Weekly review
Poll
November is here... What would be the best thing it could bring us...
A continuation of this beautiful autumn
A knowledgeable and stable government that knows how
Peace for our friends in Ukraine
Many small, personal successes that turn into one Great Success
18-24 May
Worth knowing! Upcoming events
Until 30 October, the “Flower Roads” campaign
mammadaba.lv · 3920 akcija ziedu celos 2024 aicinas apmeklet astonus ziedos…
Latvian Forest Days – 24 and 25 May
lvm.lv · 7345 latvijas meza dienas aicina pieteikties sadarbibas part…
mammadaba.lv · 3920 akcija ziedu celos 2024 aicinas apmeklet astonus ziedos…
Until 2 June, the environmental campaign “Give Tyres a Second Life”
From 29 June, this summer's excursion timetable for the Baloži peat railway, with further details
kudrasbanitis.lv · ekskursijasFrom 18 May, the exhibition “From Birch Seed to Betulin” at the Pharmacy Museum
From 21 May, the campaign “Natura 2000 – Latvia's Great Natural Places”
On 25 May, hikes along Lake Rāzna and the Svētupe
Latvian Forest Days – 24 and 25 May
lvm.lv · 7345 latvijas meza dienas aicina pieteikties sadarbibas part…
On 31 May, the forum “Funding and Support for Business in Kurzeme” in Liepāja
On 31 August, 21 September and 12 October, hikes in the Krustkalni Nature Reserve
Congratulations, and every wish for successful and fruitful work ahead!
On 22 May, the Convention of the Latvia University of Life Sciences and Technologies (LBTU) held elections for rector, in which, by secret ballot over three rounds, Professor Irina Arhipova was elected as the university's new rector. In the third round of voting she received 104 votes, an absolute majority of the Convention's votes. As the main priority for the coming years, I. Arhipova has set out consolidating LBTU's status as a research university and building an ecosystem in the university's areas of strategic specialisation – the biosciences, engineering sciences and social sciences.
On 17 May 2024, Arvīds Barševskis, rector of Daugavpils University, was elected chair of the Latvian Rectors' Council.
Official news
On 21 May the government approved amendments prepared by the Ministry of Agriculture (ZM) to the regulations on occupational safety requirements in forestry, updating them to reflect the current situation and removing unnecessary administrative burden while not weakening the safety of those working in forestry. The regulations have become both easier to understand and easier to apply, as they take account of the advantages of the latest technologies.
At its meeting on 21 May, the Cabinet of Ministers decided on amendments to the Law on the Structure of the Cabinet of Ministers, changing the name of the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Regional Development from 1 July to the Ministry of Smart Administration and Regional Development. The final decision must be taken by the Saeima.
On 21 May the government approved the procedure prepared by the Ministry of Agriculture for granting state aid to promote agricultural and fisheries markets, in order to raise the profile of agriculture, fisheries and the food industry and to increase the production value and exports of these sectors' products.
Marking 20 years since Latvia joined the European Union, the Ministry of Agriculture has prepared information materials showing Latvia's growth over the past 20 years in forestry, agriculture, fisheries and the food production sector.
The new regulation on shipments of waste came into force on 20 May this year.
In future, a person wishing to challenge a local authority's spatial plan or local plan will have to submit their application to the ministry responsible for territorial development planning within one month after the entry into force of the binding regulations approving the spatial plan or local plan. The bill has yet to be considered by the Saeima.
Sector matters
Latvian Forest Days in Tērvete
First of all, in terms of access to forests, Latvia is one of the freest countries in the European Union. Anyone can go for a walk in Latvia's state forests, pick berries and mushrooms, run and take exercise.
On Tuesday the government approved amendments prepared by the Ministry of Agriculture to the regulations on occupational safety requirements in forestry, updating them to reflect the current situation and removing unnecessary administrative burden without weakening the safety of forestry workers.
