propos to re- “nature-protection-way-of-thinking” and to issues de- vised theories of economic growth. In 1992, with the veloping in European regional politics, as well. concept of sustainable development on the rise, the So why just the coast? Why do we emphasize its Rio de Janeiro conference took place, one reverbera- special condition? For several reasons. First, we are tion of which was the passage of the Act of Sustainable dealing with a border area between physical environ- Development in Estonia. ments. Here, all processes are relatively more dynamic In the case of the coast, the aforementioned tenden- than inland or in the sea. Tensions are higher. Live or- cies have led to integrated coastal zone management ganisms thrive. In the coastal zone one finds multitudes (ICZM) principles. In truth, requirements of the ICZM of spawning sites and feeding areas for fish, resting and are so complex that no maritime nation’s attempts to nesting places for birds, pupping and feeding grounds meet them have been fully successful. To reach the aim for sea mammals. People, too, have been drawn to the of nature protection alone we must fully consider the coast because the variety of available resources reduces following: survival risks. In the last century, new aspects of eco- • co-operation between the ecological nomic and strategic interests, associated with “leisure systems of the sea and land, time” and “quality of life” have emerged. Tourism has • matching the interests of different economic exploded, further increasing pressure on the coast. sectors, The need to search for the balance between in- • consideration of special interests of creasing human impact and endangered natural land- individual regions, scape has become a common topic. For our purposes, • harmonisation of different management the question becomes, how can we manage human levels, activity at the coast? Sadly, if it was once possible to • guaranteeing the development of local life, reach the aims of nature protection via the creation and taking into account culture and national functioning of a strictly nature conservation system, at origin. the end of the twentieth century two facts became clear Since dealing with the coastal management of an entire 6 country is an overwhelming task, some projects of more veloped through a balanced relationship between hu- limited scope were instituted. The Väinameri Project, mans and nature. The semi-natural coastal plant com- a cooperative effort of WWF-Sweden with Estonian munities that developed have today become a high partners, is one that developed from 1997–2004. priority for nature conservation. Continued preserva- WWF-Sweden has been the initiator and main fi- tion requires ongoing human activity. nancial supporter of The Väinameri Project. That in it- Before we continue, you might ask, what does self reflects the changed understanding of the meaning “semi-natural” mean? Let us give an example. In con- of nature protection. The WWF is the “Panda-organi- trast with areas of the world that remain “untouched by sation,” well known for its wide-scale campaigns to humans,” there are regions that have been developed protect species of rare animals and ecological systems. by and in harmony with human activity, over thousands But here in the Väinameri Project, we started with very of years. For example, a forested region may have been anthropocentric action, namely coastal agriculture and inhabited for a time, some of the forest cut for firewood the development of tourism and handicrafts. How is and ground cleared for the grazing of animals. New that connected to protecting nature? patterns of light and shade would then have allowed The Estonian west coast and islands are unique different plant life to adapt and develop, attracting dif- because as the slowly but constantly rising land emerges ferent birds and wildlife. This interdependence of man from the sea, vast expanses of shallow coastal areas and nature, continuing over millennia, results in what are formed, allowing light to reach the bottom. This we call semi-natural ecological systems, in this exam- phenomenon creates rich and diverse natural systems. ple, a wooded meadow. Combine this diversity with Estonia’s gently sloping The Estonian coastal plains have also been affect- beaches, with their widespread reed areas, coastal ed by changing patterns of human habitation reflecting meadows and alvar regions, and the result is a coastal altering social and economic conditions. landscape with great natural value. During the second half of the twentieth century the Although the Estonian coastal landscape formed semi-natural coastal areas have grown wild, grasslands over thousands of years, its natural status was impacted and limestone regions have grown over, wooded areas by human agricultural activity for many of those mil- have spread wider (similar tendencies on coasts and lennia. As soon as the land rose from the sea and could other border areas can be seen in the landscape of our support vegetation, humans began using it for grazing neighbour countries, Finland and Sweden.) One reason and mowing. Thus its defining characteristics have de- is large-scale agriculture, characterised by the use of Tiit Leito 7 powerful machinery and artificial fertilisers. Today, it itage of a place to its folklore and culture, is one such is important for us that semi-natural open coastal land- customer.