Introduction
The impact of transition and structure of property rights
The impact of agriculture on the environment
The influence of society on the agricultural environment
Conclusions
References
Tables
 
 

Agriculture and forestry are both parts of the rural infrastructure and their development can be seen as an integral part of the whole of rural development. The rural sphere in Latvia (Table 1) is determined by:

• agriculture - guarantees the independence of the state in the food and raw materials market, provides rural people with jobs;
• forestry - important branch of state economy, including exports, provides jobs and possibilities for alternative activities, maintenance of biological diversity and ecological balance;
• natural resources as a main natural wealth today and in future;
• living and recreation space for Latvian people;
• source of the mentality and traditions of the Latvian people.

The ownership of land has always been a central question for Latvian farmers. Today, the 4th land reform in Latvia (Table 2.) is ongoing. During the Soviet era, land and other production assets were nationalized. Agricultural production was carried out on large-scale state and collective farms, which by the 1980s averaged 3 000 to 4 000 hectares. There was, however, a strong tradition of farm production on small household plots both for the market and self-consumption. Members of collective farms were allowed to farm small personal plots of around 0.5 hectares of arable land and 0.5 hectares of pastures. In 1990, Latvian household plots produced 62 percent of potatoe production and 45 percent of all vegetables. As at least half of the private farms do not posses the necessary production facilities, they lease the land to more successful farmers. Commercial farming is practised by only 15-20 percent of farmers. Many farms are oriented towards food production for self-supply, although they partly help to solve employment and social problems in rural areas. The competitiveness of many farms in the future may be problematic.
The privatization process of the Latvian food industry began later than that of the agricultural companies, which has slowed the processes of farming development. Despite the difficulties, privatization was carried out in a relatively short time, and by the end of 1996 (Table 5), the privatization of the food-processing sector was almost completed.
A total of 94 905 individual family (peasant) farms were established by 1 January 1997 (Table 3) based mainly on land user rights. Individual farms started to develop in 1989 (Table 4). As a result of land reform, the number and area of rural farms has changed radically. On 1 January 1998, 95 percent of farm lands were in the possession and use of physical persons, and only 5 percent of farm lands were used by specialized state farms and statute companies. A farm area of juridical persons slightly exceeds 300 hectares on average, but the average size of an individual farm is 13.8 hectares. The privatization of land in the second phase of land reform is progressing. According to the data of the State Land Service, as of 1 February 1998, following decisions by local government Land Commissions, ownership rights to land have been registered for 129 872 landowners with a total land area of 1 965 572 hectares. By 1 October 1998 the register of the Land Cadastre Centre held 518 485 records of land. About two thirds of land was privately used, but less than 45 percent of the total land area was registered in the Land Book (the Legal Register of Land Holdings). The process of the legal register of land holdings is too slow.
50 percent of the forest area remains as state property. Forestry is one of those subsectors more oriented to export. More than 30 percent of private farmland is forest, and the export of their products partly help the farmers to increase their capital. The export of wood and wood products in 1998 made up about 30 percent of Latvia’s total exports.

Restructurization within the agricultural sector entailed the privatization of state and collective farms, the processing industry and the food sector. This was started in 1992 - 1993, and is now formally complete.
First, the privatization of agricultural and fish state and collective farms was started. The law On the Privatization of Agricultural Companies and Fish Farms established that collective and state farms untill 15 March 1992, had to be transformed into statutory companies (companies with capital shares or limited liability). More than a half of all statutory companies adopted decisions on self-liquidation in 1993. At the beginning of 1998, agricultural products were produced in only 81 state-owned farms using less than 1 percent of agricultural land. The operating state farms and statutory companies (less than 100 in 1998) produce only 20 percent of the total agricultural output.
Land reform resulted in big collective and state farms being transformed into a large number of comparatively small private farms. However, many former collective farm workers lack entrepreneurial skills and market understanding. As at least half of private farms do not posses the necessary production facilities, they lease the land to more successful farmers. Commercial farming is in the hands of only 15-20 percent of farmers. Many farms are oriented towards food production for self-consumption although they partly alleviate social problems in rural areas. The competitiveness of many farms in the future may be problematic.
State agro-service enterprises covering agricultural machinery, agricultural chemicals, land reclamation, construction and other services have been privatized. Also, 125 such units were split up into 800 facilities before being privatized.
During the last three years, food processing accounted for eight to nine percent of GDP and for about 40 percent of GDP in manufacturing. Roughly, around 400 different food-processing plants exist in the country. These employ 3 percent of the total number of employed persons. Meat, dairy and mill processing (140, 73 and 17 respectively) are relatively large. 65 percent of these firms are estimated to employ less than 100 people and only 5 percent have more than 500 employees.

After regaining independence in 1991, wide economic reforms were started:

• price liberalization;
• end of subsidies for production (1991) and the introduction of a new subsidies system from 1998;
• introduction of national currency (Latvian Rouble in May 1992, national currency - Lat in March 1993);
• radical fiscal and monetary policy, which made it possible to decrease the rate of inflation from 959 percent in 1992 to 35 percent in 1993 and to 2.8 percent in 1998;
• structural reforms (privatization, demonopolization, reforms of banking system and trade etc.).

Delays in land titling seriously constrain the development of the land market. As a consequence, a functioning land market has not really evolved. There is a speculative reluctance to sell land by those who received land during the restitution process but do not want to farm it. As yet the economic perspective of Latvian agriculture is not favourable to the stimulation of the land market. An emerging land lease market provides a temporary solution for farm consolidation and for the more efficient farmers to increase their farm size. The number of farmers using 100 hectares and more of agricultural land is growing.
According to the Land Cadastre Centre, from a total ownership records of 518 485, only 10 707 properties have changed owner by deal. A paradox in the current rural situation is unused land: almost 30 percent of agricultural land in Latvia. Unused land is mainly low productivity land or disadvantageously situated. The current situation in the agriculture product market stimulates land set-aside tendencies. The development of the land market needs to realize certain accepted policy priorities: credit for land purchase and mortgage credit. But this will begin to work only when land is registered as legal ownership in the Legal Register of Land Holdings.

Since independence, both price structures and production costs have changed dramatically. Prices for inputs, such as fertilizers, seeds, pesticides and energy increased significantly which, in conjunction with a lack of liquidity for many farmers, is one reason for the decline in the use of fertilizers and pesticides.
The decrease of the value of agriculture output was mainly caused by the decline of agricultural output price variations in other economic sectors. For example, prices in the national economy between 1990 and 1997, increased 90 times, whereas for agricultural products the increase was only 50 times. The most rapid reduction occurred in the output of cattle livestock (by 60 percent) whereas crop production output dropped by 30 percent (Figure 2).
The decline of agricultural production in the nineties was determined by several factors; both that influenced the total national economy and which were especially unfavourable for agriculture taking into consideration particularities of this sector. The main reasons for this were the sudden narrowing of external and domestic markets and changes in prices unfavourably affecting agriculture.
The given price-cost ratio resulted in serious economic problems in the farm sector. Whereas in 1995 market revenues per hectare (69,06 LVL) still exceeded total expenditure per hectare by 1.78 LVL, in 1996 expenditure was 6.57 LVL, higher than market revenues per hectare. When, in 1997, input and output prices started to decrease, farm gate prices decreased more steeply than input prices. This will put agriculture under even more pressure to adopt more efficient production structures. The continuous increase of production costs, not compensated for by the increase of prices for agricultural products, makes agricultural production less and less profitable. Farmers are not able to accumulate resources to invest in production. Also, possibilities to address problems linked with the quality of agricultural products and growing quality requirements becomes less feasible. Low levels of specialization and technology prevents an increase in production efficiency and a reduction of costs per one unit of output. This reduces the competitiveness of agriculture in both the domestic and external market.

Compared to western countries, changes in Latvian agriculture during the 50 years of the Soviet era has been extensive. In technological terms, the conservation and protection of the environment suffered from a number of faults. The former agricultural system could be characterized by the following factors influencing the overall environment:

• centralized planning, without taking into consideration local conditions;
• large scale production with high animal concentration: i.e. 400 800 cows and 745 thousand pigs in one farm;
• establishment of large parcels of land (50-200 hectares) disregarding soil and relief differences;
• fertilization, generally with mineral fertilizers, disregarding the application of different technologies, insufficient use of manure and other organic fertilizers;
• use of different pesticides, disregarding technologies with low quality spreaders;
• use of large and heavy machinery destroying soil structure, especially in wet periods (sowing, harvesting);
• large-scale melioration projects changing hydrological conditions and landscape;
• development of rural villages instead of individual farms so typical of the Latvian landscape and tradition.

Latvia's humid climate favours the podzolization and lessivation of automorphic soils. Water accumulation on less permeable soil layers results in soil gleying. The altitude of the land varies from the Baltic Sea level up to 312 m above sea level in the Northeast. That area with an altitude over 200 m covers only 2.5 percent of the total area of the country.
Latvia is still using the former Soviet soil classification system to describe both soil texture and soil groups. The first step is to change this to the international (FAO) classification. According to national (former) soil classification, the main soil types in Latvia are: Sod podzolized (54.5 percent); Sod gley (21 percent); Sod podzolized, gley (8.9 percent); Sod calcareous (6.9 percent); Alluvial (1.5 percent); Organic (7.2 percent).
Soil survey and agrochemical soil mapping started in 1959. The objectives were to monitor the fertility of all soils used in agriculture. This testing was split into several cycles (approximately 5-7 years): The first cycle 1959-1964, the second cycle 1965-1972, the third cycle 1973-1979, the fourth cycle 1980-1985, and the fifth cycle 1986-1991. The new agricultural land monitoring programme was started in 1992 and has been carried out in 12 research units and 190 farms, and covered 20 main soil types and texture groups.

