Tallinn reduces the use of pesticides to preserve biodiversity
Next year, as the European Green Capital 2023, maintaining and increasing biodiversity will be one of the main goals for the city. Tallinn’s own pesticide use has been reduced to a minimum and as the next step Tallinn plans to deal with other concern areas such as reducing pesticide use by large landowners, companies involved in real estate management and maintenance, and local residents.
“Tallinn has been part of the pesticide-free cities’ network since November 2018 and has consistently reduced the use of pesticides in the city’s green areas. In Tallinn’s new road maintenance procurements, the use of pesticides is prohibited, and alternative measures must be used for weed control,” said Deputy Mayor Vladimir Svet at the pesticide-free cities’ roundtable, which was held in the European Parliament in Brussels and organized by the Pesticide Action Network Europe.
“Tallinn has put together a document, which explains how to manage landscaping without pesticides. At the moment, the document acts as a guide for public landscapers, who work on the city’s green areas. In the future, the aim is to make the document mandatory for all. In 2023 we plan to raise awareness among our citizens, especially urban gardeners and people, who live in big apartment buildings, on how to manage landscaping without pesticides.” said Deputy Mayor Vladimir Svet.
Recently, aimed at all landscapers, Tallinn’s plant catalog was completed, which helps everybody to choose plant species that benefit pollinators. The catalog can be found at the haljastus.tallinn.ee link and there you can find almost 900 different plant species that are suitable for both green areas and gardens. From the catalog you can find each plant species’ description and also how attractive it is to pollinators and which pollinators it attracts. In the future, the catalog will highlight plant species, which do not require pesticide use and can be maintained easily sustainably.
Deputy Mayor Vladimir Svet also met with Patrick Child, who is the Deputy Director of the European Commission’s Environment Directorate General, in Brussels to discuss Tallinn’s action plan for the European Green Capital Year. Also at the meeting, the Letter of Intent between the city of Tallinn and the European Commission was signed.
Tallinn as the European Green Capital focuses on biodiversity, climate and sustainability governance. In 2023 more than 60 environmental events, activities and projects are planned. The introduction of the entire Tallinn European Green Capital action plan will take place in the second half of this year.