On 16 April a seminar on “Managing wet and peaty agricultural land”

 

The Constitutional Court found the provision reducing the diameter threshold for final felling to be incompatible with Article 115 of the Constitution, which protects everyone's right to live in a benign environment. The Constitutional Court stressed that legal regulation liable to have a significant impact on the environment must be assessed comprehensively, balancing the interests of public welfare, the environment and the economy.

 

In keeping with Latvia's rule of law, the Ministry of Agriculture respects the Constitutional Court's judgment, which restricts private owners' rights to manage and derive benefit from the property they own. So that we do not burden private property in this way in Latvia in future, the Ministry of Agriculture will again put forward changes to the regulatory framework that are favourable to the national economy and the environment, carrying out an environmental impact assessment. I shall act without delay and convene the Forest Advisory Council, which brings together representatives of both the forest sector and environmental organisations.

 

We have prepared Latvia's national position in cooperation with both the sectoral ministries and representatives of the non-governmental sector and businesses. Latvia broadly supports taking the proposal forward and recognises it as an important tool for reducing the environmental impact of resource-intensive sectors. Latvia's priority in the negotiations on reducing and managing food waste and textile waste is to set clear and precise requirements for producers, retailers and society as a whole.

 

Support of 23.5 million euros is earmarked for partially covering loan interest for primary agricultural producers, agricultural and forestry cooperative societies, and businesses engaged in processing agricultural products as well as in fisheries, aquaculture or the processing of their products.

 

Having examined the Competition Council's (KP) report on the 2023 public review, the Cabinet of Ministers decided to task the KP with preparing proposals for amendments to legislation in order to put an end to the differential treatment in food retail pricing between foodstuffs produced in Latvia and those produced in other countries.

 

The Constitutional Court found that the provisions prohibiting the breeding and keeping of animals solely for fur are compatible with the Constitution. The Constitutional Court stressed that protecting animals, as sentient beings, from unnecessary suffering is a value of a democratic society. Modern society has an ethical and moral duty to ensure animal welfare and protection.

 

 

 

As the group continues to pursue its development strategy and to invest in increasing production capacity, “Latvijas Finieris” started up its new veneer plant in Kuldīga in test mode at the end of March. It is equipped with unique technology that makes it possible to obtain the maximum possible veneer yield from every birch log.

 

On 10 April, the winners of the “TOP Employer 2023” survey – last year's best and most sought-after workplaces in Latvia – were honoured. “Latvijas Finieris” took a high 3rd place as the best employer in the manufacturing sector.

Normunds Knēts, head of the Forestry Division of the State Forest Service, likewise tells “Likums un Taisnība” that Latvia has no specific criterion for the concept of an old forest: “The final felling age set in the country can be regarded as such, which historically means that the forest has grown to maturity and thus become old.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

LBTU invites you to a celebration marking the 30th anniversary of the landscape architecture speciality in Latvia. The celebrations will culminate on 19 April with the scientific and practical conference Outside the Frame and an alumni reunion.

 

 

The Finnish Meteorological Institute has suggested on X that the culprit could be Ķemeri National Park – in recent days the weather has been favourable for sulphur compounds entering the air and travelling on to Helsinki.

 

The Nature Conservation Agency rejects the claims aired in the Finnish and Latvian media that the sulphurous waters in Ķemeri National Park could be the cause of the unpleasant smell in the Finnish capital, Helsinki. Although this is an unusual natural phenomenon with a powerful smell, it cannot affect air quality more than 400 kilometres away.