Weekly review
Poll
Concern about gaps in the skills and knowledge of our pupils is voiced quite widely from time to time. Unfortunately, only when someone from outside Latvia has concluded as much. Why is that?
There is a political tendency to be busy, to invest, to make promises, but not to think about the results
If you have little knowledge yourself, you do not even know how or what you do not know...
A smart society is not always desirable or welcome
Many interests swirl around education. A "good result" is rarely mentioned among them
19–25 August
On current and upcoming events
### A petition can be signed: “No to new protected nature areas without the provision of fair compensation!”
### We are looking for a tree with a story until 31 August!
### 26 August, Tomato Festival in Brenguļi
### 2 September at the Turaida Museum Reserve's Mežaparks open-air event “Oaks boast in Turaida”
### Until 11 September, you can nominate candidates for the Forestry Sector Annual Award “Zelta čiekurs” (Golden Cone)
### Baloži Peat Museum Railway excursions for the 2023 season
### A study on horticulture and its impact on the surrounding environment by scientists from ten countries (including colleagues from Daugavpils University). We invite you to support it by participating in the survey:
### When planning your summer activities, these might come in handy
On issues of national importance
Latvia supports Ukraine. August 2023
ltrk.lv
Latvia's largest business organisations: the Latvian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LTRK), the Employers' Confederation of Latvia (LDDK), and the Foreign Investors' Council in Latvia (FICIL) believe that the main priority of the new government should be much faster economic growth.
The problem at a national level is that no one really knows how much new electricity generation capacity we will build in the near future. The system operators – Augstsprieguma tīkls and Sadales tīkls – mostly operate from the position that everything for which capacity has been reserved will be built. “That is why there are comments that the price of electricity will soon be zero, everything will be wonderful, and no one will have to pay for anything. Of course, that will not happen!” Firstly, not everything will be built. Secondly, the price of electricity cannot stay at zero for long, because then some generation capacity would simply be shut down. “Therefore, for instance, the Ministry of Climate and Energy should establish closer communication with project developers and understand how many projects will actually be built, in order to assess whether this capacity is sufficient for Latvia or not.”
Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) is an acute, highly contagious infectious disease of various bird species that causes damage to various organ systems. HPAI is characterised by high bird mortality. Infected birds shed the HPAI virus through body secretions (saliva, faeces, and mucus). The virus can maintain its infectivity in the environment for some time, including in water, soil, and on surfaces. Poultry usually become infected through contact with infected wild birds, by staying in a contaminated environment, eating infected feed, or by coming into contact with infected environmental objects, including water.
The Leader approach, the name of which translates from French as “liaison among actions for the development of the rural economy”, has been operating in the EU for over 30 years. In Latvia, the implementation of the approach began in 2000, and it gained nationwide scope in 2007. Leader/CLLD approaches are based on seven complementary principles, one of the most significant being “bottom-up”, which gives local residents the opportunity to take the initiative.
On industry issues
In the first half of 2023, “Latvijas valsts meži” (LVM) planted 321 hectares more new forest than was planned for this period. In total, by the end of June, LVM had regenerated and afforested 12.9 thousand hectares, which is 2.5% more than the target set for forest regeneration and afforestation for the first half of this year.
Following the introduction of sanctions, the import of Russian birch plywood into Turkey has increased significantly, and the volume of birch plywood imported from Turkey to the EU has also grown. Meanwhile, available export data for transactions between Kazakhstan and the EU indicate that Kazakhstan's birch plywood exports to the EU are also rising.
In the 2023 land use rights auction for wind park development on state forest land, LVM is offering 38 territories or auction lots covering 157,777 hectares. First, a 5-year study will be conducted across the entire auction area, but actual wind power plant construction after the study is expected to cover approximately 500 hectares.
Stiga RM is one of the leading timber industry companies in Latvia. Its owner and manager Andris Ramoliņš reveals in a conversation with Delfi Bizness that he had spent his summers doing manual labour in sawmills since the age of 12, while his path in business began after graduating from Riga State Gymnasium No. 1, when he set a goal to earn a million.
