The Ministry of Economics (EM) has reviewed the draft National Nature Restoration Plan (NDAP) and points to significant shortcomings in its initial version. In the Ministry's view, implementing the plan requires a detailed socio-economic assessment that comprehensively evaluates every sector affected, or potentially affected, by it. The analysis carried out so far is fragmentary and incomplete.
A substantial part of the plan's economic impact consists of the expected costs and losses in the forestry sector. Provisional estimates of the losses associated with granting protected status to 52,000 ha of forest habitats reach approximately EUR 506 million, according to Ministry of Agriculture (ZM) figures.
“We support the protection of nature and the environment, but it must be carried out on the basis of a well-founded socio-economic assessment. As implementation of the plan continues, a comprehensive assessment is needed of its actual and expected consequences for all affected economic sectors and for society as a whole,” stresses Minister for Economics Viktors Valainis.
At the same time, the possible losses and indirect impact on the remaining economic sectors have not been fully calculated and are currently unknown. This means there is not enough objective information about the plan's real economic impact on companies in other sectors, including agriculture, furniture manufacturing, the pulp and paper industry, and the energy supply sector.
“We support the protection of nature and the environment, but it must be carried out on the basis of a well-founded socio-economic assessment,” the Ministry of Economics states. “As implementation of the plan continues, a comprehensive assessment is needed of its actual and expected consequences for all affected economic sectors and for society as a whole.”
The Ministry stresses that any significant public policy measure must be based on data and on a comprehensive impact assessment, not on fragmentary or partial calculations. Only by fully evaluating the plan's direct and indirect economic impact is it possible to ensure that its further implementation is balanced, allowing nature protection objectives to be met while securing the sustainable development of Latvia's economy.