National Environmental Strategy (1997).

The environmental policy of the Republic of Estonia is implemented through executive action programmes following the elaboration of environmental strategy trends. Thus, development trends elaborated and directed by the Government and accepted by the public, which take into account the needs of the future generations without endangering the main requirements of the present generation, are followed. This means also that the environmental limitations have to be considered in economic activities. As the technological basis of the Estonian economy is relatively outdated, sustainable use of natural resources is of utmost importance. Due to the fact that funding possibilities are considerably smaller than needed in nature conservation, the use of limited available financial resources should be well planned. The present document consists of 5 Sections and contains 3 Annexes. Sec.1 (Issues 1-1.4) contains the introduction and lays down general principles. Sec.2 specifies priority environmental problems. Sec.3 (Issues 3.1-3.10) determines environmental policy goals. Sec.4 (Issues 4.1-4.6) regards instruments for sustainable use of natural resources and environmental management. Section 5 contains the conclusions. Annex 1 (Issues 1-10) defines natural resources and the state of environment. Annex 2 (Issues 1-7) regards principal factors causing environmental stress. Annex 3 (Issues 1-2) deals with technical infrastructure of environmental protection.