On Thursday, 17 December, the government approved the procedure for determining damages to forests prepared by the Ministry of Agriculture.

The regulations define how to calculate damages caused to the forest as an element of the natural environment, arising from breaches of the requirements for forest management set out in regulatory enactments. These are damages that the State Forest Service claims from the perpetrator on behalf of the state, in order to compensate for the infringement of state interests in the preservation of the forest environment and forest ecosystem, for which forest management restrictions have been established.

To determine whether damage has been caused to a forest, a breach of the regulatory enactments governing forest management and use must first be established. Damages are not calculated for harm caused to a forest by natural factors or any other reasons, actions, or omissions.

Since 2003, when the previous regulations came into force, the regulatory framework for tree felling in thinning and selection felling, as well as the procedure for determining basal area, has changed significantly; therefore, the regulations used to determine whether a forest stand has been destroyed or damaged have also been clarified accordingly.

Damages to a forest are calculated for the area of forest where the breach of the regulatory enactments governing forest management and use has occurred; therefore, the regulations also clarify the procedure for determining the area.

The Cabinet of Ministers regulations "Procedure for determining damages to forests" will enter into force on the day following their publication in the official gazette "Latvijas Vēstnesis".