The transition reforms in Latvian agriculture have resulted in significant changes in the agricultural sector. Since 1989 agricultural production has declined drastically (Table 6). Agricultural output has dropped by more than 50 percent per capita in the same period. Due to market conditions, Latvian agriculture produced only half of the local meat consumption.
The climatic conditions and soils of Latvia are very suitable for high yield and the efficient cultivation of meadows, pastures and perennial grass, providing excellent opportunities for the development of cattle livestock and, especially, dairy farming. However, this potential is not fully realized. During the last 7 years, the size of cattle herds has substantially decreased, and thus so did cattle outputs. The same tendencies are to be observed in pig livestock.
Because of the difficult economic situation, the influence of agriculture on the environment in the period from 1990 up to now has decreased. The sown area continued to decrease until 1995 when it constituted 930 thousand hectares or 57 percent of the sown area in 1990 (Table 7).

Nutrient depletion. Less than 20 percent of farmers in Latvia produce for the market or use modern farming methods in agriculture. Continuing increases in the prices of mineral fertilizers and pesticides have drastically decreased their application (Table 8). For instance, the use of mineral fertilizers in 1997 compared to 1990,decreased by 91 percent, and that of pesticides by 88 percent. Data from the agricultural soil monitoring programme indicates that the negative nutrient balance in farms has lowered the content of organic matter and potassium in soil by 10 percent. The use of organic fertilizers in 1997 compared to 1990 decreased by 75 percent.
Acidification of soils. Most soils in Latvia formed on sand or loamy sand as parent material are, to some extent, acid. A state supported soil-liming programme for arable land decreased the percentage of acid soils from 64 percent in 1964 to 16 percent in 1985. Annually, 180 000–200 000 hectares of acid soils were limed during 1971-1990. Due to the economic conditions after 1992, the arable land treated with lime was only 5 000–9 000 hectares per year^-1. Consequently, there is a rapid increase in acid soils. Soil acidification will not only result in a loss of soil fertility, but also in an increase of the nutrient leakage associated with the lower soil buffering capacity.
Soil erosion. The area of arable land threatened by wind erosion is 230 000 hectares or 14.7 percent of total arable land. Water erosion affects 380 000 hectares or 24.3 percent of the arable land in Latvia. Erosion is caused by wind and water and enhanced by certain forms of land use. The drastic decrease in agricultural production and the area of arable land has resulted in a decrease in the intensity of land management (about 350 000 hectares of arable land was set aside land in 1997). Set aside land is mainly located in areas with undulating and hilly topography and less fertile soils where conditions are not favorable for agriculture. Therefore we can assume that there is a reduction of the impact of soil erosion in Latvia today.
Soil compaction. Farming methods in the previous Soviet agriculture, especially in soil tillage and in the use of heavy equipment on wet soils, caused soil compaction of both the topsoil and subsoil, with subsequent negative impacts on the permeability and fertility of the soil. The results of agricultural soil monitoring indicate that, compared with the collective farming period, the distribution and extent of soil compaction is decreasing. Agricultural machinery today is comparatively old; more than 80 percent of machines were bought before 1990.

Latvia is situated in a humid and moderately mild climatic region where rainfall exceeds evaporation, resulting in percolation losses in the soil during spring and autumn. The amount of precipitation is 600-800 mm year^-1. Winters are cold with the average temperatures in January varying from –2.6 ^o C along the Western, coast to -7.4^o C in the Northeast. The snow cover has an average duration of 80-90 days. The summer is temperate with the highest average temperatures in July (15.9-17.1^o C).
Surface waters. There are 777 rivers longer than 10 km in Latvia. The total number of watercourses is approximately 12 000. There are more than 3 000 lakes, of which 802 have an area exceeding 0.1 km². The available water resources of the total river run-off in Latvia is calculated at approximately 35 billion m³ (35 km³) per year.
Ground water. The territory of Latvia is incorporated in the Baltic artesian basin. Latvia is well supplied with groundwater resources – 4 690.7 thousand m³ per 24 hours. The hydrological regime in Latvia is typical for many of the Eastern-European regions. The maximum run-off usually occurs during the spring flood. About 50 percent of the annual run-off is generated from snowmelt in spring, 30 percent from rainfall, and 20 percent from ground water discharge during low flow periods. The run-off on average is about 250 mm in a normal year. Drainage run-off, mainly in spring and autumn, constitutes 80 percent of the total run-off.
Soil humidity. Soils are overhumid in spring and autumn, and also in the summer with a large amount of precipitation. More than 75 percent of the agricultural land area is overhumid for normal use. A low level of soil humidity is observed from June to August: in an average summer, the water deficit will be 60-150 mm.

