Land reform, land fragmentation and perspectives for future land consolidation in Estonia

Land fragmentation has been shown to limit agricultural production and more broadly rural development in many countries across the world. In the Central and Eastern European countries that gained independence during the early 1990s, land fragmentation has often occurred as a side-effect of land reforms aimed at restoring land ownership to the pre-WWII situation. This article provides an overview of the Estonian approach to land reform, an analysis of how this has led to more fragmented land tenure compared to 1940 and a discussion of the prospects for land consolidation in Estonia. The analysis was based on archival records, legal acts, and a comparison of two study areas using a GIS. In both study areas, post-1990 land reform had led to: (i) an increase in the number of land plots; (ii) a reduction in the average area of land plots. Most Western European and some Central and Eastern European countries have long traditions of land consolidation with the main objective being reducing the disadvantages caused by land fragmentation. In Estonia land consolidation projects were implemented after independence in 1919 and again during the 1990s. Unfortunately this activity has stopped and land consolidation tools have not been developed further. To develop a modern land consolidation tool, political will is required, as is the awareness of politicians, government institutions, land owners and land users and there is a need to amend the existing legal framework to make it fit for purpose.