Every manager must identify and master the resources at their disposal and the ways to utilise them in an 'X-hour' scenario, including adapting to usage possibilities if necessary, without waiting for instructions or resources from the state. Furthermore, everyone must know what to do and how to do it when the 'X-hour' arrives.

These conclusions were reached during the discussion 'The Forestry Sector and State Security', organised by the magazine 'Dienas Bizness' and the Latvian forestry and related industries portal zemeunvalsts.lv. The forestry sector not only plays a vital role in the national economy but also offers vast potential for national defence – forests can be used as hideouts, 'surprises' can be placed in them for uninvited guests, and the industry possesses heavy machinery that can be used to create obstacle belts or clear rubble. Ultimately, the sector also has structures that can be used as shelters in the event of an air attack. Moreover, wood processors can manufacture essential goods needed under wartime conditions.

History proves the potential of forests

'The forest has helped the Latvian people survive difficult times,' explains Māris Liopa, Chairman of the Forest Certification Council of Latvia and advisor to the Minister of Agriculture. He points out that forests have been significant in wartime situations not only in the Middle Ages and after World War II, but also today, despite the existence of other weapons and technologies. 'Although drones are used today, the forest remains an excellent hideout – a place for camouflage; this is proven by the experience in Ukraine,' says M. Liopa, reminding us that forests and swamps were, are, and will continue to be a significant factor in national defence. 'The state forest manager, Latvijas valsts meži, has created a significant network of forest roads and has also designated forests for military training in conditions close to combat,' stresses M. Liopa.

A lack of education

'The forestry sector was and remains a major employer in Latvia, and it thinks in a structured way about knowledge and training programmes,' explains Uldis Biķis, Chairman of the Council of Latvijas Finieris, emphasising that the industry has a major role in creating and defining relevant demand – for example, what knowledge is needed in the context of state security. 'The forestry sector creates sustainable, well-paid jobs, and entrepreneurs are paying increasing attention not only to the knowledge and skills of young professionals but of all employees, related to their profession as well as to national security and civil defence,' assesses U. Biķis, admitting that there was a time at Latvijas Finieris when state security topics were not considered. 'This is linked to a generational change, because at the beginning of the 1990s, military subjects were removed from higher education curricula, and a generation grew up that was neither taught nor passed on knowledge about the principles of national defence,' explains U. Biķis. The illusion that we were perfectly safe was created by Latvia's accession to NATO and the EU. This position held until Crimea was annexed and security issues began to come to the fore for leaders of large collectives. 'At that time, they started asking us, the leaders of Latvijas Finieris, what we could do, how we could increase psychological resilience, what needed to be done and how to supplement our knowledge to feel safer. That is precisely why we started approaching people from various spheres, including defence,' U. Biķis reveals of his experience. He reminds us that the first necessity was an understanding of psychological resilience, which was followed by the realisation of the need to stimulate the National Guard and seek solutions, and possibilities for passing on the necessary knowledge to the new generation were also studied. The simplest approach is practical training on how to act in specific situations, such as when a siren sounds.

Defence training – mandatory

'Until the annexation of Crimea, there was a conviction that there would be no third world war, which was followed by harsh realisations that the generation under 50 is not ready for an X-hour, so we cannot just sit back and do nothing,' says Professor Linards Sisenis, Dean of the Faculty of Forest and Environmental Sciences at the Latvia University of Life Sciences and Technologies. He points out that meetings with Ministry of Defence specialists resulted in a jointly developed training course that prepares young people by building a sense of who we are (patriotism), that we are capable of defending ourselves, and ensures that young people whose workplace will be the forestry sector would be those capable of organising and leading society and making relevant decisions in an X-hour. 'Young people who graduate from the institution know how and what to do in an X-hour because they have learned it in both theoretical and practical lessons,' explains L. Sisenis. Civil defence is a mandatory subject, but... 'The problem, in my opinion, is that it is learned very formally. This subject should be taught by specialists, preparing young people for actions in real crisis situations, rather than just talking about it,' L. Sisenis justifies his position.

Mapping shelters

The Dean of the Faculty of Forest and Environmental Sciences admits that he recently visited Ukraine, where he experienced an alarm situation at night and had to go to a basement. The experience in Ukraine shows that basements, not just specially equipped and built bomb shelters, can save lives, which must certainly be taken into account in Latvia. 'Every manager must take on the responsibility of understanding what resources are at their disposal, and then they can make decisions accordingly. For example, many buildings constructed after World War II were also adapted for wartime conditions, which means Latvia has enough spaces that can be adapted or restored and used as shelters,' U. Biķis adds.

