BIOLOOGILISE MITMEKESISUSE SÄILITAMINE KOHALIKUL TASANDIL

The document argues that urban biodiversity is essential for human quality of life and ecosystem services, but is often undermined by development pressure and inadequate planning. It outlines the legal obligations of Estonian municipalities under international conventions and EU directives, such as Natura 2000. The guide provides a framework for local governments to integrate biodiversity into strategic plans, manage municipal lands and green networks, and engage the community. It details a five-step process for considering nature values in planning and presents case studies from cities like Edinburgh, Oslo, and Malmö to illustrate successful implementation of biodiversity strategies, green roofs, and sustainable drainage systems.

• Urban environments can support a higher diversity of plant species than surrounding rural areas because they offer a variety of micro-habitats and niches.
• Biodiversity in cities provides critical ecosystem services, including air quality improvement, noise reduction, urban cooling, and the mitigation of the heat island effect.
• Local governments in Estonia have the legal right to place nature objects under local protection, including landscapes, valuable grasslands, and parks, though this has been underutilized as of March 2010.
• The preservation of urban biodiversity is hindered by high development pressure, where green areas are often viewed as 'unused' land, and by a lack of awareness regarding the value of 'unmanaged' nature.
• To increase biodiversity in green areas, municipalities should implement zoned mowing regimes, where some areas are mown only 1-2 times per year or not at all to allow seeds to ripen and provide food for insects and birds.
• The guide proposes a four-level hierarchy for managing nature values during development: enrich, preserve, mitigate, and compensate.
• Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems (SUDS), such as infiltration ditches and collection ponds, are recommended to reduce sewage load and create new urban habitats.
• Case studies show that integrating biodiversity into urban planning can be successful through multi-stakeholder partnerships, such as the Edinburgh Biodiversity Partnership, which involves 50 organizations.
• In Linz, Austria, the city implemented a subsidy system for green roofs, resulting in 50 hectares of green roof area by 2009.
• The use of 'result-based contracts' for green area maintenance is preferred over 'input-based' contracts as they are more cost-effective for achieving biodiversity goals.

APA

Uustal, M., Peterson, K., & Kuldna, P. (2010). BIOLOOGILISE MITMEKESISUSE SÄILITAMINE KOHALIKUL TASANDIL. Stockholm Environment Institute. https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/SEI-Report-Uustal-BiologicallyDiverseCityUrbanBiodiversityHandbook-2010.pdf

Chicago

Uustal, Meelis, Kaja Peterson, and Piret Kuldna. BIOLOOGILISE MITMEKESISUSE SÄILITAMINE KOHALIKUL TASANDIL. Stockholm Environment Institute, 2010. https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/SEI-Report-Uustal-BiologicallyDiverseCityUrbanBiodiversityHandbook-2010.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Uustal |first1=Meelis |last2=Peterson |first2=Kaja |last3=Kuldna |first3=Piret |title=BIOLOOGILISE MITMEKESISUSE SÄILITAMINE KOHALIKUL TASANDIL |publisher=Stockholm Environment Institute |date=2010 |url=https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/SEI-Report-Uustal-BiologicallyDiverseCityUrbanBiodiversityHandbook-2010.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{uustal2010bioloogilise, author = {Uustal, Meelis and Peterson, Kaja and Kuldna, Piret}, title = {{BIOLOOGILISE MITMEKESISUSE SÄILITAMINE KOHALIKUL TASANDIL}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2010}, url = {https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/SEI-Report-Uustal-BiologicallyDiverseCityUrbanBiodiversityHandbook-2010.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }