I have been a planner at LVM for five years now. Before that, I was a research assistant at the Latvian State Forest Research Institute "Silava", where I was involved in collecting and processing research material, gaining skills and an understanding of what happens in nature and how humans affect it. Of course, it is observable – not drastically, but overall – that winters are becoming warmer and shorter, and springs are getting drier. There are risks associated with storms – a storm has just caused serious damage in the forests of southern Latvia. The insect population is also changing. In warm winters, bark beetles multiply and cause significant damage to spruce trees. In a storm, the roots of these trees are loosened, and bark beetles thrive precisely in these weakened trees. Fighting these pests is a challenge. A warm spring leads to grass fires, which also threaten the forest. The human factor also affects nature – the more people there are in the forest, the more litter there is. Unfortunately, this spring we collected a record amount of waste. Therefore, we must adapt to what nature presents to us in these new conditions. We must learn to understand it.
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In recent weeks, both in the Saeima and the Cabinet of Ministers, the thesis has been heard once again: “We must act this way, otherwise there will be penalties, infringement procedures, etc.” Often, such a pseudo-argument completely excludes reasonable disputes, discussions, or alternatives, forcing those responsible to make decisions hastily and not always in the interests of Latvia. Why is that?
Old habits are hardening - someone somewhere knows better, let us rely on them
Lack of sufficient capacity or laziness to defend a different point of view
A generation of cabinet officials has been created who are accustomed to accepting rather than delving into matters
This is a serious problem for Latvia for which no solution is being sought. It will probably be all right somehow...



