Nature Conservation Development Plan until 2020.

The Nature Conservation Development Plan (NCDP) is a strategic base document for the development of sectors related to the conservation and use of nature until 2020. The strategic goals of the development plan are as follows: people are familiar with, appreciate and conserve nature and know how to use their knowledge in their daily lives; the favourable conservation status of species and habitats and diversity of landscapes is ensured and habitats are functioning as a coherent ecological network; long-term sustainability of natural resources is ensured and the principles of the ecosystem approach are followed in the use of natural resources; the development plan is in line with the Global Biodiversity Strategy of the Biodiversity Convention and the ensuing biodiversity strategy of the European Union and its ten-year target: halting the loss of biodiversity and degradation of ecosystem services in the EU by 2020, and restoring them insofar as possible, while stepping up the EU contribution to averting global biodiversity loss.
The primary goal of conservation management is to establish an up-to date protection regime for all protected natural values and to achieve the specified protection objectives. Other goals of the NCDP are as follows: that people are familiar with, appreciate and conserve nature and know how to use their knowledge in their everyday lives; that favourable conservation status of species and habitats and diversity of landscapes is ensured, habitats function as a coherent ecological network; that the long-term sustainability of natural resources, and the preconditions for this, are ensured and the principles of ecosystem approach are followed in the use of natural resources (2). Timber is one of the most important renewable natural resources in Estonia. The key goal of the Forestry Development Plan for the purposes of the NCDP lays down the principle that timber should be logged in a way and to an extent that ensures the biological diversity, productivity, regeneration capacity, viability and potential of forests (3.3).
The NCDP is also in line with the Estonian national sustainable development strategy Sustainable Estonia 21 and the Estonian Environmental Strategy 2030 and contributes to achieving their nature conservation objectives. Biological diversity is one of the key foundations for economic and social welfare. The more there are functioning and biologically diverse ecosystems, the better we are provided with food, fuel, clean air and water and the better we are able to combat environmental pollution and climate change. With the loss of biodiversity, nature will lose its ability to provide us with various services. It is therefore essential that natural resources be used in a sustainable manner (3).
To protect the habitats of species, species protection sites are established in addition to traditional nature protection areas. Protection rules for these sites are drawn up according to the needs of the species (2.1). Conservation of threatened species includes determining the degree of threat to them, identifying the threats, and identifying and applying protection measures. In addition to conserving individuals, species are conserved through maintaining and restoring the habitats of their populations and limiting human impact, while species associated with semi-natural habitats are conserved through the continuation of traditional land use. Maintenance and enhancement of the diversity and functioning of natural and cultural landscapes through traditional settlement and land use patterns ensures the preservation of cultural heritage in rural areas and creates preconditions for the preservation of landscape and biological diversity (2.3).