The Baltic Sea Region and Estonian Seascapes
Listen to a podcast about the coastal areas of Estonia, its peoples, industry and nature.
As the northernmost of the three Baltic states, Estonia has a long coastline that is historically and economically important. Seascapes range from waterfalls and cliffs, to beaches and silt. These seascapes have supported industry from energy production (oil shale), to ship building and fishing, to tourism and bootlegging. During Soviet times, access to the beach was denied or restricted, and boats were confiscated or destroyed to avoid people fleeing over the Baltic Sea to Finland and Sweden. Most recent developments encompass making the most of natural resources, including aquaculture to produce cosmetics for example (blue biotechnology), and fierce debates around wind energy.
Podcast
Listen to Anu Printsmann from Tallinn University describe the coast of Estonia to editor of nordics.info, Nicola Witcombe, and explain her research on seascapes and how this can influence planning decisions for the future.
This podcast was recorded in July 2024 as part of the Young People Network for Balticness summer school.
Further reading:
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Anu Printsmann and Tarmo Pikner, The Role of Culture in the Self-Organisation of Coastal Fishers Sustaining Coastal Landscapes: A Case Study in Estonia. Sustainability 11, 3951 (2019).
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Tarmo Pikner, Anu Printsmann, and Hannes Palang, 'Integrated Coastal Tourism and Mobility Planning (Estonian Case)', Land-Sea-Act: Land-sea Interactions Advancing Blue Growth in Baltic Sea Coastal Areas; supported by European Regional Development Fund under the Interreg Baltic Sea Region Programme (2022).
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Maila Kuusik, Tarmo Pikner, Anu Printsmann, and Janar Raet, 'Lääne-Viru Integrated Coastal Zone Management Plan', SustainBaltic: ICZM Plans for Sustaining Coastal and Marine Human-ecological Networks in the Baltic Region; supported by European Regional Development Fund under the Interreg Central Baltic Programme (2018).
Links:
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Interreg is a key European Union (EU) instrument that strengthens cooperation between regions and countries within the EU. It aims to promote regional development, cohesion, and reduce economic disparity. For the 2021-2027 period, Interreg is focused on addressing current challenges like climate change, digital transformation, and social inclusion.
- Interreg Baltic Sea2Land
