More information
Description
Everyone''s nature conservation is a concept by environmental scholars according to which nature conservation can only be successful if the whole society changes its habits and behaviour to become more environmental and climate friendly. Through active engagement, participants develop a sense of involvement and improve their knowledge of the environmental effects of their daily activities and choices. The aim of the project is to engage people actively both in conservation activities as well as policy debate. Target group is nature oriented and environmentally conscious people who otherwise do not have experiences with complicated policy documents.
Activities of the project include wide-scale participation of individuals and environmental organisations in the development of the Estonian Common Agricultural Policy Strategic Plan 2021-2027 and supporting activities like events popularising everyone’s nature conservation. There will be community events to popularise hands-on nature conservation – trainings on mowing by scythes that is used to maintain landscapes of outstanding natural beauty that are important for local communities and Estonia-wide competition near Estonian National Museum. www.talgud.ee will be renewed to support the everyone’s nature conservation concept. Project partner Estonian Seminatural Community Conservation Association will provide their expertise in policy debates and Karula Society will coordinate trainings on mowing by scythes.
Summary of project results
All recent major reports on biodiversity and climate change (IPBES 2018, IPCC 2019) clearly indicate that protecting nature solely within nature reserves has not yielded the desired results. In Estonia, we have lost 95% of our natural and semi-natural grasslands, and bird, plant, and insect species associated with these grasslands are either extinct or endangered. Additionally, the ability of these ecosystems to sequester carbon has diminished.
Although Estonian residents are becoming more environmentally aware year by year, and many wish to be involved, knowledge of actual problems and solutions remains limited (Estonian Environmental Awareness Survey, 2018). For instance, while there has been increasing public interest and engagement in forest policy, issues related to the agricultural policy are still viewed as a concern of the agricultural sector although these decisions and actions affect a larger part of our environment. Civil society organizations, on the other hand, have limited capacity to carry out advocacy activities and often do this on a voluntary and fragmented basis. Experts frequently lack the time or financial resources outside their regular jobs to participate in developing strategic plans. Meanwhile, many economic interest groups have specific financial interests and paid representatives involved.
Thus, the aim of the project is to shift the apathy caused by negative environmental news towards positive and active involvement by offering people hope and opportunities to participate. The project aims to: (1) provide environmentally positive alternatives to everyday activities (instead of merely sharing news online, people can engage in manual mowing, volunteer at community events, design their gardens to be more nature-friendly, etc.); (2) increase people''s willingness and interest in complex environmental decisions in agricultural policy, encouraging them to participate in advocacy related to the nature conservation aspects of the 2021–2027 Common Agricultural Policy strategic plan; (3) enable biodiversity experts to systematically participate in the 2021–2027 Common Agricultural Policy strategic plan process and share their knowledge with the wider public.
Objective: Engaging residents in nature conservation and empowering communities through fun conservation activities such as scything trainings to ease the otherwise difficult and negative conservation narrative into more easily understood and practical activities.
Results: Across Estonia, 18 community mowing events took place, along with two major mowing by schythe competitions in collaboration with the Estonian National Museum and Kalev Sports Association. Additionally, two end-of-season events were held, culminating in a major biodiversity debate with candidates for Mayor of Tartu, organized in cooperation with the Curated Biodiversity team and Tartu 2024 European Capital of Culture. This was followed by a communal mowing activity with the mayoral candidates using scythes. Through the project, at least 800 people were involved in scythe mowing, who either acquired or improved their skills. Around 100 people attended the debate on eco-friendly urban spaces, and 10,000 people followed the debate online.
Objective: Collaborative advocacy activities in the agricultural policy strategic plan 2021–2027 process and the empowerment of environmental organizations.
Results: To bring agricultural policy and rural issues into active public dialogue and increase the influence of both environmentally aware individuals and environmental organizations in shaping agricultural policy “Rural Life Blog" was established as an accessible communication channel. Altogether a total of 58 posts (analyses, case studies, etc) were published over two years. Additionally, both ELF and project partners participated in strategic plan meetings as an expert group, while the community partner Karula Conservation Association gained experience in elevating a local nature conservation issue (management of wet meadows) to the national level vis-a-vis both government bodies and the media.
Objective: Alleviate apathy toward conservation caused by negative environmental news and empower people to participate in individual-based nature conservation.
Results: To support broader communication on individual-based nature conservation, 5 video recommendations were developed for participating in nature conservation, making home gardens and urban spaces more nature-friendly, and understanding landscape biodiversity. During the first season, these clips were viewed over 3,000 times on YouTube, with a social media reach of at least 200,000.
Experts from the Estonian Fund for Nature and project partners Karula Conservation Association and Estonian Seminatural Community Conservation Association have both gained and shared experience in influencing policy, enhancing their skills and capacity as advocates in future policy processes. Throughout the project, new individuals have been engaged and inspired to continue working on individual-based nature conservation, helping to sustain the outcomes even beyond the project''s duration.