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
3-9 September
Upcoming events
The choice of location for the memorial ensemble was determined by the nearby site of the Āpuznieki battle on 1 January 1946, where national partisans of the Kabile group repelled an attack by significantly larger Cheka troops and inflicted heavy losses upon them. Today, the site is marked by the burials of two fallen partisans, Emīls Šmits and Ādolfs Kūrējs, and the “crooked pine,” which, according to the memories of the fighters, served as the group’s western outpost.
Apple Festival - tomorrow!
### The annual internal conference of the forestry sector is scheduled for 20 October at the Jelgava Palace, in the auditorium of the Latvia University of Life Sciences and Technologies (formerly LLU). The event starts at 10:00, and will include reports on the forestry sector’s operations under wartime conditions (presented by a Ukrainian representative), current international market trends, an analysis of energy issues, and other topics relevant to the industry.
The conference is an internal event for forestry companies and organisations, with limited attendance by government representatives and “friends of the industry”.
### LMSP 7th International Conference “Sustainability of Land-Use Sectors – Under the Conditions of European Environmental Policy Requirements and Geopolitical Realities” on 3 November at the Faculty of Forest of the Latvia University of Life Sciences and Technologies (LLU).
On industry news
Contrary to public concerns about a dramatic increase in logging volumes due to the amendments regarding felling diameters on one hand, and hopes for an increase in the volume of wood available for the energy market on the other – the state-owned enterprise “Latvijas valsts meži” (LVM) has warned customers of its inability to fulfil planned deliveries for the 3rd quarter, with some companies reporting that even half of the volume they purchased at auctions will not be delivered on time.
The price of wood pellets is currently unsustainably high and will not be the “new normal” in the coming years, stated Kristaps Klauss, Executive Director of the Latvian Forest Industry Federation. He explained that wood fuel remains, and will continue to be, the cheapest fuel for this heating season, and that there is no threat of a shortage in pellet availability.
On 5 September, the Interdisciplinary Scientific Laboratory of the Faculty of Forest of the Latvia University of Life Sciences and Technologies (LBTU, formerly LLU) was opened in Jelgava, at Dobeles iela 41. It is currently the only facility and research institution of its kind in Latvia.
LVMI Silava has developed an in vitro industrial propagation method for birch clones
Light is one of the most important environmental factors for plants. It provides the energy required for photosynthesis reactions and acts as a signal that regulates various processes. Plant interaction with light is controlled by complex photoreceptor systems that regulate its absorption and, consequently, photomorphogenesis and photosynthesis processes. Light is essential for the process of vegetative plant propagation under in vitro and ex vitro conditions.
Edgars Bukšāns “Hydrothermal treatment of wood”
Edgars Bukšāns, Kārlis Būmanis, Andrejs Domkins, Andris Dekšnis, Pauls Beķeris “Bioeconomy. CO2. The Green Course. Sustainability. Bioenergy. The Future.”
vmd.gov.lv · koku cirsanas apjomi julija
The State Forest Service, in administering the extraction of wood resources in forests, receives applications from forest owners for the intention to carry out felling in their forests. In July, authorisations were issued for economic activities in 8,149 felling sites.
The State Forest Service, in administering the extraction of wood resources in forests, receives applications from forest owners for the intention to carry out felling in their forests. In July, authorisations were issued for economic activities in 8,149 felling sites.
The total area of the felling sites is 11,729 hectares, while the liquid volume of wood planned to be felled by forest owners was indicated as 1,459,153 m3. This includes 275 primary felling sites approved based on a sanitary assessment by the State Forest Service, with a felling area of 179 hectares and a total harvestable volume of 55,018 m3.
Energy – risks and challenges. Discussed by Kristaps Klauss, Executive Director of the Latvian Forest Industry Federation, and Jurģis Miezainis, energy expert at the Forest Certification Council of Latvia
On economic affairs
The fruit and berry harvest in Latvia is larger this year than last; however, industry representatives are concerned about rising fuel and energy costs, as well as the purchasing power of the population, according to interviewed fruit growers. The volume and quality of the harvest vary across Latvian regions this year, said Jānis Zilvers, Vice-Chairman of the Board of the Latvian Fruit Growers Association (LAA) and owner of the farm “Pīlādži”.