In Bukmeķi, Renda Parish, the largest garden of cold-resistant walnut varieties in Latvia is in operation – SIA Westlake is testing various varieties in the Baltic climate. The cold-resistant walnut seedlings come from Moldova. They are resistant to harsher weather conditions, such as frost. Eduards Ostrobrods, who has international business experience, wants to share his knowledge and develop walnut cultivation on a Latvian scale. He is also writing a book and is prepared to donate these trees.
On traffic and roads
Limbaži Municipal Council and VSIA “Latvijas valsts ceļi” (LVC) will prepare an application for the Military Mobility co-financing programme to attract funds for the repair of the Salacgrīva bridge, the LETA agency was informed by Baiba Gulbe, a representative of the Ministry of Transport (SM).
“An agreement has currently been reached with the municipality that it will prepare an application for the Military Mobility call together with LVC, while the ministry is looking for state budget co-financing,” said B. Gulbe.
At this moment, from the perspective of the defence sector, significant shortcomings are visible in Latvia's railway infrastructure, which arose during the last period of Latvia’s illegal occupation and colonisation – the incompatibility of the railway infrastructure with Western European partners, where the main track gauge is 1435 millimetres, as well as the connectivity with Russia and Belarus, which, like other Baltic states, use the 1520-millimetre track gauge.
Further delays could cost Latvia dearly, as there is a risk of losing European Union funding. Latvia planned the money for the purchase of trains from the previous fund planning period, for which projects must be completed by the end of 2023. Otherwise, the money remains unspent, and the funding must be found either in the national budget or redistributed from European programmes of the next period.
Lithuania would like the Vilnius–Riga passenger train to run through Šiauliai, as the route would then be faster and busier. At the same time, Lithuania is also interested in passenger train traffic with Daugavpils, from which one can travel to Riga.
On the Jelgava railway line, two new stops have been named Bērnu slimnīca and Baloži, while the stop at the 9th kilometre of the Sigulda railway line has been named Šmerlis. Stops named Iļģuciems and Bolderāja have been introduced at the 3rd and 9th kilometres of the Bolderāja railway line, and on the Saulkrasti line, at the 9th kilometre, the next stop after Sarkandaugava will be Dauderi.
In Riga, the rebuilding of tram line 5 is actively continuing for approximately two kilometres in the section from Jūrmalas gatve to the Iļģuciems terminus. Meanwhile, the tracks on tram line 7 are being rebuilt along the entire section.
On the economy
An article on an issue that is unlikely to be on the radar of tax reform working groups because it does not have a significant impact on budget revenues – the amounts are relatively small, but this time it is about fairness in tax application and reducing inequality, specifically regarding tax relief for a sector very important to Latvia – agriculture.
Māris Ķirsons' conversation with Doctor of Economics Edgars Voļskis regarding the Ministry of Economics' controversial decision to publish a list of Latvian exporters to Russia and why it is not publishing importers.
Another entry: “As soon as an investor appears somewhere, people are found who say: if you want to build something, then by all means, not near my property, build it somewhere in the desert where there is no one within a 50 km radius. And it’s always like that.”
The challenges posed by migration in rural areas, with a significant decrease in the number of residents, is a complex social problem that requires the involvement of educated specialists who are not only capable of administering processes in municipalities but also managing and improving them, viewing every territory as a unified system.
At the moment, we have two rye bread ovens, and one of them is truly technically exhausted. The mechanics are excellent for still maintaining it, and everything is working, but it is not a sustainable player, so for about six years we have been looking at what options there might be to do something about it. A project has now been created to build a conveyor-type, tunnel-type oven, but with a hearth surface.
On environmental issues
Currently, in several Latvian regions, the mushroom harvest is already good, but there is no great variety of mushroom species observed in the forests. Mycologist Inita Dāniele pointed out that the most popular edible mushroom currently in the baskets of all mushroom pickers, and about which she is often asked, is the slippery jack, which is considered an invasive species that can also displace local species.
