Farewell words
On 24 July, one of Latvia's most significant farmers of the last decade, Edgars Treibergs, passed away...
Upcoming events
Coming up next week -
Hunter's festival “Minhauzens” – https://www.minhauzensfest.lv/
European Tree of the Year 2022 – we have plenty of trees in Latvia, but the stories this year are arriving very, very slowly... https://www.eiropasgadakoks.lv/par-notikumu
State affairs and current events
Since the early 90s, a generation has grown up that has not experienced the occupation years... But still, somewhere in the corridors of Europe, the old days have continued for someone... This decision is also very important in the context of the industry, farmers, and peat producers, because at some point, someone somewhere submitted inaccurate data back in 20... Thus...
“One of the biggest achievements in this ruling is that the European Court of Human Rights agrees with the assessment of the Constitutional Court that the Latvian state, after the restoration of independence, had no obligation to take over those public law obligations established in the territory of Latvia by the Soviet power. Specifically, Latvia is not the successor to the decisions of the Soviet power. Until now, nothing of the sort had been heard so clearly from an authoritative international court.”
https://www.zemeunvalsts.lv/documents/view/bffc98347ee35b3ead06728d6f073c68/10_11_rupes_2907.pdf
Enterprises – the state's bloodstream
Enterprises – the state's bloodstream
Industry issues
A note on the first three articles: the list of participants in the broadcast “Kā labāk dzīvot” – all of whom are experts in the industry and the situation – pleasantly surprised industry colleagues, who justifiably praised this move on social media. It truly is a rare phenomenon in Latvian public media.
However, regarding Pokaiņi Forest (the original source is LTV), we see the now familiar attachment of the word “expert” not only to a forestry professional but also to activists and a historian who are not experts in forest matters...
https://lr1.lsm.lv/lv/raksts/ka-labak-dziivot/ka-apsildisim-savus-majoklus-tuvakaja-nakotne.a163370/
Forests, firewood, bioenergy... How will we keep warm now and in the near future? In the broadcast “Kā labāk dzīvot”, we discuss energy independence for residents and the transition of boiler houses from gas heating to biomass/woodchips, as well as the hype surrounding wood pellets and why buying later might be more advantageous for buyers this time.
In the studio: representative of the joint-stock company “Latvijas Valsts meži” Jānis Tomass Kotovičs, Chairman of the Board of the Latvian Biomass Association “LATbio” Didzis Palejs, as well as Executive Director of the Latvian Independent Timber Producers Association Artūrs Bukonts.
The forest requires care and work, which is why one must return here from time to time to work, explained Jānis Zitāns, Forest Management Manager of the Zemgale region of a/s “Latvijas valsts meži”, during the broadcast.
The LLU Faculty of Forest has changed its facade, interior, study programmes, and even its aura. It now radiates: we are keeping up with the times while respecting what previous generations have accomplished. The number of young people wishing to study here has also grown. For these achievements, the Dean of the Faculty of Forest, Dr. silv. Linards Sisenis, was awarded the “Golden Cone” in the category “For Public Education”.
Linards Sisenis: “If the environment is pleasant, students, staff, and faculty guests all feel good. In total, more than 2.2 million euros have been invested in the faculty's development over the last few years, and these are the most significant investments in the faculty's history.”
Whether forest owners will immediately use this opportunity will depend on whether they need the funds right away and whether they understand the law that a new forest must be planted within three years, evaluated forest expert Ieva Lukševica on the Latvian Radio programme “Radio vilks dabā”.
On this occasion, the environmental expert did not find the bats themselves, but pointed out many trees that could be suitable for the Western Barbastelle's daytime rest. “Such pine forests with such dead pines are extremely important to them, and besides, they will spend a couple of nights here, then move on, looking for some other place again, so it is important that the forest stand has as many such places as possible and that new ones are formed.”
The malicious and irreparable destruction of Latvian forests – one of the most persistent myths that has taken root in the minds of many people.
