The State Forest Service reminds that from 27 April, applications open for the 2023 compensation payment for Natura 2000 forest areas (NIM) that are located in a micro-reserve or are included in the list of European protected natural areas. To apply for compensation, the owner must have a forest inventory in effect as of 1 March, with data included in the State Forest Register.

 

Today, the Forest came to Jelgava...

 

The State Forest Service has declared the start of the forest fire-danger season throughout the country from 1 May, which mandates compliance with several essential rules. The Service urges all residents to be especially careful with fire in the forest.

 

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Aiming to promote student health and understanding of the forest as a source of oxygen, the joint-stock company Latvijas valsts meži (LVM), together with the Latvian Olympic Committee (LOK), organised the LVM Forest Olympics this year, the winners of which have just been announced.

 

A record number of participants – more than 230 young people – took part in the LVM Bioeconomy School scholarship competition organised by the joint-stock company Latvijas valsts meži (LVM) this year. In intense competition, the youths had to demonstrate their knowledge of the innovative field of bioeconomy and their understanding of the growing role of forest resources in Latvia’s security.

 

 

The Ministry of Agriculture (ZM) invites applications for farmers, entrepreneurs, young farmers, food producers, as well as rural families, for Latvia’s most well-known agricultural competition, Sējējs 2023. Nominations for the competition are welcomed not only from municipalities, farmer and food producer NGOs, but also from rural development consultants and private individuals. This year, competition participants will be evaluated in nine categories, and a lifetime achievement award for agriculture will also be presented. This is the 30th year that Sējējs is being held.

 

 

 

In September, the railway line of the romantic Vidzeme narrow-gauge railway (mazbānītis), which currently runs from Alūksne to Gulbene, will celebrate its 120th birthday. Passengers who use the train for daily commutes or as tourists visiting the Vidzeme region are invited to mark the occasion by gifting the locomotive "Ferdinands" a stack of firewood.

In Northern Vidzeme, construction work has begun on bridges over the Gauja in Gulbene Municipality, Valka Municipality, and Rāmnieki, as well as the bridge over the Gauja distributary in Valka Municipality.

 

...the bus stop moved from Atgāzene will henceforth be located by Robežu Street. The other railway stops – by Sloka Street in Iļģuciems, by Silikātu Street in Bolderāja, near the Alfa shopping centre – by Bērzpils Street, and by Sarkandaugava Street will be newly constructed stops.

 

 

Throughout the entirety of 2023, we invite you to participate in events that will highlight and introduce the natural and cultural-historical values as well as tourism opportunities in the Gauja National Park (Gauja NP) territory. The Gauja NP anniversary year events are suitable for nature researchers and families with children alike. The events are organised by the Nature Conservation Agency and the Gauja National Park Foundation.

 

The main goal of the monitoring is to study the unique process of bears, which had once completely disappeared from the territory, returning to Latvia, said Jānis Ozoliņš, a leading researcher at the Latvian State Forest Research Institute Silava, who revealed that bears are the third species to return to Latvia after being completely wiped out.

 

The river lamprey (Lampetra fluviatilis) is a specially protected species of European importance; furthermore, in Latvia, it holds the status of a limited-use species. Therefore, in May, during the lamprey spawning season, state environmental inspectors from the Nature Conservation Agency will be closely monitoring rivers suitable for the spawning of protected fish.

 

The pair of storks, which urgently had to be asked to build their nest elsewhere in Kuldīga rather than on the pile driver located in the courtyard of the cultural centre under renovation, did not, however, move to the municipal nest provided in a poplar tree, but stubbornly decided to stay right there on the chimney of the cultural centre being rebuilt. At the same time, the storks have gained celebrity status – people come to see and photograph them.

 

 

A new complex with retail, office, sports, light manufacturing, and recreation centres is being built on the territory of the former Riga Dairy Combine. Architects are actively working on the technical design. It is planned that the new multifunctional retail park will open its doors to visitors at the end of 2024.

 

Current events in the real estate market are incomprehensible, Aigars Šmits, Chairman of the Board of real estate company Arco Real Estate, said at a press conference on Wednesday. He emphasised that the current time is so dynamic that all forecasts change quickly and fail to materialise. Among other things, A. Šmits stated that it is unclear for whom the new projects are being built if the average gross salary in the country is 1370 euros, as this means new apartments can only be afforded by couples, and a single person is unable to purchase an apartment.

 

 

Founding new non-governmental organisations to support Russian policy, preventing NATO from strengthening its position in the region, preventing the transition to education in the Latvian language and disconnection from the Russian electricity grid, granting state language status to the Russian language – these are just some of the plans that the Kremlin considered strategically important for itself in Latvia until 2030, according to secret documents that have come into the possession of Re:Baltica.