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
28 September – 4 October
Worth knowing! On upcoming and current events
On 5 December at the LBTU Faculty of Forest and Environmental Sciences
The 9th LMSP International Conference “Scientific, economic and social aspects of natural resource use in the current environmental and geopolitical context”
On 5 and 6 October, Travellers' Days in Ķemeri National Park
On 6 October, International Geodiversity Day
On 9 October, the scientific conference “The Broken Landscape – History and Architecture”
10–11 October, the international conference “Old-growth forests: policy and practice” (“Vecie meži: politikas un prakse”)
On 11 October, the conference “The furniture manufacturing industry in Latvia and worldwide. Today and tomorrow”
Until 11 October there is an opportunity to apply to the open tender “Provision of forest regeneration, tending and protection services in 2025–2028 under a framework agreement” announced by AS “Latvijas valsts meži” (LVM)
On 12 October, the last trip of the Baloži peat railway train this season (this year, this autumn)
On 12 October, hikes in the Krustkalni Nature Reserve
Until 15 October there is an opportunity to apply to the open tender “Mechanised forest sowing, strip soil preparation with a disc plough, and soil preparation by forming mounds with a rotary mounder, in 2025–2029” announced by AS “Latvijas valsts meži” (LVM)
The “Ziedu ceļos” campaign runs from 1 February to 30 October
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
Minister of Agriculture Armands Krauze took part in the “Forest Europe” forestry conference in Bonn, Germany, together with ministers from other European countries. The aim of the meeting was to strengthen cooperation in the forestry sector at European level, as well as to share the latest findings and examples of progress in sustainable forest management in Europe.
The work of non-governmental organisations plays a vital role in our country's sustainable development, not only in meeting the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, but also in narrower and more specific ways within each field.
On 10 October, AS “Latvijas Finieris” will present the solar panel park at its subsidiary “VEREMS” RSEZ SIA in Vērēmi parish, Rēzekne municipality.
Another challenge in 2024 was the deforestation regulation, which aims to prevent deforestation worldwide in places where palm oil or rubber tree plantations have been established, but the regulation has mainly affected Europe, since complying with its requirements carries a heavy administrative burden.
This year's fruit-growing industry award “Ābolu ordenis” (Order of the Apple), granted for outstanding professional mastery that has promoted the industry's visibility and development, will go to Ilze Grāvīte, leading researcher at the Institute of Horticulture and associate professor at the Latvia University of Life Sciences and Technologies, Dobele municipal council told the LETA news agency.
To broaden their knowledge and understanding of sustainable forest management, members of the Latvian Association of Biology Teachers went on a field trip at the end of September together with experts from AS “Latvijas valsts meži”, learning about the felling planning process and the nature conservation measures carried out in Latvia's state forests.
Seed collection has been completed at the Jaunjelgava oak seed orchard of AS “Latvijas valsts meži”. A total of 438 kg of acorns were gathered; they will be sown at the LVM Valmiera tree nursery and will yield 40,000 to 50,000 selectively bred oak seedlings.
Monta joined the “Latvijas Finieris” team recently. She started work in winter, when the nursery is quiet and the pace and bustle of the work were not yet visible.
Official news
Under the government's decision, the reduced VAT rate of 12% on fresh fruit, berries and vegetables is set to be retained until the end of 2028.
Until 2029, state and EU support for agriculture and rural development will not be subject to personal income tax (PIT), keeping this tax relief in place for farmers for another five years.
At the council meeting, a compromise agreement was proposed on the distribution of local government revenue, setting the share of personal income tax (PIT), which is local governments' largest source of revenue, at 78% for local governments and 22% for the state budget in 2025. It is also proposed to increase the local government financial equalisation grant by 14 million euros.
In order to safeguard natural, landscape, geological and other values, amendments have been drafted to the legislation governing the Gauja National Park – the law and the regulations – mainly revising the functional zoning of Latvia's largest and oldest national park and simplifying the management of properties within it.
The population fell last year in seven European Union member states, with the sharpest decline in Latvia (by 0.6%, or 11,100 people), according to the “Demography” information review published by the Central Statistical Bureau.
