Optimising the Governance and Management of the Natura 2000 Protected Areas Network in Latvia

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

BACKGROUND

The Priority Action Framework (PAF) for 2021-2027, developed pursuant to Article 8 of the EU Habitats Directive, provides a list of habitats and species for which actions should be taken, and an overall assessment of the costs related to the improvement of their conservation status. The PAF also outlines the main legal and administrative challenges which should be tackled to facilitate achievement and/or maintenance of the favourable conservation status. The Natura 2000 network in Latvia was established in the period from 2000 to 2004, mainly on the basis of the existing protected nature areas. There are 333 Natura 2000 sites in Latvia (326 terrestrial and 7 marine areas). There are 59 terrestrial habitat types and 2 marine habitat types of EU importance, as well as 113 non-bird species of EU importance. The latest Article 17 reporting, under the Habitats Directive, shows an overall decrease of the unfavourable-bad assessments in comparison with the previous report, and a slight increase of the favourable assessments. However, the number of unfavourable-insufficient and unknown assessments is still high. Article 12 reporting under the Birds Directive shows the trends for 210 species. Short-term trends from Latvias last Article 12 report show similar proportions of increasing, stable and decreasing species, and the data-deficient group also remains as high as 21%. Long-term trends show 39% of increasing populations and 31% of decreasing populations.

OBJECTIVES

The overall objective of the LIFE-IP LatViaNature project is to ensure implementation of the Priority Action Framework (PAF) for 2021-2027, according to Article 8 of the EU Habitats Directive, by strategically addressing the main ecological and administrative challenges to achieving the goals of EU nature legislation. The ultimate aim is to ensure favourable conservation status for the natural and semi-natural habitats and species of EU importance in Latvia, by developing best practices and creating and adopting innovative solutions. The project is based on a stepwise approach that includes identification of problems, finding solutions and providing tools to solve the identified problems, with a focus on solutions that will have a long-term impact.

The project has the following specific objectives:

To improve the conservation status of habitats and species through wise planning and effective management;

To improve the efficiency of the Natura 2000 network;

To improve the nature management planning system at the site level by making it more flexible and effective;

To develop effective motivating mechanisms to support consistent nature conservation on private lands;

To develop an effective system for control and management of invasive alien species;

To create a modern, centralised data portal for the nature conservation sector;

To strengthen the capacity of stakeholders, including national authorities, and to enhance collaboration among governmental, non-governmental sectors and scientific institutions;

To increase stakeholder involvement and to raise awareness of specific target groups, especially private landowners, regarding nature conservation in general and specific areas of the IP; and

To raise awareness of the general public on nature conservation issues and to increase their knowledge and voluntary involvement in biodiversity conservation.

Complementary actions will include the implementation of habitat action plans developed within the project; the development of site management plans for Natura 2000 sites; extending the contribution of agriculture and forestry to biodiversity conservation; improving the coordination of nature conservation actions through cross-sectoral cooperation; restoring ecosystem functions of peatlands; and better linking science and nature conservation practices.

In addition to implementing the PAF for 2021-2027, the project also contributes to the implementation of the EU Habitats Directive and Birds Directive, EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030, Directive 2011/92/EU on the assessment of the effects of certain public and private projects on the environment (EIA Directive), and the European Green Deal.

In addition to the IP budget itself, the project will facilitate the coordinated use of 94 038 760 EUR of complementary funding from CF, ERDF, ESF, EAFRD, EAGF, Horizon 2020, ENI, other public funds, state budget, national and private funds, Norwegian Financial Mechanism, and JSC Latvia State Forests (LVM) funding, as applicable.

RESULTS

Expected results:

LIFE-IP LatViaNature will contribute to 50% of the implementation of the PAF measures, as a direct consequence of project actions or through complementary actions;

Favourable reference values at a national level both for all terrestrial and freshwater habitat types (59) and species (115) of EU importance;

Site conservation objectives for all terrestrial Natura 2000 sites (in total 326 sites);

Monitoring methods for assessing the effectiveness of forest and grassland management;

59 habitat action plans for terrestrial and freshwater habitat types of EU importance;

Improved process of site management planning;

More coherentNatura 2000 network in Latvia;

A direct increase of semi-natural grassland habitat area of EU importance by up to 625 ha in pilot sites, achieved through voluntary involvement in results-based pilot scheme;

Development of motivation mechanisms to support biodiversity on private lands;

Novel forest habitat restoration and management methods for Latvia;

Improved administration, prevention, management and monitoring of invasive alien species;

Development of biodiversity demonstration areas in the botanical garden; and

Modern, multi-functional national data portal for the nature conservation sector, well integrated with other relevant sectors.