University of Brighton - Estonian coasts monitored

Eight monitoring stations designed to help conserve Estonia's vulnerable coastal wetlands have been set up after a six-year field research project by the University of Brighton. The research initiative, co-ordinated by Chris Joyce and Niall Burnside in the School of Environment and Technology, was given £250,000 in funding by the UK Government's Darwin Initiative and the Earthwatch Institute. Estonia supports some of the most biodiverse coastal wetlands in Europe, but they are currently under threat from environmental impacts such as abandonment of grazing management and climate change, which could force a rise in the level of the Baltic Sea.