At the end of 2021, a grand project called WaterLANDS was launched in Estonia and 13 other European countries. The project aims to restore a total of 10,500 hectares of damaged wetlands across Europe. The goal is to create good restoration practices that can be used for future wetland restorations. There is close cooperation with local people, businesses, municipalities, and other stakeholders to ensure that wetland restoration not only improves the natural environment but also provides social and economic support to communities.

On Wednesday, November 20th, the first working meeting of the partial restoration project of the Lavassaare and Elbu peat production area took place at the Lavassaare office before the start of the bog restoration construction work. Representatives of AS Tootsi Turvas, Peat bog restoration work contractor, the designer from Engineering Bureau Steiger who prepared the restoration project, a representative of the subcontractor working in the Lavassaare peat production area, and a representative of the WaterLANDS project team participated.

With the support of the WaterLANDS project, it is planned to restore 525 hectares of the exhausted Lavassaare-Elbu peat production area from 2024 to 2026. Over time, the restored area will become a bog again, and peat will start to form there. The restoration work is planned so that the water level rises only on state land.

Planned works in the restoration area managed by Tootsi Turvas:

• First, it is necessary to restore the water level characteristic of a bog in the drained area. For this, the restoration area will be divided into smaller areas using peat ridges at different heights. The water level in each area will be raised close to the ground surface using overflow weirs.
• Outside the fields, but within the restoration area, ditches will be closed with peat dams, and some of these ditches will be refilled with peat.
• The steep slopes formed during peat extraction at the edges of the former production fields will be made gentler.
• After raising the water level, biological restoration is planned in the drier/higher areas, which means that bog vegetation will be sown and trees will be planted there.

The WaterLANDS project (No. 101036484) is funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program.

Lavassaare ja Elbu turbatootmisala korrastatav osa (ca 525ha) on tähistatud punase joonega.