The agency's director, Rainer Vakra, told ERR the agency finds it vital that a landowner remains aware of the value placed on their land, but also of the restrictions that may come with that.

Vakra said: "The reason for this is simple: Nature conservation begins with the landowner, and the more knowledgeable and caring that landowner is, the better things will turn out for the natural environment."

Vakra added that a solution must be found which does not prove too costly to the state.

"We have always been transparent in our actions, but it is also true that we have rather sought the most cost-effective ways of notification," he said.

"So, when thinking about how best to inform a landowner about the state's interest in the ecosystem on their land, we must also ask how much in state funds can be allocated towards that notification," Vakra went on.

"If we add up field observations, inventories, procedures for various permit processes, and updating information about protected species in databases, we are talking in the region of tens of thousands of operations per year, performed by officials or experts and scientists."

Vakra said it was clear that the agency needs to provide more information than simply by publishing it on its own website and via local media.

Work on finding new, more personalized solutions is underway, he added, though at the same time, societal expectations of a cost-effective and efficient state apparatus cannot be disregarded, he went on.

At the end of last month, Chancellor of Justice Ülle Madise addressed the Environmental Board in a communique, saying the state should not deploy surveyors to record the ecological values of any parcel of land without giving prior notification to the owner of that land, adding that doing so would be to adhere to administrative best practices, in addition to constituting basic courtesy and respectfulness.

Vakra said that for this proposed notification system to be manageable for state and private landowners alike, a balance must be struck, and a strong technical solution found – a search that he said is already underway.

The process is being piloted, he added, noting a case at the end of last month in which a couple of hundred landowners in Pärnu County were notified about the existence of Western capercaillie (pictured) habitats on their property.

"This pilot letter about one species in one county paves the way for the next phases," Vakra said, adding successful solutions can be expanded to other areas, inventories, and permit processes.

The board says it plans to start testing the state's new notification system, named Riiklik postkast 2.0. ("State Mailbox 2.0") from May.

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