Based on the 2023 national GHG projection report, which examines scenarios of existing and planned policies and measures in the transport, agriculture, buildings and waste management sectors (i.e. the non-ETS sector – the sector for activities not included in the European Union Emissions Trading System), the Ministry of Climate and Energy concludes that the new greenhouse gas emission reduction target for Latvia, which is 17% by 2030 compared to 2005, cannot be met with the previously planned set of measures.

 

If private developers and the state truly implement their plans for building wind farms in the coming years, the operation of such generators could produce more electricity than half of Latvia requires. There is no need for so much energy for self-consumption, so entrepreneurs are already starting to knock on the doors of state institutions, urging them to resolve transmission system matters for electricity exports as a matter of urgency.

 

We have identified our partner farmers who have been affected by this natural disaster, and we are looking for the most suitable solutions for each to help, so as not to deepen the crisis and ensure farmers can prepare for the next season as best they can – we are assisting with automotive transport, generators and organising grain intake as promptly as possible.

 

 

 

In connection with the damage caused to forest stands by the storm and hail on 7 August, the State Forest Service is providing information on the conditions under which forest owners can carry out tree felling in the devastated territories. It has already been reported that forest stands in the Zemgale region were the worst hit by the storm. Currently, storm damage covering at least 1,800 hectares has been identified in the Zemgale regional forestry territory. In the rest of Latvia, the most significant damage is in the Vidzeme region, where, according to preliminary reports, the volume reaches several hundred hectares.

 

“Latvijas valsts meži” (LVM) has been purposefully increasing the preparation volumes of energy wood for the second year in a row to offer energy wood chips to both thermal energy producers and the industrial sector. Approaching the 2023/2024 heating season, LVM is launching the sale of energy wood chips. LVM is offering 540,000 bulk m3 of energy wood chips throughout Latvia, which is an equivalent volume of 459,000 megawatt-hours (MWh) of thermal energy, with delivery scheduled between this October and April 2024 according to the buyer's preferred timeline.

 

In 2022, after a pause of about eight years, a new wind farm was opened in Latvia – the Tārgale wind farm with a capacity of almost 60 MW, which nearly doubled the total capacity of wind farms built in our country, increasing it to 137.4 MW. However, this is still several times less than what has been built in Lithuania and Estonia, ranking us among the most backward European countries in terms of wind energy. Over the past couple of years, including as a result of the war caused by Russia, legislators seem to have understood that energy can no longer rely solely on gas and water, and have started working more actively on the development of wind energy in Latvia. Is the result good? It will only be possible to judge accurately in a couple of years, but even now, the opinions of many experts and those involved in the industry are divided.

 

 

Latvian experts will share their experience in soil agrochemical research, soil fertility assessment, cooperation with private agrochemical service providers, and soil carbon monitoring. The exchange of experience will provide Latvian and Norwegian experts with new knowledge and valuable experience, as well as strengthen mutual cooperation.

 

Researchers from the forest fauna and hunting division of the LVMI Silava have been monitoring brown bears in Latvia since 2015, expanding the study area and the methods used in the research with each monitoring period.

 

 

lbtu.lv · no septembra lbtu ieviesis vairakas strukturalas parmainas
...by merging the Faculty of Forest and the Faculty of Environment and Civil Engineering, the Faculty of Forest and Environmental Sciences (MVZF) will be created. Five structural units will continue their activities within it: the Institute of Landscape Architecture and Environment Engineering, the Institute of Forestry, the Institute of Modern Construction and Woodworking, the Institute of Land Management and Geodesy, and the LBTU Interdisciplinary Laboratory. The new faculty's dean's office will be located at Akadēmijas iela 11, and its dean will be Dr.silv., Linards Sisenis.

The Faculty of Forest is currently the second largest at LBTU with a stable number of students exceeding six hundred. We admit about 200 students per year and about a hundred graduate from the faculty. This year, 93 graduated after the summer session, and if we include the winter session, the total is 101 graduates. The forestry block remains the most popular among students – forestry engineering and forest science study programmes. The woodworking block is less popular, but in any case, the labour market demand is such that we cannot provide the industry with enough graduates.

 

On 17 August, Bread Day was held at the Faculty of Food Technology (PTF) of the Latvia University of Life Sciences and Technologies (LBTU), bringing together LBTU food technologist cooperation partners – representatives of grain processing and bread production companies – and industry experts. Participants were introduced to the faculty's premises, the technologies used in the study and research process, discussed current industry affairs, and participated in practical workshops.

 

 

 

In recent decades, the areas of natural meadows in cities have decreased, turning into flat but impersonal lawns. Meadows have been built over and, through regular mowing, have lost their status, importance and plant diversity. In Latvia, valuable grasslands cover only 1% of all territories.

 

 

lsm.lv · 15.08.2023 jauno elektrovilcienu ekspluatacija kavesies vel…