Sustainability

Forests in Latvia take up 3.45 million hectares of land, or 53% of the country’s territory. The amount of forestland, moreover, is constantly expanding, both naturally and thanks to afforestation of infertile land and other land that is not used for agriculture. More important, however, is another indicator – the volume of timber in the forest is increasing three times more than the area of forestland. This proves that forestry work in Latvia has been very targeted and sustainable – amount of timber harvested each year in Latvias forests is less than the annual increment.

Wood processing

The forest sector is one of the cornerstones of the national economy at this time. Forestry, wood processing and furniture manufacturing represented 7% of GDP in 2022, while exports amounted to EUR 4,2 billion 20% of all exports. There is no parish in Latvia with no larger or smaller wood processing company. Often these are the most important employers in the surrounding area, thus being the main pillar of support for local economies and residents.

Biological diversity

In historical terms, the intensive use of Latvia’s forests for economic purposes began comparatively later than in many other European countries, and that has allowed us to preserve extensive biological diversity. Limitations on economic activity apply to 28,2% of Latvia’s forests at this time, and most of this territory is owned by the state.

The forest and society

The Latvian state owns around one-half of the country’s forests, while most of the rest of the forest belongs to approximately 135,000 private owners. Nearly everywhere, people are free to hike through the forest and to pick mushrooms or berries. The number of places for recreation is increasing every year in Latvia’s forests, and the territories in which recreation is one of the main goals of forest management represent 8% of all forestland in Latvia.

The forest sector in Latvia is under the supervision of the Ministry of Agriculture. It works with stakeholders to draft forest policies, development strategies for the sector, as well as regulations on forest management, the use of forest resources, environment protection and hunting.
www.zm.gov.lv

The State Forest Service, under the Ministry of Agriculture, is the responsible agency for supervising how the provisions of the laws and regulations are observed in forest management irrespective of the ownership type.
www.zm.gov.lv/valsts-meza-dienests

State-owned forests are managed by Stock Company “Latvian State Forests”, which was established in 1999. It implements the state’s interests in terms of preserving and increasing the value of the forest and enhancing the contributions of the forest to the national economy.
www.lvm.lv

The interests of private forest owners are represented by the Latvian Forest Owners' Association.
www.mezaipasnieki.lv

Latvian timber industry associations

• Association "Latvijas Mēbeles" (Latvian Furniture)
• Latvian Timber Producers and Exporters Association
• Latvian Association of Wood Processing Companies and Exporters
• Association "Latvijas Koks"
• Latvian Union of Timber Harvesting Companies
• Latvian Association of Independent Timber Harvesting Companies
• Latvian Biomass Association LATbio
• Latvian Wood Construction Cluster

Forest Faculty

In Bachelor's degree programs:

In Master's degree programs:

In Doctor's degree programs:

Vocational schools where an education related to the forest sector can be obtained

Latvian State Forest Research Institute „Silava” field of activity:

• Growing of forest stands
  • Forest genetics and breeding
  • Forestry and forest resources
  • Forest biotic risks
  • Improving the growth conditions of forest
• Interaction between forestry and the environment
  • Impact of forestry on forest, swamp and aquatic ecosystems
  • Impact of environmental factors on forest ecosystems
  • Diversity of Latvian forests in a populated environment
• Forest non-timber and ecosystem services
  • Forest energy
  • Carbon sequestration in forest and non-forest ecosystems
  • Non-timber forest products
  • Social functions and values of the forest
• Tree plantations outside the forest
• Forest technologies
  • New forestry technologies
  • Transfer of forestry technologies
• Forest fauna and game management

Latvia University of agriculture Forest faculty field of activity: