Statistics on the micro-reserves established in recent years show that they are primarily created for the lesser spotted eagle. This is linked to the Life+ project LIFE 13 NAT/LV/001078 implemented by the Latvian Fund for Nature, with a total budget of 2.5 million euros. The project aims to provide protection status for an additional 500 lesser spotted eagle nesting sites, on top of the existing protection status, by designating them as micro-reserves.

Regarding the actual conservation of the lesser spotted eagle species, it should be noted that the approval of the Plan did not take into account the latest expert studies, which concluded that the lesser spotted eagle cannot be considered an endangered species either in Latvia (3,700–4,000 pairs) or globally (19,700 pairs in total).

According to the International Red List (trans. “IUCN Red list of threatened species”), the status of the lesser spotted eagle, both globally and at the European level, is assessed as “Least Concern”, and the global population is considered stable (BIRDLIFE INTERNATIONAL 2016). In Latvia, too, the lesser spotted eagle population is considered stable, and in certain sample plots, a significant increase in bird numbers has even been observed. Compared to other rare and endangered bird species, the lesser spotted eagle is the most common eagle species in Latvia; it is a frequently encountered bird in Latvia’s forested mosaic landscape, which is supported by current forestry practices.

The aforementioned Plan deliberately and purposefully ignores the interests of forest owners and was not developed in accordance with the widely used concept of sustainability, as social and economic interests have been completely neglected under the pretext of environmental interests, which are questionable in this case. The stated balance in nature has manifested as financial gain for the creators of the project, with sustainability remaining nothing more than a pretty word in financial reports.