The Ministry of Environmental Protection and Regional Development (VARAM) has submitted the draft informative report "On the results of the survey of the distribution and quality of protected habitats and further actions for balancing the interests of ensuring a favourable conservation status for protected habitats and the development of economic sectors" to the Public Portal for Legal Act Projects for public consultation. VARAM invites submissions of proposals from 9 to 23 February.
Draft report: https://tapportals.mk.gov.lv/public_participation/cdd3e1b7-2956-4a8f-87c9-d88978ab2ce3
The draft informative report contains the results of habitat mapping, including the identified habitat areas and their quality. The draft also includes proposals for further action regarding habitat protection, prepared by VARAM in cooperation with a Supervisory Group, which includes the Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of Transport, the Latvian Forest Owners' Association, the Farmers' Parliament, the Latvian Peat Association, the Cooperation Council of Agricultural Organisations, the Latvian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Employers' Confederation of Latvia, the Latvian Association of Local and Regional Governments, VAS Latvijas Valsts meži, as well as organisations represented on the Environmental Advisory Board – the Anglers' Association, the Ķemeri National Park Fund, the Environmental Education Fund, the Environmental Protection Club, the World Wide Fund for Nature, and the Baltic Environmental Forum.
In the informative report, VARAM provides for the improvement and completion of the Natura 2000 network of protected areas of European Union (EU) importance, as well as the achievement and maintenance of a favourable conservation status for habitats specifically of EU importance. At the same time, the report notes the need for compensation if restrictions on economic activity are imposed.
The habitat mapping results stem from the 'nature census' process, which took place from 2017 to 2020. During this period, 1,244,757 hectares were surveyed, and 670,481 hectares of EU-importance habitats were identified, occupying 10.3% of the country's total land area. The largest proportion, 50.1% of EU-importance habitats (or 5% of the total country area), is occupied by protected forests of EU importance. EU-importance protected habitats of mires and springs occupy 2% of Latvian territory, freshwater protected habitats occupy 2%, protected grassland habitats – 1%, while coastal, sandy, and heathland protected habitats, as well as outcrop and cave protected habitats, occupy less than one percent of the country's total territory.
To provide interested parties and stakeholders with more detailed information on the nature of the informative report and the proposals included within it, VARAM held an online presentation on 12 February this year.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BEB6liGQhTE
The nature census process began in 2015, when the Cabinet of Ministers reviewed the informative report "On measures for identifying the distribution and quality of protected habitats" and approved the basic principles for mapping protected habitats. Consequently, a mandate was given to prepare a report on the mapping results. In 2016, the methodology for identifying and organising the survey of the distribution and quality of EU-importance habitats was coordinated with the Ministry of Agriculture and approved by VARAM. From 2017 to 2020, fieldwork, data verification, and informing land owners (about the start of mapping and the identified habitats) were carried out, followed by data compilation, analysis, and the development of scenarios for habitat protection. Over the last two years, data refinement, socio-economic analysis of the habitat mapping results, and a summary of the regulatory acts requiring amendments have been carried out.