Central
The task of the Ministry of the Environment is to organise and coordinate environmental policy. This includes:
- Management of national environmental and nature protection;
- Performance of tasks related to land and databases containing spatial data;
- Management of the use, protection, recycling, and registration of natural resources;
- Radiation protection;
- Environmental supervision;
- Management of meteorological observation, nature and marine research, geological, cartographic and geodetic operations;
- Maintenance of the environmental register and the land cadastre;
- Management of the use of external funds of environmental protection and the preparation of corresponding strategic documents and draft legislation;
- Environmental awareness and promotion;
- Strategies and monitoring frameworks.
International cooperation is coordinated and organised by the International Co-operation Department.
The Ministry of Justice supervises the activities of Land Registry Departments.
Regional
Counties courts are responsible for:
- Maintaining land registers (Land Registry Departments).
There are four county courts and each of them has its own Land Registry Department.
Local
Local authorities are responsible for:
- Management of the utilisation of natural resources (land, forest, and bodies of water);
- Supply of water and sewerage;
- Adoption and updating of a waste management plan;
- Establishment of waste management rules;
- Establishment, for the types of waste subject to organised waste transport, of the procedure for determining the frequency and time of transport, the areas of waste transport and the amounts of waste transport fees;
- Nature conservation on local level: local authorities shall determine the conditions for the protection and use of valuable landscapes representing the specific character of the natural and cultural environment, settlement patterns or land use, or individual features of such landscapes.
Responsible ministries/bodies
Ministry of the Environment
Ministry of Justice
Sources:
Estonian Environment Agency
Estonian Land Board
SGI, Estonia Environmental Policies, Performance Indicators
European Parliament, Policy Brief, Estonia, 1998
European Land Registry Association