The Nature Conservation Agency, the State Environmental Service, and the State Forest Service have acknowledged that an excessively high concentration of horses in one place, as is the case in this instance, significantly and possibly irreversibly degrades the environment. “Rīgas meži”, in cooperation with competent institutions, concluded that the environment and the territory where the horses are currently located have been devastated, causing damage to natural values.
Initially, 20 red deer were placed in the deer park, but currently their number has doubled, despite the fact that about 20 animals were previously moved to another territory. Riga City Council deputies at a committee meeting wanted to ensure that the company is looking for solutions to move the deer, not kill them.
Jānis Ģērmanis confirmed that several auctions had been held to move the deer, for which no candidates had applied. Therefore, other solutions must be sought.
We would like to remind you that the selection of the red deer population and the maintenance of the herd do not correspond to the operational goals of “Rīgas meži”.
On the interesting, the diverse and...
For Jānis Pūcītis, an entrepreneur in Lizums Parish, Gulbene Municipality, the first two weeks of August are spent in a field of crops, only the harvest he is gathering is not grain but straw, as Jānis Pūcītis is one of the rare thatched roof masters not only in Latvia but also in Europe. The master does not complain about demand, although it is not in Latvia, as his work is primarily in Sweden.
In my opinion, a Latvian is very strong when they feel strong support. Now that everyone is supposedly against Russia and against Putin and so on, when a large majority holds this position, you risk nothing by joining this majority. But if suddenly in about five years the situation is slightly different, I think that more than one Latvian could quietly take a different position. It seems to me that this is also where this Latvian tendency to always be with the big crowd, with the majority, not to stand out, is manifested. It is very easy to be principled when everyone around you agrees.
It seems that the part of the public that is interested in politics at all was so caught up in discussing and evaluating the prime ministerial candidate Evika Siliņa, promoted by New Unity (JV), that they missed the National Alliance (NA) leader Raivis Dzintars' entry on the NA Facebook page on 17 August, which at least I understood as a clear rejection. Given that civilians are under no obligation to read politicians' posts on social platforms, I will quote: “I believe that the National Alliance should not strengthen the potential Unity, Progressives, and ZZS government.”
Are the most important questions regarding the future work of the Riga municipality really the number of deputy mayors and two Par deputies? Judging by the information space – yes. Because the politicians themselves create this thematic agenda, and we, to use jargon, go along with it. I know little about Riga, so the book “Life Next to the Port”, published at the end of last year, was quite a discovery for me. Those are the issues – the differences between the port's potential and actual (also projected) workload, environmental safety, property relations, and so on. Politicians, of course, find it more convenient to comment on each other's statements rather than express their opinion on the ins and outs, the truly painful issues.
The Civil Cases Division of the Riga Regional Court has published a judgment indicating that a “thumbs up” can serve as a written or any other type of agreement. This judgment was made after a case was heard in which an employee filed a complaint regarding dismissal from work. There is not much to say about the case itself, but one of the points noted that the employer informed employees via the business communication app Slack that they would have to work from the office on that particular day.
Growing melons and watermelons in Latvia is still a non-traditional occupation, but there are more and more growers. The demand for local produce is also high.
In recent weeks, the water level in the Pļaviņas Hydropower Plant (HES) reservoir has been lowered to allow for the renovation of hydraulic structures. This time is interesting for nature tourism enthusiasts, because due to the lowered water level, landscapes that are usually hidden under water are revealed. The exposed banks of the Daugava and its tributaries can also be observed in the Aizkraukle and Jēkabpils municipalities.
While threshing grain and working the land, one can fall into a past 80 years old. Literally. A farmer's field has revealed a unique evidence of wartime. A Second World War bunker, which is very well preserved. Its location is currently being kept secret.
This field has been cultivated for many, many years. Land reclamation has taken place here, beetroots have grown, and grain has been sown. Until just now, while the tractor was working, the earth suddenly opened up under the wheels.
Current events in cartoons
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