The total number of livestock has decreased by more than 200 percent since 1990. Animal density is important for the balance between the number of animals on a farm and the amount of land available for spreading organic fertilizers. The average figure for animal density in Latvia shows that it is much higher than is allowed by legislation in EU countries.
Animal production today is carried out on farms which have a wide range in the number of animals kept. More than 40 percent of the total number of milk cows live on farms with one-two heads. Such a structure does not encourage the production of cheap milk and makes it difficult to reach a high quality. A similar situation is found in pig production - near 30 percent of pigs are located on farms with 1-4 pigs (Table 9). The small farms cause pollution problems by uninstalled manure management systems. On large animal farms, especially pig farms, there are problems with manure and slurry handling - animal density per unit of agriculture land is high and causes the pollution of water resources. In previous years, mineral fertilizer and pesticide storage, was an additional source of groundwater pollution.
The drainage of agriculture land is an important precondition for successful farming in Latvia: more than 75 percent of agricultural land needs the control of soil humidity. Large-scale drainage work was done in the period 1960-1980, and today we have 1.6 million hectares of arable land with tile-drains. The total value of built drainage systems today is nearly two million lats, which is an important foundation for agriculture development. Nonetheless, the drainage system needs maintenance and technical improvement.

Despite both adecrease in the land area used in agriculture and a decrease in the number of livestock and amount of fertilizer applied, agriculture is still responsible for high nitrogen and phosphorus loads to waterbodies and the Baltic Sea. Despite its declining use in recent years, high nutrient loads in recent decades have led to a substantial nutrient accumulation in the soil in those areas with high livestock density. Animal production has decreased on the former animal farms and many of them have been closed. On the rest of the farms, animal density has increased after the privatization of farmland. Today, practically all former pig farms must be considered as point pollution sources of the environment.
Nutrient leaching is inevitable in Latvia due to the water balance in the soil, occurring in all soils, mostly during spring and autumn. Intensive agriculture coupled with high application rates of mineral fertilizers and soil drainage, might increase the leaching of nutrients. Most sensitive to leaching are light soils and soils with high acidity. The nutrient loses (Table 10) from agricultural catchments and drainage fields are to a large extent the result of the cropping system, soil properties and weather conditions. Management practices, such as soil tillage and nutrient applications, are also of great importance.
With the assistance of the Nordic countries, a network of nutrient run-off monitoring stations has been established in several agricultural catchments in Latvia. The network includes 3 small catchments with drainage fields and areas characterized with large applications of animal manure (pig farms). The size of small catchments varies from 3.7 to 9.5 km². The share of agricultural land ranges from 69 percent to 100 percent from the total acreage of these catchments.
Measurements in Latvian small catchments showed relatively small losses (N_tot 4-17 kg/ha^–1 year^-1) as compared with results under similar conditions in Sweden and Norway, where the losses varied 20-50 kg/ha ^–1 year^-1. These results may most likely be attributed to higher applications of plant nutrients in the Nordic countries.
Nutrient run-off (Table 10) was considerably higher in animal manure application sites (pig farms). Nitrogen losses ranged from 21-239 kg/ha^–1 year^-1. On the Bauska farm, losses from the 50 hectares catchment, where slurry from 10 000 pigs was dumped, was larger than from any of the sites in Latvia (239,4 kg/ha ^–1 year^-1 of nitrogen in 1997 and 6.89 kg/ha ^–1 year^-1 of phosphorus in 1995). On the Ogre farm, pig production was stopped in 1992, but the farm still has a negative effect on the water quality (phosphorus run-off 2-5 kg/ha ^–1 year^-1).
The Surface pollution of waters with pesticides and other chemicals could be minimized by observing protection belts along the watercourses, the preservation of wetlands etc.
Generally, on farms open wells and artesian wells are used for the drinking water supply. Shallow ground water is poorly protected against pollution. The main pollutants in groundwater are slurry, wastewater and agricultural chemicals. Most sensitive to pollution are sandy soils. One of the most important drinking water quality characteristics is nitrate nitrogen coming from agricultural sources. The nitrate nitrogen concentration limit for drinking water is 50 mg/l in Latvia. Studies performed between 1995 and 1997 indicated that water from about 25 percent of wells in rural areas had high iron (naturally increased concentrations), ammonia, nitrate and mineral levels.
The pollution of groundwater un regional level does not occur in Latvia. However, at least 1 000 local sites of contaminated subsoil groundwater have been detected. Primitive agrochemical storage houses and large livestock farms were sources of groundwater pollution in the countryside.
The amount of outdated agricultural chemicals, mainly pesticides, was evaluated to be about 1 500 tonnes in 420 storage sites in Latvia in 1995. They were located in deserted storage of the former state or collective farms. An intermediate storage, in accordance with international safety standards, was established in 1997 in Gardene for the collection hazardous substances from the Western part of Latvia.
Waste water on farms. With the improvement of living standards on farms, water supply and sewage systems will be introduced. In most cases, the wastewater treatment in old farm buildings is very primitive.
Erosion is natural, and has a continuous effect on water quality. Agriculture, like other human activities, might increase erosion. Plant nutrients (nitrogen, phosphorus), together with loosed soil particles, causes the eutrophication of the water sources. Sedimentation of soil particles has threatened the spawning grounds of valuable fish species. Turbid water decreases the recreational value of water sources.
Silage effluent is one of the most concentrated and harmful pollutants. It will be collected, stored safely and then spread onto an area of no more than 50 m³/ha.