On the climate law
It is no secret that the issue of climate change is not at the very centre of public attention in Latvia. At our latitudes, global warming is seen as desirable rather than undesirable. As a result, most people do not perceive the so-called climate crisis as a personal threat.
On the economy
From 1 October, Uldis Cērps takes up the post of head of the Finance Latvia Association; he is a recognised financial expert of international standing with extensive experience in the global finance and banking sector.
...from 2015 to 2019, around 7% of employees in OECD countries worked in emission-intensive sectors, and a fifth in environmentally friendly occupations. A closer look shows that in about half of these occupations the skills required for the job are changing because of a greener economy, while in 40% of cases the green transition is increasing demand for the occupation in question.
Achieving climate neutrality, cutting emissions and preserving biodiversity have created a risk of reduced economic activity in the land-based sectors, which are the most significant employers in rural areas; at the same time, pursuing a “policy of contraction” risks losing people as well as the tax revenue needed to fund the services society requires.
For more than a year now, an image from the anonymous account World of Statistics on the social network X has been circulating online, claiming that utilities in Latvia are among the most expensive in Europe (and in the world). Drawing on survey data from Numbeo, it shows that monthly utility bills (including electricity, heating, water supply and waste collection) for an 85-square-metre flat in Riga come to close to 300 US dollars a month, which is more than in Paris, London or Berlin.
Becoming more sustainable, changing the way you think and the company's established practices, is not an easy path. It is a deliberate undertaking that requires motivation, a change of culture, the development of a strategy, proper planning and, most importantly, implementation.
On hunting
The latest driven hunt season began on 1 October, but the State Forest Service urges hunters to consider carefully whether to go on driven hunts right at the start of the season, while the undergrowth is still in leaf and large numbers of berry pickers, mushroom pickers and other visitors are out in the forest. The service also calls on hunters to revisit hunting safety requirements and reminds them that animals taken on driven hunts must also be registered in the “Mednis” mobile app.
On environmental matters
In order to safeguard natural, landscape, geological and other values, amendments have been drafted to the legislation governing the Gauja National Park – the law and the regulations – mainly revising the functional zoning of Latvia's largest and oldest national park and simplifying the management of properties within it.
A victory for hunters and hysteria for anti-hunters – that is one way to describe the outcome of the 25 September vote by the European Commission's Committee of Permanent Representatives on changing the protection status of the wolf.
One such plant is ragweed. “At present the plant is found sporadically throughout Latvia every year, although a stable population has not yet established itself,” says Olga Sozinova, leading researcher at the University of Latvia, explaining that an international study analysed the spread of ragweed under various climate scenarios and identified Latvia's territory as a red zone where the plant could spread rapidly.
...for more than two years, forest infrastructure staff of AS “Latvijas valsts meži” in the Sece forest district of the Vidusdaugava region battled the effects of beavers on a forest road – a dam at a culvert that blocked the flow of water. The dam created a build-up of water that affected the neighbouring forest areas and caused the forest road to flood regularly.
Assorted and interesting
And, incidentally, I think that competition in providing aid [to Ukraine] is in fact very useful. Countries need to compete with each other over who will be at the top of the list as a supplier of weapons to Ukraine. If you help Ukraine, it means you are a good country.
2025 will bring changes to every local government in Latvia, as they will have to meet the requirement set out in the Law on Local Governments to introduce a participatory budget in their territory. Once a year in each municipality, residents will be able to submit ideas under a set procedure and vote on them, and the municipality will be obliged to implement the most widely supported proposals within two years.
What does it take to get people from Riga and beyond heading to the junction of Slokas and Nometņu streets in Āgenskalns because of one ginger cat? It turns out the cat has to be painted on a firewall.
I am not claiming that this applies to forests at our latitudes as well – the point is simply that ecosystems work in more complex ways than we imagine. In principle this – if I may be ironic – shocking discovery is about ten years “new”, while the coy silence of political decision-makers means that the work of researchers, which could help find economically balanced solutions, is not in demand.
History ought to be a dispassionate body of events and facts, but interpreting it is up to people. At various times the Salaspils memorial has been used to emphasise facts and even to embellish them as politically dictated needs required. Today, perhaps, this page of history has its most neutral shade. But how was it before?
Current affairs in cartoons
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