Tightening the regulations for Gauja National Park is becoming an ever-greater burden – including for those who are by no means against nature conservation... It seems I will soon no longer be able to do anything in my own forest. The area I have gradually cultivated will turn into a wasteland of insect-eaten trees and an impassable, apocalyptic obstacle course.
Public consultation for these regulations ends today, and I will still send a letter of objection, though it is unlikely to change anything. The saying that the trees you plant will be a harvest for future generations is no longer valid – because there will be no harvest. It will rot in piles of deadwood. Such is the understanding of the “nature friend” generation of Zigmāriņi regarding what is and is not needed for the Latvian landscape. It is eco-fashionable to hang out in city quarters with a pallet-aesthetic, live on cycle-lane-clogged streets, and go picnicking in nature at weekends, expecting performances and dances from the locals – this is hardly likely to be possible if the forest owner is stripped of the already meagre income earned from managing the land in accordance with existing nature reserve laws and the owner's love for nature. Will the next step be asking farmers not to harvest their grain because it is so scenic? The forest harvest, it seems, must be left to rot – so that more methane is released to contribute to climate change.
Every year, we collect about half a tonne of waste in our forest left behind by these “nature friends”. Every year, we extinguish several campfires lit in the nature reserve zone, with the excuse that “this is such a beautiful and suitable place”. Every year, a flow of uneducated tourists rolls through informal paths and routes worn into the ground by social media trends. Perhaps we should finally tackle this problem instead of heaping an even greater burden on those who are already protecting natural values?
At one time, Gauja National Park was a good example of how to combine land management with nature conservation. The balance between these interests has led to an increase in natural values. Why does anyone want to change that? (Guntis Āboltiņš)
Gauja National Park (GNP) is the largest and oldest park of its kind in Latvia. Valuable habitats, ancient natural forests, rock outcrops, and many other natural treasures are found on the banks of the Gauja ancient valley. A new nature conservation plan for Gauja National Park is currently being developed, which is primarily opposed by forest owners, forest owner Andris Ērkšķis told ReTV.
In developing a new nature conservation plan for Gauja National Park for the next 12 years, the main goal is to protect the natural values within the park's territory in order to manage them correctly.