In Latvia Emissions per person are lower, and the quality of the air higher when compared with Western Europe. The emission of carbon dioxide (CO₂) from fuel combustion and industry in Latvia is about 11 million tonnes. Currently carbon dioxide emission does not exceed the net assimilation of CO₂ in Latvian forests (sequestration of 20 million tonnes). Today agriculture has a decreased influence on air quality. However, as both the economy and farming start to grow rapidly, emissions from agriculture will become larger unless measures for its reduction are taken. Agricultural activities cause air pollution problems by the emission of various gases, odour nuisance, and smoke pollution. Until recently the present little attention was paid to air pollution from agricultural activities because it was believed that it was not an essential factor in air pollution. At the same time emissions, especially of ammonia, have a negative economic effect on farm practices.

The physical landscape is shaped by a continuous interaction between nature and human activities. Economic, ecological and socio-cultural processes influence its development. In addition to providing wildlife habitats and being a source of economic gain, landscape also reflects cultural heritage and aesthetic values. In Latvia there are practically no more untouched natural landscapes. Landscape and biodiversity in the agriculture of Latvia today are very closely connected, because the landscape is the basic precondition for biodiversity in agriculture.
Biodiversity in Latvia, the composition of plant and animal species, vegetation, and ecosystems were formed during the post-ice age over a period of about 12 000 years. The diversity of flora and fauna is determined by the climate differences between the maritime and more continental areas. The borders of the distribution range of many plant species intersect Latvian territory. Presently, forests cover nearly 45 percent of Latvia's territory. About 22 percent of the forests are on wet soils; about 20 percent are on drained soils. High diversity of forest types and mosaic distribution is characteristic. Relatively large areas are occupied by deciduous stands.
For the maintenance of biological diversity, some very important habitats are semi-natural grasslands, which in Latvia occupy less than 1 percent of the total territory. They can be found mainly in river valleys and in several areas along the seacoast. Freshwater ecosystems cover 3.7 percent of the state's area. Most Latvian rivers and lakes are small. Several shallow coastal lagoon lakes are particularly rich in biological diversity. Lake Engure, Lake Kanieris, the Teici and Pelecare bogs, are the most important wetland territories in Latvia meeting the requirements of the Ramsare Convention. The largest bog areas in Europe have been preserved mainly in the Baltic and Scandinavian countries, Poland and Belarus. Specific plant and animal species, including many post-glacial relicts, are found only in bogs. The total area of bogs in Latvia is 6 400 km2, or 9.9 percent, of which 70 percent are relatively untouched by human activities. About 6.7 percent of Latvia territory has the formal status of being a nature or landscape protected area (Table 11).
Agroecosystems occupy 38.8 percent of the country’s territory, from these: 69 percent are arable lands, and 1 percent is orchards. Owing to the rather low land use intensity during the last 50 years, as well as to natural conditions, agricultural lands play an important role in the whole spectrum of biological diversity of Latvia.
Population dynamics of plants and animals are closely connected with the dynamics of their habitats. Since the thirties, the total area of forests has constantly increased, but the total area of agricultural lands has decreased. In addition, it must be stressed that the most remarkable decrease has been observed in grasslands. All these changes have had an effect on the fluctuations of the whole diversity of organisms and populations. Under the socio-economic system present in Latvia since 1940, when part of the territory was intensely used, but the rest was either used inefficiently or abandoned, ecosystems, biotopes and species were retained which had become or very rare extinct elsewhere in Europe. This fact increases the international responsibility of Latvia for the preservation of biodiversity from the continental perspective.
Biodiversity increases the stability of ecosystems and productivity and is therefore one of the preconditions for sustainable agriculture. As biodiversity is possible only in the diversity of the landscape then both biological and landscape diversity is important. An increase in agricultural intensity will threaten the relatively rich nature of Latvia. The main threats are: pollution (mineral fertilizers, plant protection products, human wastes); impoverishment and destruction of habitats for wild species; interruption of migration routes of animals; lack of information and inventory of landscape destruction.
As the rural landscape is the main general habitat for wild species, animals, insects and different microorganisms providing life conditions, then the strategy of sustainable agriculture should provide measures for biodiversity and landscape maintenance by farmers. Each farm is unique and original and has its own place in the rural landscape. This creates conditions for biodiversity and landscape presentation.

