Alam-Pedja Nature Reserve (Estonian: Alam-Pedja looduskaitseala) is the largest nature reserve in Estonia. It is a vast wilderness area which covers 342 km2 (85,000 acres) and consists of a complex of 5 large bogs separated by unregulated rivers, their floodplains, and extensive forests. The nature reserve aims to protect diverse ecosystems and rare species, mainly through preserving the natural development of forests and bogs and securing the continuing management of semi-natural floodplain grasslands.
Alam-Pedja is situated in Central Estonia northeast of Lake Võrtsjärv, in a lowland area called the Võrtsjärv Basin. It spans over three counties - Tartu, Jõgeva and Viljandi. The area has an especially low density of human population, comparable to that of wolf, bear and lynx. The nature reserve was established in 1994. It is recognized as a wetland of international importance under the Ramsar Convention and since 2004 it is a designated Natura 2000 site.
The name Alam-Pedja, translating as Lower-Pedja, comes from the nature reserve's location on the lower reaches of the Pedja River.
Famous quotes containing the words nature and/or reserve:
“This queen will live. Nature awakes,
A warmth breathes out of her. She hath not been
Entranced above five hours. See how she ‘gins
To blow into life’s flower again.”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)
“In a democracy—even if it is a so-called democracy like our white-élitist one—the greatest veneration one can show the rule of law is to keep a watch on it, and to reserve the right to judge unjust laws and the subversion of the function of the law by the power of the state. That vigilance is the most important proof of respect for the law.”
—Nadine Gordimer (b. 1923)