We have signed andcall for an immediate halt to the creation of new specially protected nature areas and micro-reserves until a fair compensation system has been created and implemented for the property management restrictions imposed on the land.
We urge you not to destroy the ability of Latvia's residents to live and work in rural areas, not to worsen the welfare level of families, and not to restricteverydayneeds, such as the extraction of firewood for heating from one's own forest.
Publicly available data show that new protected nature areas are being rapidly established in Latvia and cover vast areas of land. For example, information on the Legal Acts Portal shows that the territory intended for the creation of new protected nature areas or the expansion of existing ones (nature reserves and protected landscape areas) would cover a total of more than 42,000 hectares. At the same time, the creation of new micro-reserves also continues. The procedure for establishing protected areasis unacceptable for the following reasons.
– State authorities prepare proposals for the creation of new protected areas without informing the landowner. Therefore, the landowner only learns of the decision after it has been adopted by the Cabinet of Ministers. In this way, the landowner is denied the opportunity to participate in the public consultation process. In addition, regulations do not provide the landowner with the right to contest either the proposal or the adopted Cabinet of Ministers decision.
– Information regarding the socio-economic assessment of the creation of these areas is not published anywhere.
Landowners are not against the creation of a reasonable nature conservation system, but that is not the current situation. People are finding themselves in a position of powerlessness – while not formally, in essence, their land is being nationalised. The existing compensation system is blatantly unfair because, instead of the real value of the properties, 50-160 euros per year are paid, which can be even less than 1% of the property's real value.
Such an unfair system must be stopped!
In a democratic country, the legal system must be designed in such a way that a person has the opportunity to defend their rights in any situation!
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