The impact of agricultural production on the environment is currently much lower than in 1990. The amounts of waste, including hazardous waste water discharge, and the use of agrochemicals have decreased according to economic changes. The former Soviet regime left Latvia with numerous environmental problems.
Agricultural lands in Latvia are relatively free from heavy metal pollution, pesticides, and emissions from transport, industry and energy production. Most soils have a background of heavy metal concentrations. The concentrations of heavy metals in the soils of flooded areas, old apple tree orchards of former large farms, and near highways are higher than the average levels, but they do not exceed the allowed limits.
Rural areas face problems of military origin - former Soviet military areas became polluted over 50 years and still have not yet been cleaned up. The last Russian armed forces withdrew from Latvia on 31 August 1994. More than 300 military units and bases of difference sizes and purposes of the former Soviet Army occupied approximately 100 000 hectares, or 1.5 percent, of Latvia’s territory (Hadonina Dz., 1998).
The most serious environmental and economic damage was done to agriculture and forest lands by the former Soviet Army’s military firing grounds, airfields, rocket bases, fillingstations and fuel depots. The Russian Army had firing grounds for every kind of weapon in Latvian territory. The buildings in these areas are not usually suitable for conversion to civil use.
The largest Soviet military firing range and aviation targets covered 24 500 hectares of farmland and forest at Zvarde. Diffuse contaminants such as aircraft fuel, burning wastes, and explosives have rendered the soil unusable. Primary observation and assessment of the former Soviet Army areas showed the necessity for long-term remediation measures with large investments.
Raw materials for construction (limestone, gypsum, clay, sand etc.) and peat are the main geological resources of Latvia. Only 20 percent of resource extraction sites are managed in accordance with environmental requirements. About 17 percent of the quarries have unmanaged waste dumps.
Forests are one of the most important natural resources in Latvia. The total standing timber stock is estimated at 490 million m³. The annual increment of standing stock is 16.5 million m^3, or 6.3 m³/ha/year. The harvested volume has reached its allowed limits during the last few years. Some problems arise with artificial forest regeneration, especially in private wood lots. Part of unused agricultural lands will also be afforested.

In Latvia, the top-level administration of environmental policy is implemented by the "Saeima" (Parliament) and the Cabinet of Ministers through different committees and commissions who operate through separate Ministries.
The year 1993 is a milestone in the development of environmental protection institutions in Latvia; the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Regional Development (MoEPRD) was established. It superseded the Environmental Protection Committee and inherited its functions. The MoEPRD is responsible for the majority of environmental issues. Other ministries are responsible for the administration of certain aspects of the environment: the ministries of Welfare, Agriculture, Interior and Transport. Some power regarding environmental protection is delegated to local municipalities.
The main task of the MoEPRD is to work out and, together with other state administrative institutions, implement the common policy of environmental protection, conservation and rational use of natural resources, regional development, tourism, hydrometerology, construction, heritage development, and subsoil use. The MoEPRD has a well-developed system of subordinated and supervised institutions and a network of regional environmental boards. The Ministry of Agriculture (MoA) works out and implements government policy in agriculture, forestry, and fishery. Some 26 regional agricultural departments and six different state inspections are subordinated to the MoA. The Ministry supervises several institutions, e.g. the State Fishery Board and the State Forest Service. The Ministry of Welfare is responsible for, first of all, "indoor" environmental issues, but there are often connections with outer environment quality. The Ministry is responsible for public health and labour protection (safety) issues. The environmental responsibilities of the Ministry of Interior are fire safety, rescue work, and civil defence. The Ministry of Economics is responsible for energy issues. The Ministry of Transport carries out activities connected with transport of hazardous loads by railway, roads, and sea. This ministry is also responsible for the control of sea pollution from ships and the prevention of shiping accidents.
Municipal governmental institutions are responsible for environmental protection and natural resource use within their administrative territory. They have several important tasks, e.g. to organize the collection and transportation of household and non-hazardous industrial waste; to organize the water supply and sewage treatment. Besides, the council of a city or local municipality, according to the legislation may issue regulations that determine administrative responsibility in certain cases when legal requirements on protection or sustaining public forests, waters and specially protected nature objects, are violated.
During the present stage of national economic development, it is important to balance environmental requirements with the development of modern agricultural practices. Therefore environmental policy in the agricultural sector should be coordinated with national agricultural policies and national programmes for rural development. An interministerial committee of the MoEPRD and the MoA was appointed in 1995 to coordinate those policies relating to the environment and agriculture.

