Worth knowing! On upcoming and current events
On 5 December at the LBTU Faculty of Forest and Environmental Sciences
LMSP 9th International Conference “Scientific, economic and social aspects of natural resource use in the current environmental and geopolitical context”
From 1 November to 15 December we invite you to choose the European Tree of the Year in Latvia
On 28 November, the Ministry of Agriculture's Forestry Conference
From 18 May the exhibition “From birch seed to betulin” at the Pharmacy Museum
27–29 March 2025, the 12th Baltic Theriological Conference “Baltic mammals in the turbulence of anthropogenic tensions”
On industry matters
Twenty-five years ago – on 28 October 1999 – JSC “Latvijas valsts meži” (LVM) was founded. Over these years, LVM has grown and developed from a relatively mid-sized Latvian company with a turnover of 24 million euros into one of Latvia's largest companies, with a turnover of more than half a billion euros.
The draft order prepared by the Ministry of Agriculture indicates that Minister for Agriculture Armands Krauze received A. Ozols's application to leave the post on 4 October this year, in connection with reaching the state-set retirement age. At the same time, a draft Ministry of Agriculture order on transferring Purs to the post of head of the State Forest Service has been submitted for approval. “Having assessed the professional qualifications required of a candidate for the post of Director General of the State Forest Service, the Director of the Ministry of Agriculture's Forest Department, Andis Purs, is being nominated for this post in order to ensure continuity in the performance of duties,” the Ministry of Agriculture states.
A board member is expected to have an impeccable reputation; higher or second-level professional higher education in business management, law, finance or economics, or in other fields related to the company's operations; language skills; as well as at least three years' experience as a board member or in an equivalent senior post at a medium-sized or large company.
“Krauzers” is one of the leading forest industry companies in Kurzeme, producing high value-added timber products and exporting them to many countries around the world.
...also in response to earlier calls by the head of government and several ministers, now is precisely the right time to reduce the burden of bureaucracy, so that information about and understanding of the law is the same for everyone. It is precisely because of bureaucratic restrictions and prohibitions that the sanitary situation in Latvia's forests has deteriorated substantially in recent years.
In spring 2023 the European Commission published guidelines on defining, locating, monitoring and protecting old-growth and primary forests. These acknowledge the significant differences between old-growth forests in different regions of the European Union, and therefore each member state must do substantial work to develop locally appropriate approaches.
Investments in large and significant projects have also been announced for the coming years, adding to the 2 billion euros of long-term investments at residual value that State Revenue Service statistics show for timber industry companies in 2023.
Although construction in Europe has stagnated over the past year, demand for large-format glulam timber structures has nonetheless not fallen, according to Māris Peilāns, Chairman of the Board of SIA Zaza Timber Production, even though competition to supply such products has intensified.
Of the total length of the road, 530 metres will be built on soils with low bearing capacity, whose top layer consists of peat approximately 1.5–5 m thick.
...any initiative that fosters an understanding of respectful coexistence in the forest would be to our common benefit. We invite everyone to consider the avalanche of consequences that a seemingly innocent drive through the forest thicket can set off.
Speaking about Latvia's forest management policy, several points must be emphasised. First, it must be acknowledged that forests are one of Latvia's most important natural resources – and not only economically, but also socially and purely aesthetically. Consider the value of Latvia's characteristic berry- and mushroom-picking tradition alone, to say nothing of relaxing walks in the forest.
Everyone perceives the forest differently. For some it is a place for recreation, walks and hunting; others see the forest as a place to obtain timber. We must not forget that the forest also has an economic significance.
In order to clear the damage caused by the July storm, logging work will continue until 30 November in the forest tract at Pārlielupe, bordering Strautu ceļš, Vecais ceļš and Rogu ceļš, the Forest Research Station reports.
Hopeless climate targets and schizophrenia. Kristaps Klauss defends forestry on the emissions question.
...on the second day after the storm, arriving at the Likverteni forest, it was possible to drive in by car only some fifty metres. Older local residents met that day said they had lived nearby for a long time, but had never experienced anything like it in their lives.
