Estonia: landowners responsible for spread of alien species
An adviser at Estonia's Climate Ministry says landowners are legally responsible for preventing alien species from spreading from their land into nature, and that inaction can now be punishable, not just deliberate spreading.
Merike Linnamägi, an adviser at the biodiversity protection department of Estonia's Ministry of Climate, said on the radio programme "Ökoskoop" that 1,014 alien species are currently listed in Estonia. These are species found in nature that arrived there through human activity — from gardens, via pets, and other routes. About one percent of them are considered truly invasive.
Among the most problematic species, she named giant hogweed, Himalayan balsam, lupine, Canadian goldenrod, raccoon dogs, American mink and various alien crayfish species — these are the priority targets of current control efforts.
Regarding Spanish slugs, Linnamägi said it remains unclear from a nature conservation standpoint how much harm they actually cause in the wild. It is known they eat plants and there is some evidence they may try to eat chicks in bird nests, but their main damage is done in private gardens.
Hard to fight at state level
Because Spanish slugs live mostly on private land and are active at night, organizing a state-level campaign against them is difficult — the main method is collecting them by hand at dusk or in darkness. Local governments can organize joint actions, but the effort largely depends on residents' own initiative.
Giant hogweed colonies, she said, are being fully controlled — as soon as a new one is found, action begins immediately. Trapping is also used to fight alien crayfish species.
Linnamägi stressed that responsibility for preventing the spread of alien species does not rest with the state alone. By law, every person must ensure that an alien species does not spread into nature from their land. The law was recently clarified so that not only deliberate promotion of an alien species' spread is punishable, but also situations where a species spreads due to a person's inaction — a change made after disputes arose over who planted a species and who bears responsibility.
This does not mean every garden in Estonia will now be inspected. Enforcement measures exist, but a fine is certainly not the first step, she noted.
