A balance between nature conservation and forest management
Andres Sutt, Minister of Energy and the Environment, presented the proposals of the Estonian Forest and Wood Industries Association and the council of entrepreneurs, which aim to strengthen the investment certainty and competitiveness of forestry while ensuring nature conservation. The government supported the proposal to stipulate in the Forest Act that 70% of forest land is managed forest and in the Nature Conservation Act that 30% of forest land is protected.
On the issue of spring bird peace, the government decided to wait for a judgement from the European Court of Justice before making any changes to the regulation. Until then, the current voluntary system will continue, whereby nature conservation is followed in private forests and spring felling is mostly avoided. Risk-based monitoring by the Environmental Board has shown that infringements are very rare. Over the last three years, an average of 2,500 checks were carried out, with only five cases of non-compliance.
The government also partly supports the proposal to continue limited forest management in protected areas. Until the new rules are in place, the current procedure, whereby the Environmental Board makes case-by-case decisions in limited management zones and authorises small-scale felling projects where necessary, will remain in place. A total ban on regeneration cutting will be abandoned.
A more flexible approach to attracting skilled labour is needed
Igor Taro, Minister of the Interior, raised for discussion a proposal by the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications to amend the regulation on the specification of the immigration of skilled workers. The current system has not served its purpose and does not allow to attract enough of the skilled workers we need in a period of economic growth.
For example, under the specification in force in Estonia, a person can work for a maximum of three years and cannot bring close family members. At the same time, employers are investing in employee training, but the specification does not support its rationale.
Under the new proposal, the specification should be determined based on the labour demand data of the OSKA (future labour force and skills forecasting system), export potential and the average wage in the occupation or county. The maximum number could also be made more flexible to reflect changes in the economic environment and to specify the volume of residence permits that can be issued.
According to OSKA, by 2030 Estonia will face the biggest labour shortages in ICT specialists, engineers, electricians, and health professionals – for example, a shortage of two-thirds of engineers is expected.
