A question for Solvita Mūrniece, Director of the Forest Resource Management Department at the State Forest Service

At the industry conference in Ogre, you mentioned that the lesser spotted eagle is being protected “too much”, and that we are already talking about quantity, not quality! Why do you think so, and what exactly leads to that conclusion? Is the status of the lesser spotted eagle... what it is, and who is capable of determining it?

General statistics on the micro-reserves created in forest lands (outside specially protected nature areas) in recent years show that the State Forest Service (hereinafter – VMD) primarily establishes micro-reserves 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 to a further 500 lesser spotted eagle nesting sites by establishing micro-reserves, in addition to the existing protection (the micro-reserves already created).

The “Lesser Spotted Eagle (Clanga pomarina) Protection Plan in Latvia (2019-2029)” states that the species has a stable population dynamic. Quotes from the plan: “…the lesser spotted eagle population in the period from 1988 to 2018 is stable. …the most significant factor affecting nesting success is food availability. …the status of the lesser spotted eagle, both globally and at the European scale, is assessed as “Least Concern” and the global population is assessed as stable. …In Latvia, the lesser spotted eagle population in the long term is considered stable, and in individual sample plots, a significant increase in numbers has even been recorded.” The plan points out that the species’ natural distribution range in Latvia is not shrinking – the lesser spotted eagle, as a nesting species with varying nesting density, is found throughout Latvia’s territory, and Latvia can be classified as one of the core areas of the global population, holding approximately 20% of the world's population.

The VMD, upon evaluating information published in various sources, can conclude that on a global scale, the lesser spotted eagle shows a stable population trend [1]. According to the IUCN Red List category and its criteria [2], the lesser spotted eagle has been assigned a low protection risk (LC) since 2004, meaning the species is not under threat over a longer period [3]. The Environmental Report 2017 (hereinafter – Report) of a/s “Latvijas valsts meži” also presents monitoring data on the number of lesser spotted eagle pairs observed in sample plots from 1994 to 2017. The long-term trend (a 24-year period) is stable, the medium-term trend (a 16-year period) is negligibly negative, whereas the short-term trend (an 11-year period) is negligibly positive. The report indicates that by 2017, the a/s “Latvijas valsts meži” database contained information on 432 lesser spotted eagle nests, and they are provided with protection in accordance with Article 8 of the Law on the Protection of Species and Habitats.

The Law on the Protection of Species and Habitats stipulates that to ensure the favourable protection of specially protected species and habitats, micro-reserves may be established in their habitats in accordance with the procedure for the establishment of micro-reserves. The protection of species and habitats is a set of measures necessary for the conservation or restoration of populations and habitats in an optimal state. The same law also stipulates that the task of species protection is to ensure conditions that favourably influence the species and promote the optimal distribution of the species and the number of individuals in populations. Species protection is considered favourable if its:

1) population dynamics data show that the species continues to maintain its existence as a viable component of its characteristic habitat;

2) the natural distribution range is not decreasing and is not likely to decrease in the near future;

3) the sizes of the habitats are sufficiently large and are likely to remain so to maintain an optimal number of individuals in populations in the long term.

The last underlined text confirms that there might be no need to establish micro-reserves for the lesser spotted eagle at this time, as the protection of the species and the species itself in Latvia are not threatened. To ensure the situation does not worsen, I would like to emphasise: we must more actively educate forest owners – the public – about the protection of species' habitats during the forest management process – this means explaining the biology of specific species, protection measures, nature conservation requirements, including the need to carry out tree felling outside the nesting period, etc.

Currently, the process of creating micro-reserves for other species and habitats is directly influenced by the service of certified experts in the field of species and habitat protection. The regulatory acts stipulate: in the process of creating a micro-reserve, the VMD must receive an opinion from a certified expert in the relevant field.

For information – the costs for a single expert assessment have increased nearly 4 times in recent years (currently, one expert opinion costs an average of 500 euros). In the case of the lesser spotted eagle, an expert opinion prepared within the framework of the project is already attached to the micro-reserve application.

Since 2013, the VMD has not been granted funding for the payment of species and habitat expert services, contrary to what was provided for in the Cabinet of Ministers Regulation No. 940 of 18.12.2012 “Regulations on the procedure for the establishment and management of micro-reserves, their protection, as well as the determination of micro-reserves and their buffer zones” Annotation. During this period, the VMD paid for expert opinions by trying to find funds from its own budget. However, from late 2018 onwards, the VMD's ability to pay for the services of a certified expert has been very limited, precisely due to insufficient funding.

The VMD, based on the function delegated by the Law on the Protection of Species and Habitats to establish micro-reserves in forest land outside specially protected nature areas, takes a decision on whether or not to establish micro-reserves by evaluating the opinions of all involved parties, taking into account environmental as well as socially and economically significant interests for society.

In the process of creating a micro-reserve, the VMD clarifies the views of all involved parties – forest owners, legal possessors, the local government – and evaluates the expediency of creating a micro-reserve taking into account the points raised in the expert opinion, as well as evaluating territorial development planning documents, the purpose of use of the relevant territory, and other aspects. Private forest owners generally do not participate in the micro-reserve creation process with their views, or the VMD receives a negative attitude regarding the possible creation of a micro-reserve in their forest, citing as a justification the existing national compensation mechanism and the amount of compensation for restrictions on economic activity, which is not proportionate when compared to the benefit that would be foregone from the sale of timber in the near future.

Currently, the VMD is involved in 7 legal proceedings related to the creation of micro-reserves, in which it must prove that the benefit to society gained by imposing restrictions on the forest owner will be greater than the restriction of the specific forest owner's rights or legal interests.

In my opinion, it is essential to identify those specially protected species and habitats that have an unfavourable status according to the criteria defined in the Law on the Protection of Species and Habitats, and under conditions of limited funding, micro-reserves should primarily be created for them.

Cabinet of Ministers regulations stipulate that any person may submit a written proposal for the establishment of a micro-reserve to the responsible institution by completing the application and inventory questionnaire for the micro-reserve of a specially protected species and habitat.

I can reiterate that upon receiving a proposal, the VMD engages a relevant species or habitat expert who prepares an opinion. The expert opinion, the analysis of the situation, and the opinions of the involved parties are taken into account when deciding on the establishment or non-establishment of a micro-reserve.

(Photo by Konsta Punkka)