The forest fires that have broken out this year as a result of drought and human carelessness (or perhaps even deliberate action) will have caused millions of euros in losses, not only for foresters but also for nature. However, this now presents an excellent research ground for all those who study forest habitat restoration, provided they do not already truly know how it works.

Several years ago in Vidzeme, a fierce battle erupted at all levels between local residents and environmentalists regarding a controlled forest undergrowth burning project. Of course, such burning would have had no impact from an economic perspective, as it was to be carried out in a restricted zone. BUT, was a nature reserve not originally designated to preserve natural values, rather than to destroy them with the help of fire? If this axiom is indeed correct, then environmentalists should have provided clear answers long ago, because otherwise, the conclusion leaves one speechless – they prohibited economic activity only to be able to burn it down later! That is quite the know-how for preserving natural values. Following this logic, fire should be set to at least one of the reserves.

It may be that environmentalists could conduct such a controlled undergrowth burning "experiment" in forests they bought and cherished with their own money, but they wanted to implement it in the Gauja National Park – in a forest belonging to the state. Strange – not in their own properties, but in the forests of other owners. Does this not hint at the similarity of 'let's eat your candy first, then each our own'? Of course, it is just a coincidence that they wanted to carry out the burning in a state forest.

If researchers are so interested in what happens and how after a forest fire, then this year such research can be carried out over an area of at least several thousand hectares, if only those researchers were willing to study it. And furthermore, if it was once chanted to the backward locals about "habitat restoration of burned areas," then one must think that after the massive forest fires of 2018, there will be "habitat restoration" in huge areas in Latvia. We hope that researchers have already prepared for serious research work and, with backpacks on their shoulders, are already on their way to the research sites. Such a great opportunity has not been available for a long time, and even more so, if nothing even had to be specifically burned. Now, what more could one ask for? Perhaps, in the pre-election fever, those aspiring for seats in the Saeima could promise environmentalists some special protection measures for these areas, so that some other greedy and famished forest owners do not think of cutting down the trees damaged by the fire and selling them as firewood chips, instead trying to plant a new forest. Such "destroyers of nature" should certainly not be allowed to apply for real EU structural fund co-financing, let alone be granted it.

However, there are some BUTs again; namely, in the context of the fires, it is recalled that not only plants and trees have perished, but also living nature – insects, birds, animals. Yes, it is harsh, but true. Where were those who stood up for the rights of birds, insects, and animals to live in their own place, not to mention the right not to be "burned," when there was talk of deliberate burning several years ago? Of course, Latvia is by no means the poorest European country in terms of biodiversity, as there are nearby countries where a bird in the wild, rather than in a zoo, is almost a rare phenomenon.

Oh yes, widespread and devastating forest fires occur in many lands, and if the current "forest habitat restoration" researchers in Latvia find the areas in which to conduct research too "small" or "uniform," they could go with their like-minded peers to Greece, Sweden (where it is said more than 0.2 million hectares have suffered from fire), or even Russia and other countries. The results obtained can be compared not only in the scale of Latvia across different forest growth types but also in forests in other climatic zones. Is that not a great opportunity for research work? All that remains is to roll up their sleeves and get down to the intended work that the dark and uneducated locals once put the brakes on.
A happy journey and successful research!
We will be waiting for the results of this research with impatience.

Jānis Bērziņš in cooperation with Jānis Ezītis