In reality, over the last hundred years, our forest areas have more than doubled.
And let's try to answer the question – will the gas pipeline construction work in any way affect Danish mice? Of course it will, and negatively at that. Simply put, the war completely changed priorities, and human safety was placed higher than the well-being of mice. That is how it should be.
https://www.la.lv/vairak-neka-pusi-latvijas-teritorijas-klaj-mezi-tos-caurvij-777-upes-kuras-ir-garakas-par-10-kilometriem-kopejais-upju-garums-ieskaitot-ari-mazakas-ir-ap-37-500-kilometru
Forests along rivers with an area of approximately 200,000 hectares have been given protected status, mostly in a 50-metre wide strip on both banks for rivers of this size, and in a narrower strip for smaller ones. As currently understood, this means that almost no human interference is allowed in these strips. However, with the gradual development of nature conservation awareness, we are also starting to realise in our country that doing nothing does not always provide the best result. Therefore, more and more projects aimed at improving habitat quality or otherwise named are being implemented even in protected areas – actions with the goal of improving the general state of the habitat or its suitability for a specific species or group of species. The next step in the evolution of understanding actions in such areas is evaluating the complex of ecosystem services and seeking solutions to increase value within the landscape or other larger territory, for example, the buffer strips of one river.
Forests along rivers with an area of approximately 200,000 hectares have been given protected status, mostly in a 50-metre wide strip on both banks for rivers of this size, and in a narrower strip for smaller ones. As currently understood, this means that almost no human interference is allowed in these strips. However, with the gradual development of nature conservation awareness, we are also starting to realise in our country that doing nothing does not always provide the best result. Therefore, more and more projects aimed at improving habitat quality or otherwise named are being implemented even in protected areas – actions with the goal of improving the general state of the habitat or its suitability for a specific species or group of species. The next step in the evolution of understanding actions in such areas is evaluating the complex of ecosystem services and seeking solutions to increase value within the landscape or other larger territory, for example, the buffer strips of one river.
The pilot study implemented by LVMI Silava and supported by the Latvian Environmental Protection Fund on the use of non-invasive DNA-containing samples for monitoring the state of the lynx population has concluded. The aim of the study was to evaluate the effectiveness of non-invasive monitoring methods – hair traps and camera traps – in Latvia and the results of analyses of obtained samples – hair, urine, excrement, and paw prints – creating the prerequisites for the future improvement of the Eurasian lynx monitoring system.
Current events in transport
Active construction work continues in more than 60 sections of the state road network; drivers must account for traffic restrictions and longer travel times.
Other important and current topics
A discussion between the Chairman of the Farmers' Parliament Juris Lazdiņš, the Chairman of the Board of the Latvian Hunters Association Haralds Barviks, and the Head of the Hunting Department of the State Forest Service Valters Lūsis on how to reduce damage and effectively manage the wolf population. About the problems that allow it and what hinders it! How to build cooperation between hunters and farmers? The conversation is moderated by the editor-in-chief of the magazine “Agrotops” Anita Pirktiņa and the editor-in-chief of the magazine “Medības” Linda Dombrovska.
GDP data for the 2nd quarter is surprisingly poor. Based on available information about sectors, it seemed that GDP had not changed much compared to the 1st quarter, but might have grown by about 4% year-on-year. It turns out that, according to the initial assessment, GDP has decreased by 1.4% quarter-on-quarter, and has only grown by 2.6% year-on-year. In the 1st quarter, the figures were drastically different – growth of 3.6% and 6.7%, respectively.
Parks must be diverse, and Riga has this diversity. We have gardens, forest parks, thematic parks, for example, the Botanical Garden, as well as the Zoo. We also have parks with swimming areas. A brand new park is being built in Skanste. At the moment, there is also a competition for a memorial garden or a small park in Zolitūde. This place is intended to have a meditative mood, where people can commemorate and remember those who died in the Zolitūde tragedy. Another type of park that I would like to include in Riga is an industrial park.