Gathering pace, summer has decided to take a short breather, giving way to cooler weather and rain. In gardens, fields, and meadows, things are blooming, ripening, and maturing...

The question we posed less than eight years ago remains relevant, perhaps even more acute: "Are our state representatives, those in power and decision-makers, currently defending landowners? Does this defence and concern for people (people living in Latvian regions far and not-so-far from Riga) only ring out in speeches from podiums and at monuments, while in reality, the landowner and forest owner is left to face (not 'together with', but specifically 'against'!) a cumbersome machinery that is not always knowledgeable or professional, often fooled by pretty words, incapable of delving deeper, and led by empty (militantly foolish) activism—something we cannot always proudly call 'our state administration'."

Equally relevant, if not even more so, is the question: "What is more important in our country – the person who is a landowner and steward of their own land, or the desire of a few individuals to 'follow the trend' of expressing themselves beautifully (and correctly) and ensuring their own personal well-being at the expense of others, masking it with concern for nature (or anything else, as long as it is possible to restrict others, forbid someone from doing something, etc., or, more simply put, to invent a reason to comfortably steer their way into the Saeima by relying on the ignorance and incompetence of the voter), while in reality doing nothing at all?"

To broaden your perspective, we strongly encourage you to watch the film "The Latvian and their forest".

Watch the film "The Latvian and their forest"

The film was created by the Forest Certification Council of Latvia in cooperation with Ansis Pūpols and the studio Nemelo.lv, with support from the Forest Development Fund