Costs could soar for Estonia's volunteer bird ringers

To increase the accountability of individual bird and bat ringers, as well as reduce its own costs, the Estonian Environment Agency wants to make the ringing process more expensive for volunteers to partake in.
"We should start with the fact that in many parts of Europe ringing (or banding) is paid for: In the Czech Republic, in Poland, but also in the U.K. In the Czech Republic and Poland, for example, ringing is partly linked to volunteer monitoring, especially civic engagement, but also to research, hobby education and hobbies," said Ragne Erimäe, lead specialist at the Estonian Environment Agency.
"Up to now, all ringing has been the responsibility of the Environment Agency, with rings having to be issued free of charge. Now there is a desire to overhaul the entire system and put responsibility for all ringing activities in the hands of the Environment Agency. The introduction of ring fees would be a rather minor change, on top of everything else," said Erimäe.
Erimäe said the problem has been that when the state does something for free, most people follow the rules. However, there have also been some problematic individuals who do not take into account the responsibility of ringing.
"There are occasions when a person loses a few rings and the state has to keep providing them with new ones. However, the subsequent use of those rings on other birds could disrupt the entire international system if that data does not reach the database. There is a high risk of injury to birds if the rings fall into the hands of an inexperienced person. Fortunately, cases like this are rather exceptional," said Erimäe.
According to Erimäe, the issuance of a ringing permit and the subsequent checks that involves would lead to administrative costs for the state.
"Ringers are always obliged to report the birds they have tagged to an international database, which is provided by the Environment Agency on behalf of Estonia. We constantly have to check whether they are submitting their reports, and which species each tagger is allowed to ring," said Erimäe.
Erimäe: should the state pay for hobbyists?
There are also a number of direct costs associated with ringing, said Erimäe.
"Our task is national monitoring. If we buy rings for research projects and hobby ringers, we have to find that money. In the current economic environment, ring fees will help to secure the resources needed to purchase rings, even if new large-scale research projects are added in. Another option would be to just not do some of the national monitoring work," Erimäe said.
"Most of the ringers do not see a problem with the fees, though it can be difficult for those who are ringing on a very large scale, but these are primarily research projects," said Erimäe.

Estonia has seen a steady increase in the number of hobbyist ringers.
"All the data is valuable, but the most valuable data is that, which is collected in a targeted and coordinated way. However, when considering that done at a person's own initiative, does the state still have to pay for that in full?" asked Erimäe.
According to Erimäe, if an amendment to the law is adopted, the price of the three ring bundles would be €45.
Birdwatcher: Additional costs add up to hundreds of euros
According to birdwatcher Jaanus Aua, between 60,000 and 80,000 birds are ringed in Estonia every year by only around 100 ringers.
"70 percent of them are ringed by 10 to 15 ringers. In other words, an active ring catcher catches and tags at least 3,000 to 5,000 birds a year, investing their personal time and financial resources to do so. The majority of ringers in Estonia are not in the best economic position either. Therefore, given our average financial capacity, after a ringing fee has had to be paid, the number of birds ringed would drop significantly – by approximately half,," said Aua.
Aua estimated that the minimum additional cost to ringers would be no less than €750 a year if they are forced to pay for rings as well as pay an accreditation fee.
"It should also be considered that the inventory often needs to be renewed. And the equipment needed is very expensive. We cannot point to the examples of Belgium, Germany, Sweden, Finland, or even the Czech Republic, as countries where bird ringing is expensive, because the standard of living and purchasing power in those countries are significantly better than those of people living in Estonia," Aua said.
According to Aua, the most sensible thing would be to take the draft amendment to the law, which was created without consulting voluntary ringers, and throw it in the bin.
"These issues ought to be revisited in 10 to 15 years' time, when our volunteers will be able to shoulder greater burdens in terms of standard of living," said Aua.
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Editor: Mari Peegel, Michael Cole