In the 2nd quarter of this year, the average wage in Latvia grew by 8.3% year-on-year. Remuneration per hour worked increased by 5.6%, but the total hours worked also increased, mainly due to the fading impact of the pandemic. The average gross wage reached 1,362 euros, while the average net wage (after tax) rose to 997 euros.
The annual dynamics indicator for manufacturing (production changes in July of this year compared to July of last year) is still holding “above water” in the latest data; in other words, in the middle of this summer, 0.7% more was produced than a year ago. Total industrial output is firmly in the negative (-2.9%), mainly because the burning of expensive gas has been replaced by electricity imports that are also expensive, though relatively more advantageous.
Almost 17,000 euros – that is the size of the electricity bill received for August by the leading fruit and vegetable research centre in Latvia, the Institute of Horticulture in Dobele. The centre's scientists work in laboratories where equipment cannot function without power, and where thousands of samples are stored in deep freezers, so electricity consumption is high. However, the August bill is unaffordable.
On other topical matters
One of the most significant innovations in the law is the expansion of opportunities for public involvement in municipal work. The draft law aims to establish municipal cooperation with civil society organisations and ensure public participation in local government. Furthermore, new tools for public participation are being introduced – a collective submission and a residents' council – a consultative body whose competence and formation would be determined by the municipality itself in the council's regulations, ensuring that candidates for the council are nominated and elected by the municipality's residents. The inclusion of a participatory budget in the law has been supported. This will allow residents to decide on the expenditure of a certain amount of the municipal budget.
The situation in poultry farming in Latvia and Lithuania is very similar, as both countries face the same challenges – high prices for poultry feed and the still unpredictable but rising cost of natural gas, which increases not only production costs but also the retail price of chicken meat, creating a risk that consumers will choose alternatives.
Bear hunting was suspended by an Administrative Court ruling on 9 August. However, on 1 September, taking into account the decision of the Tallinn District Court, the appeal of the Environmental Board was satisfied, and the ban on bear hunting was overturned. The court ruling rejected the request by animal rights organisations to suspend bear hunting. The decision cannot be appealed.
There is no need to tell anglers or fish farmers twice about the damage cormorants can cause; their droppings are so toxic that when a flock settles in a grove of green trees, within a few weeks the trees are transformed into pointed, dead skewers, and the scene resembles a landscape where giants have driven wooden stakes into scorched, black earth.
Long-term problems of a single company in various Latvian regions are now becoming long-term problems for these regions themselves. As reported, since 1 July, passenger transport on bus routes in the Ogre municipality is provided by “Liepājas autobusu parks”, which won the tender organised by the Road Transport Administration.
Interesting
In recent years, the observation that the task of the education system is to “learn how to learn” has become a cliché due to how often it is repeated. Because, supposedly, one will have to learn throughout one's entire life.
That is all very nice and probably correct; however, in my view, an important aspect is getting lost in the background – whether a person has an interest in the world around them.
In principle, it does not matter whether a young person is interested in cell biology or the evolution of rap; what is important is that they have a genuine interest in something at all.
Rarely have Latvians brought so much disrepute upon themselves as in recent days. … Do we not already have enough opponents trying every which way to slander and ruin us, without finding it necessary ourselves to malign and abuse one another with all our might? A “Delfi” reader, judging by the style of the text quoted, will likely guess that this comment was not written in connection with the 14th Saeima pre-election period. Perhaps the assessment comes from the political struggles and mud-slinging in Latvia during the 1920s? Incorrect. Let us not drag this out: this is what “Latviešu Avīzes” wrote even before the creation of the Latvian state, on 20 March 1909, in the context of the 1909 Riga City Council elections.
Presumably, colleagues have over time strengthened their conviction regarding the very different attitudes of various media outlets towards the industry and the Latvian national economy in general. Part of the problem is clearly visible in this article: not a word about the errors and inaccuracies in their own work, but instead “we are being attacked”. Professionalism in evaluation has long been forgotten...
The situation for journalists in Latvia is similar to that observed in other European Union countries – various accusations or attacks regularly affect approximately one in every three media professionals.