Official matters
The regulations set out how support is granted for cooperation between several farmers or small producers in making joint investments, in order to increase joint sales volumes and promote the use of local food products in public catering, including at educational institutions, as well as for cooperation between producers in jointly bringing local products to market by making use of the opportunities of the local area.
On 29 October the government adopted amendments drawn up by the Ministry of Agriculture to the procedure for granting direct payments to farmers, clarifying the definition of peat soil and adding criteria for identifying areas of peat soil on agricultural land.
...the government will consider amendments to the procedure for direct payments to farmers, relating to the need to specify the peat soil parcels within agricultural land areas to which different management requirements apply.
On environmental matters
...in future the study will save time and money for anyone whose property is taken over by invasive species. Thanks to methods drawn from foreign scientific literature and research, we will find out what works in Latvia and what does not. We are also trialling methods that are innovative in Latvia, such as steaming invasive species.
https://www.daba.gov.lv/lv/jaunums/uz-laiku-sledz-cetrus-gaujas-nacionala-parka-pastaigu-taku-posmus
On these trails the base structures of the wooden staircases and several steps, as well as parts of the bridges, are partly or entirely worn out and endanger the safety of walkers. Please be attentive – if the information signs and tape near the trails have been torn down but the authority has not publicly announced that repair work is complete, do not use the damaged sections of the trails and staircases!
The first sign was attached on Thursday, 31 October, to a magnificent oak by the pond in the restored Turaida forest park of the Turaida Museum Reserve. In future such signs will be installed not only by Nature Conservation Agency specialists, but also by local authorities, managers of public green areas and arborists.
In the floodplain of the river Saušupīte, management work has already been carried out for a second time across 4.5 ha, while across 1.4 ha the removal of trees and shrubs and the mowing and clearing of grass has been done for the first time.
On 27 November the Zemgale Tourism Annual Award will be presented for the second time at Jelgava Palace, in six categories. Its aim is to highlight and honour the past year's best, most unique, most diverse and most export-capable tourism service providers operating in the Zemgale tourism sector and promoting the region's recognition and image.
On economic matters
This year 25 million euros from the state budget have been devoted to the Baltic Defence Line. A large share of that stays in Latgale, the Ministry of Defence maintains. Local businesses are sceptical – concrete counter-mobility obstacles are often hauled in from Riga, although surely they could be produced here?
The Senate agreed with the regional court's assessment that, when a person is asked to provide all the information they consider material, that person cannot always know precisely what information the institution wishes to obtain.
Syfud will open its new salmon processing plant today, company representatives report. With the opening of this latest salmon processing plant, construction of the factory will be fully complete. The factory comprises three production units specialising in crab processing, prawn processing and salmon processing.
On hunting
For women who go hunting, the sense of community, socialising and being in nature are far more compelling than trophies and obtaining meat, forest science graduate and hunter Jana Alksnīte said on the Latvijas Radio programme “Radio vilks dabā”.
On transport
To further improve the quality of regional public transport services and provide a more convenient travel experience for residents throughout Latvia, modern buses will be running on 13 parts of the route network from 1 November. In total they will serve 818 routes and 4,916 services across the country.
Miscellaneous information
If we want people to find it interesting to think and talk about the Latvian language, it is best that the focus be on something exciting and surprising. Not yet more grumbling.
In recent years a conviction unacceptable in a state governed by the rule of law has been taking ever deeper root in Latvia: that high-ranking state officials may take unlawful decisions affecting other people without any adverse consequences for themselves. Yet, regardless of political accountability and of the fact that the harm was done in the performance of official duties, everyone is answerable before the law for their own actions.
From next year several public sector institutions will be relocated to the office building at Talejas iela 1 in Riga, currently better known to many as the home of the State Revenue Service.
Poland's Minister of the Interior and Administration has added a subsidiary of the Latvian-based company 4finance to the national sanctions list, taking the view that possible ownership links with Russian capital create a risk of borrowers' data falling into hostile hands.
The calculated losses to the state amount to almost 227 thousand euros. Kononovs signed the contract, but Udalova was a board member and head of the procurement department. KNAB investigators considered that she should be charged as well, but the prosecution service saw no crime in her actions.
Current affairs in cartoons