The beginning of systematic environmental policy planning in Latvia was the National Environmental Policy Plan (NEPP) accepted by the Cabinet of Ministers on 25 April 1995.
Policy goals have been set on the basis of two main considerations. First, the present quality of the Latvian environment is generally high in comparison with the majority of European countries. While several acute environmental problems however exist, these are mostly in large towns, industrial regions and territories abandoned by the Russian army.
Second, because Latvia is presently in transition toward a market economy, the following must be taken into consideration - resources are limited; living standards are comparatively low; there is an absence of future economic development forecasts; social structures are changing. As a result, society is not aware enough of environmental issues. In addition, legislative acts, regulations and effective implementation mechanisms are incomplete and changing.
The NEPP sets four long-term environmental policy goals:

• significant improvement of environmental quality and ecosystem stability;
• protection of the existing biodiversity and landscape characteristics;
• sustainable use of natural resources;
• integration of environmental policy into all branches and fields of life.

• The Plant Protection Law (1994) aims at the protection of plants, particularly cultivated plants and their harvests, against pests and diseases. The purpose is also to prevent the unfavourable effects of plant protection activities on the natural environment and the accumulation of used-up pesticides in products, soil and water. The landowner is primarily responsible.
• Regulations concerning the Use of Sewage Sludge in Soil Fertilising and Development of Territories (1997) apply to the use of sewage sludge for the fertilization of soil for separate needs. They also include requirements on antropogenic loads and methods as to how to determine and control these loads.
• The draft Law on Fertilization Substances is prepared for the regulation of the market and the use of mineral fertilizers.

Nature conservancy legislation. Nature conservation has specific legislation. The protection of specific geographic land and water areas for nature conservation purposes is administered through:

• Law on Specially Protected Nature Territories (1993), complemented by
• Regulations on General Provisions for the Protection and Use of Specially Protected Nature Territories (1997) and
• Draft Law on the Protection and Maintenance of Landscapes.

• The Water Law (1973) was formulated in connection with pollution issues. It applies also to the extraction and other uses of water. One of its goals is to provide for the rational use and protection of water. The function of the Regulations on Water Use Permits (1997) is to determine procedures for the use of water, as well as the rights and obligations of the water consumer.
• The Law on Subsoil (1996) shall provides for a "comprehensive, rational and environmentally safe use of the subsoil". This includes, e.g. scientific research and exploration and also mining and other exploitations of subsoil natural resources.
• The fishing Law (1995) applies to all physical and legal persons fishing in inland waters, and also waters of the territorial sea and the economical zone of Latvia. The objects of the Law are fish and water plants. The law includes both "commercial fishing" and "angling".
• The law on Forest Use and Management (1994) has three fold goals. First, forests shall be protected as ecosystems and renewed. Secondly, forest management and use shall be controlled. Thirdly, the rights of forest managers and users shall be protected.
• The law applies to the "Forest Fund" of Latvia and to land users and managers of the forests of this Fund. The Forest Fund consists of both privately and state owned forests. State forests consist of land owned by the former Ministry of Agriculture according to the situation on 21 July 1940.
• The Law on Agriculture (1996) has as its goal the provision for the development of agriculture as a sector of the national economy. The function of the law is therefore to create preconditions for the development of an economically stable agriculture. However, the law also protects the environment concerned in order to achieve the sustainable use and preservation of the land, waters, forests and other nature resources, as well as to provide for the development of a cultural-historical environment.

An important component of the legislation concerns territorial planning. This should be regarded as a strategic instrument, providing for guidelines and even binding provisions on how to use, and not use, these territories in the future. The chief legislation in this respect is the Regulations on Territorial Planning (1994) is:

• The Law on Protected Belts (1997) concerns the protection of land and water areas for different purposes: conservation of biodiversity and natural resources, environmental protection, protection against accidents, but also the protection of land appropriate for certain types of exploitation.
• The Land law is closely related to the ongoing privatization of land in Latvia. The privatization and transformation of land often leads to developments that are sometimes in conflict with nature conservation and other protection interests. The Land Law is a comprehensive and complicated legal area. Land Law includes several legislation acts: the Law on Land Reform in Rural Areas (1990), the Land Tax Law (1990), the Law on Land Reform in Towns (1991), the Law on Land Use and Survey (1991), the Law on Land Privatization (1992), and the Law on Restoration of Property Rights to the Land Where Specially Protected Nature Objects are Located (1995).