Favourable weather this spring has made it possible to regenerate forests much more quickly and to run several hundred hectares ahead of the calendar plan. Seedling sales, too, have significantly exceeded the volume budgeted for the first quarter.
In the second half of May 2024, SIA “Rīgas meži” will begin creating scenically valuable, or recreational, areas and carrying out forest tending in the forest tract in the Jugla forest district, Ropaži municipality, near Skuķīši (between the Tumšupe and the Lielā Jugla).
Research
Forest Science Day is a forum initiated by Latvia's forest scientists for communicating current knowledge, and it has been running since 2012. The theme of this year's Forest Science Day was chosen in connection with Latvia's National Forest Monitoring programme, which has completed another five-year cycle and begun the next – its fifth.
On 24 May, the Fish Processing Biotechnology Study and Research Centre of the Faculty of Agriculture and Food Technology at the Latvia University of Life Sciences and Technologies was opened (Paula Lejiņa iela 2, Jelgava).
Things already known
Rescuing an animal that does not need rescuing reduces its chances of survival. The best way to help is therefore to keep your distance and leave it alone. Wild animals must not be touched or disturbed – for example, by watching them for a long time, stroking them, picking them up or photographing them. Many animal young that look abandoned have parents who are watching over them, feeding them and protecting them from a distance.
The economy
There is one very significant difference in impact between recovery and burning – we know that burning is very harmful to the environment: incomplete combustion, low temperature – with that combination, if a PET bottle, a Tetra Pak or a milk carton is thrown onto a bonfire or into a stove, dioxins are formed. A recovery plant is a controlled combustion process using the most modern incineration equipment, at high temperature...
Reforms and their longevity
D. Mieriņa noted that the coalition might reach an agreement to drop the provision requiring state cities to merge with municipalities by 2029.
Environmental matters
Latvia's natural sites are visited by more than six million people every year; natural assets and protected areas take up almost 12% of Latvia's territory
This year, thirteen Blue Flag certificates, two National Bathing Water Quality certificates and two Green Key certificates were awarded.
Such cooperation between RTU and the municipal company will foster the development of students' creative potential and strengthen their practical skills, while at the same time ensuring the sustainable development of the area in question, including the preservation of natural assets and public access to them.
For a third of the goods available in Latvian shops, recycling the packaging is difficult or impossible, a study has concluded. On 1 July, changes to the Natural Resources Tax Law will come into force, imposing an additional payment to the state on producers and traders for such plastic packaging.
Spring and autumn are the busiest times for beavers, when they set up their homes and take in food. Beaver activity on Pasta Island in Jelgava is nothing unusual, but, as residents point out, damage this conspicuous is being seen at the site for the first time.
Rīga residents say the lilac blossom season is one of the loveliest moments of spring. Not everyone knows that the municipal police can fine people for picking lilacs. Even so, they agree – they should not be broken off.
The (...) unspeakable
...it has been decided to fell damaged and broken trees, as well as invasive species, in the area. According to the Municipal Services Board, such tending felling helps preserve the landscape characteristic of the seashore dunes. Residents, however, are concerned about the work.
Rīga City Council has demanded that Rīga resident Elga pay more than 240 euros in compensation for the reduction of natural diversity, because she wishes to fell a pine tree on her property that has been eaten away by bark beetles and that the local authority has deemed to have no future and assessed as a potentially dangerous tree.
Thieves
...given the high price of plant protection products and the demand for them on the illegal market, light-fingered visitors have started calling at farms more often. He notes that a single five-litre can of plant protection product can fetch as much as 400 euros, which is a good haul for thieves.
What surprises, and what doesn't surprise at all
Re:Baltica has obtained 19 thousand of Ždanoka's emails, and the correspondence shows how the Member of the European Parliament worked for the Kremlin.
The heartwarming
ReTV News has already reported on the kitten rescued from the flames in Ventspils a year and a half ago, which the men of the Kurzeme unit decided to keep and named Lakijs.
The news in cartoons
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