Swiss High-Tech and Expertise on Biodiversity and Nature Conservation in Estonia
Swiss Birdradar Solution AG will provide high end technology radar systems for monitoring migratory birds, bats and insects enabling a better protection of ecosystems and biodiversity to Estonia.
In spring and autumn, millions of birds pass through Estonia. With its unique location and diverse nature, it is an important resting and nesting location for many bird species. To be able to protect these important grounds it is key to understand how many and which species of birds pass through. While such inventories were done manually in the past, there are now new solutions and technology that allow to gather such data with less specialists and to cover larger areas than was possible manually.
Better planning with Swiss Know How
In this frame the second Swiss Contribution to Estonia is co-financing a programme in support of the Government of Estonia to conserve its rich Biodiversity. As part of this programme, the Swiss company Swiss Birdradar Solution AG just won an international tendering process to provide four mobile 3D Bird Radars to monitor birds, bats and insects. The four devises with a total value over CHF 600,000 will be delivered to the Estonian Environmental Agency to operate. They will gather data allowing to refine and better target the Estonian nature park planning.
We consider international cooperation highly important for advancing nature protection and for enabling our specialists to gain valuable experience from other countries. A major step forward is also the possibility to use modern technology that helps us work smarter – machines can speed up the monitoring of birds, bats and insects, reducing the need for extensive manual work. This will allow us to provide even more accurate data on wildlife in Estonia and to contribute to European-wide cooperation and datasets.
Exchange identifies common interests and better understanding of challenges
Within the same programme a small delegation of Estonian experts, primarily from the country’s Environmental Board, end of September 2025 paid a visit to Switzerland to be inspired by Swiss experts on habitat protection. They had important inputs and discussions with experts from the Swiss National Park in Graubünden, the Federal Office for the Environment as well as the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (WSL) in Birmensdorf. After the visit at WSL, Dr. Thomas Wohlgemuth, a member of the directorate of WSL says: “Such international exchanges as the half-day with members of the Estonian Environmental Board and Ministry of Climate are extremely valuable to WSL Scientists. They allow us to discuss on common European challenges and potential solutions. Particularly the concrete monitoring of protected habitats and endangered species, how to make the protection effective as well as related data available and how to involve lay-scientist in collecting data were topics and matter of lively exchange. I look forward to other such enriching exchanges.”
For Park Management public and private actors join efforts
To get a deeper look into the decentralized nature protection system in Switzerland the delegation visited and had exchanges with the management of the Jura Park in the Canton of Aargau and the Office for Landscape and Nature of the Canton of Zurich.
“It was of highest interest to us to understand how the Swiss nature protection authorities work with private owners of land in nature parks, how they get compensated and how protection measures can be enforced. In Switzerland, as in Estonia, large areas within nature parks are privately owned, making it necessary for the state to define management plans for nature parks that are consider appropriate both from a point of nature conservation as well as by the landowners,” the Director of the Estonian Environmental Board, Rainer Vakra, stated at the end of the intensive five-day visit.
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