To be able to fulfil the requirements of the EU Air Quality Directive and the EU Water Framework Directive, Estonia must have reliable environmental data. Until recently, Estonia often had to procure expensive chemical analyses abroad. Switzerland is now equipping Estonian laboratories and environmental monitoring stations with modern measurement and analysis devices. Most of the equipment has already been delivered and the first training workshops have already taken place. During on-site project visits, a Swiss delegation was given the opportunity to see the benefit of the new devices for itself.

Switzerland supports Estonia in conducting fine particulate measurements

The white bus on the car park in Tallinn looked fairly unimpressive at first glance but a closer look inside revealed an array of high-tech devices financed by Switzerland. The great advantage of the mobile lab is that it provides measurement data on fine particulate pollution in real time, explained a member of the Estonian Environmental Research Centre to the Swiss delegation. The data enable experts to determine the origin of fine particulate pollution, making it possible to develop targeted action plans against air pollution in urban areas. The Swiss contribution not only funds new equipment, but also makes possible the sharing of experiences between particulate matter experts from Estonia and Switzerland. For example, in collaboration with the Swiss Paul Scherrer Institute, the Estonian Environmental Research Centre has carried out comparative measurements for research purposes.