Global Map of Irrigation Areas

Estonia

Area equipped for irrigation reached its maximum by the end of the 1970s (14 000 ha), but was reduced to 3680 ha in 1995 due to the liquidation of the kolkhoz and sovkhoz [EE01]. Today 1362.7 ha are still equipped for irrigation [EE02], but the area actually used for irrigation maybe lower. It was reported that irrigation was only used on 600 ha of agricultural land in 1999 [EE03]. Area equipped for irrigation per county for the years 1996 and 2005 ([EE04], [EE02]) is shown in the table below. The figures given for 2005 were used here to compile the global irrigation map.

Maps showing the location of irrigation areas in Estonia were not available, but it was reported that irrigation is mainly used to grow vegetables or to water pastures [EE01]. While the irrigation of pastures was practiced traditionally, the irrigation of early potatoes is mentioned explicitly in a more recent report [EE05]. It was therefore decided to assign 80% of the area still equipped for irrigation to polygons classified as non-irrigated arable land (211) or complex cultivation patterns (242) in the Corine 2000 land cover data base for Europe [EE06] and to assign the remaining irrigated area to polygons classified as pastures (231) in the same data base.

References

[EE01]: FAO. 1999. Irrigation in the countries of the former Soviet Union. FAO, Rome, Italy.
[EE02]: Area equipped for irrigation per county on 01/01/2005, data provided by Mati Tonismae, Chairman of ICID National Committee of Estonia (ESTICID) and Head of the Bureau of Infrastructure, Ministry of Agriculture on 21/02/2006.
[EE03]: Baldock, D., Caraveli, H., Dwyer, J., Einschütz, S., Petersen, J.E., Sumpsi-Vinas, J. & Varela-Ortega, C. 2000. The environmental impacts of irrigation in the European Union. A report to the Environment Directorate of the European Commission, 147 pp., available at: http://ec.europa.eu/environment/agriculture/, 07/07/2006.
[EE04]: FAO. 1998. Estonia - sustainable water management strategies for the land drainage and irrigation sector. Field document, Report No: TCP/EST/5612, Rome, Italy.
[EE05]: Kucera, L. & Genovese, G. (ed.). 2004. Crop monographies on Central European countries – MOCA Study. Joint Research Centre of the European Commission, Directorate General, Institute for the Protection and Security of the Citizen, Agriculture & Fisheries Unit, Ispra, Italy, available at: http://agrifish.jrc.it/marsstat/Crop_Yield_Forecasting/MOCA/INDEX.HTM, 07/07/2006.
[EE06]: EEA. 2005. Corine land cover 2000 – vector by country (CLC2000), version 1. (available at: http://dataservice.eea.europa.eu/dataservice/metadetails.asp?id=667).

Distribution of irrigated area in Estonia by County: