On Thursday, 13 October, in the final reading, the Saeima adopted amendments to the Law on Forests drafted by its Economic, Agricultural, Environmental and Regional Policy Committee. The amendments improve forest management and reduce the bureaucracy in this sector.

The Saeima changed the purpose of the Law so that now it has to encourage an economically, environmentally and socially sustainable management and use of forests. The Law also states that all owners or lawful possessors of forests have equal rights and obligations, inviolability of ownership rights and independence of economic activity. Another purpose of the Law is to set the rules for managing and alienating state forest land.

Pursuant to the Law, the government will have to set a procedure for evaluating sustainable management of forests and a procedure for drafting a forest management plan by the end of 2012. From now on, the Ministry of Agriculture will have to prepare a progress report regarding forest policy goals at least once in five years or upon the request of the government.

The Law also provides for establishing a Forest Development Fund in order to support the forest industry, finance research and development projects, as well as to raise public awareness and educate forest owners. The government will have to set the procedure for managing the Fund by 31 March 2012.

In order to obtain information on the state of forest resources and to analyse the interaction of forest and environmental factors, the Latvian State Forest Research Institute Silava will conduct monitoring of forests on the national level.

The amendments considerably change the procedure for obtaining licences. The chapter on the issuance of licences is deleted from the Law; however, a licence will still be required to start logging. No licence will be needed to fell trees that are more than 12 cm in diameter or young growths of up to 20 years of age. No licence will either be required in emergency situations or for setting or maintaining boundary tracks. Owners or lawful possessors of forests will have to notify the State Forest Service annually if they fell dry trees and windfall.

As of 2015, each owner or lawful possessor of forest will have to draft a forest management plan if the total area of forest under his/her management exceeds 10,000 hectares.

From now on, it will be necessary to draw up an inventory of owned or legally possessed forests at least once in 20 years. Until now, only an initial inventory had to be made. An inventory may be compiled by a person who is certified by an accredited conformity assessment body and whose professional activity has civil liability insurance. This provision of the Law will enter into force in 2014.

Taking into account the existing interest in scientific research of forests, the Law now provides a more specific regulation of this sphere because it now allows scientific research of private forests as well. The Law also has new rules for allowing clear cutting and an altered procedure for sanitary cutting. The amendments also change the definition of forest land and forest reproductive material.

The Saeima also adopted amendments to the Protection Zone Law, the Law on Conservation of Species and Biotopes, as well as the Law on Agriculture and Rural Development, which were affected by the amendments to the Law on Forests.

Saeima Press Service