'The building of the Faculty of Forest and Environmental Sciences can be converted into a hospital in the event of a war and was built with that intention, as there are stairwells of appropriate size on both sides of the building. During renovations, we discovered that the riser for the rooms on three floors is essentially designed for the needs of an operating theatre, and under the building itself, there is a serious bomb shelter that can withstand even the collapse of the building; it has an underground passage to evacuate from it without even clearing the rubble of the building,' explains L. Sisenis. He points out that the task for the near future is to convert the faculty's basement from a warehouse into a shelter, while simultaneously restoring the air supply and other communication systems. M. Liopa points out that this is a hitherto unidentified but usable resource, as the Soviet authorities built buildings with the hypothetical idea of war in mind (so that they could be used in wartime conditions).

'In Riga, 355 shelters have been identified; some of them are unusable, some have questions regarding ownership, others have questions regarding building regulations, etc.,' says M. Liopa. In his opinion, the owners of such buildings or premises can take action themselves without waiting for tasks or approvals from the state or municipalities. U. Biķis also emphasises that one must act on one's own, which is exactly how Latvijas Finieris acted, and only then integrate into state and municipal plans. 'The situation is varied: work has been done in this direction, unfortunately, there are cases where nothing has been done. It seems our neighbours are ahead again, as Lithuania already has a national programme for 1,200 bomb shelters, and Estonia for 600,' notes M. Liopa.

Must be able to make decisions

'A lot is said about state defence, but in reality, nothing is happening, so I would like to call for such a training course to be mandatory in all higher education institutions and for all graduates to have knowledge of national defence issues. Meanwhile, at the state and municipal level, it is necessary to reduce the bureaucracy that manifests as 'procedure upon procedure', because those who have to make decisions are afraid to decide,' suggests L. Sisenis.

M. Liopa believes that these issues must be addressed immediately and cannot be postponed like the construction of the eastern border fence, the story of which is long, old, and still ongoing. 'Quite recently, there was the C19 pandemic, which was a good indicator of how responsive decision-makers are when responsibility must be taken, what to do – for example, to close schools or not... Almost everyone waited for something from the state, but if an X-hour arrives, people (at the level of companies and institutions) will have to decide for themselves,' points out L. Sisenis.

M. Liopa recalls the often-asked question in Latvia – what to do, where to go if sirens sound. In Ukraine, there are clear answers to these questions because in an X-hour a person may be anywhere, and there may be no electricity or communication. 'I am not clear on what to do with about 1,000 students if an X-hour occurs,' L. Sisenis answers to the question of whether he knows what and how to do. He admits that no one could answer or explain how to act in a few minutes in the recent situation when emails about bomb threats arrived.

'I urge you not to wait for someone 'somewhere up above' (or from above) to say or decide how to act; everyone must and will have to make their own decision based on the specific knowledge they have,' suggests U. Biķis. He emphasises that the very first thing to understand is that neither the state nor the municipality are providers of resources, but coordinators. 'It is wrong to think about how to get resources to fix something; the task is to understand one's capabilities, to research existing buildings, and their possibilities for use as shelters,' notes U. Biķis. He stresses that one must also offer one's capabilities to the municipality or the state, for example, premises adapted for a shelter; the company has appropriate machinery and technical people who can organise brigades for clearing rubble, etc., in an X-hour. 'Together with Lithuanian partners, we are developing a series of furniture to be used in a crisis moment – only from plywood one can make beds, cabinets, and place them in basements. In Soviet times, the transition to the military segment for industrialists did not mean starting to manufacture tanks or weapons and ammunition, but manufacturing something necessary for wartime,' stresses U. Biķis.

L. Sisenis points out that the forestry sector has heavy machinery that works in every region, so it would only be logical if the operators of this machinery knew how and what they should do in an X-hour. 'Ukraine proved that by acting sensibly, one can delay the movement of enemy armoured vehicles without endangering oneself.' U. Biķis says that Latvijas Finieris has been involved in training and simulation for the likely event of such situations.

The video of the discussion is available here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=grJA2vTs2ZE