In accordance with political decisions and the orientation of Latvia towards the EU and international agreements (HELCOM, etc.), the transposition of EU requirements (directives, regulations, etc.) and the harmonization of Latvian legislation have started.
The long-term "Latvian rural development programme" was worked out and accepted by the Cabinet of Ministers in 1998. For the first time a programme for rural development in Latvia was prepared including all branches: agriculture, forestry, industry, services, and other rural infrastructure. It takes into account all three sustainable development factors: economical, environmental, and social. The MoEPRD co-operates with the Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Welfare, and other ministries, as well as with non-governmental farmers' organizations in Latvia in order to facilitate the development of sustainable agriculture and minimize the impact on the environment. Issues concerning HELCOM recommendations for the agricultural sector are being duly addressed. However, a lot needs to be done to comply with the requirements of HELCOM and EU directives (in particular the Nitrates Directive) by ensuring the minimization of pollution and environmental impact from agricultural fertilizers. To implement the Nitrates Directive, countries must prepare and introduce a special Good Agricultural Practice Code, which causes remarkable difficulties for many Member States. The Latvian Good Agricultural Practice Code was prepared in 1999 in the framework of a Danish-Latvian project, where the Latvian University of Agriculture represents the Latvian side.
Substantial contribution to the control of agricultural pollution is being made within the framework of Cupertino between the Nordic countries and Latvia (BEAROP): the monitoring of agricultural run-off at Mellupite, Saldus district, is the first fully automated monitoring of this kind in the Baltic countries, which is run by researchers from the Latvian University of Agriculture. The Latvian national agriculture run-off monitoring network is currently in development.
Regulations issued by the Cabinet of Ministers on the Compulsory Certification of Food Products, Goods, Perfumery Goods and Toys (1994) determine a list of products and goods that have to be certified by the Certification Centre of the Ministry of Welfare. Products and goods produced or distributed in Latvia have to comply with certain standards concerning safety to human life and the environment. Draft Regulations on the Process of Biological Agricultural Production and Certification of Products have been prepared. These regulations are related to a new certification system for biological agriculture in Latvia. The system determines certification standards. Conformity labels, called "Latvia’s Ecoproduct", will be issued by the Certification Centre if the products comply with certain national standard requirements, concerning high food quality and also health and environmental protection. The certification process started at the beginning of 1998.

Non-governmental environmental protection organizations (NGOs) have been active in Latvia since the end of the eighties. Besides environmental issues, the green movement at that time had striven for the restoration of Latvia’s national independence.
The beginning of the nineties spotlighted both the local and international scale of environmental protection activities - protection of the Baltic Sea, the use of environmentally friendly energy sources and transport, environmental education. One may mention the Ecological Centre at the University of Latvia, the Environmental School for Children, the Environmental Protection Club with its branches all over Latvia, the Latvian Ornithological Society, the Liepaja Green Centre, the Latvian Fund for Nature, and others.
Today the largest non-governmental organization is the Environmental Protection Club (EPC). The number of its members exceeds 3 000; the club has developed a wide network of regional organizations. Since its membership of the Fund for European Environmental Education (FEEE), the EPC, in co-operation with the MoEPRD, has assumed the responsibility for Latvia's participation in the EU Blue Flag bathing water and marine campaign.
Environmental organizations in Latvia have not, as in some other states, developed an efficient voluntary system of certification. However, in July 1997, the Environmental Protection Club-Green NGO established the commission of the VAK Ecofund Green Certification. Its purpose is to administer the Eco label "Friendly to the Environment". The commission will also issue a Production Certificate "Friendly to the Environment". The agencies and bureaus of several prominent international environmental protection organizations also actively operate in Latvia. The World Wildlife Fund (WWF), the regional Environmental Centre (REC), Coalition Clean Baltic (CCB) can, among others be mentioned.
NGOs play a substantial role in the formulation and implementation of the State's is environmental policy through its awareness of the actual situation and by encouraging public support. In Latvia there is the positive experience concerning the involvement of NGOs in drafting and discussing new legal acts. For example, the Packaging Association of Latvia (PAL) has actively participated in drafting the law On the Natural Resources Tax.

The liberalization of the economy and of political and social life was accompanied by a reconstruction of farmers' organizations. Aims at political representation and the provision of services to their members, The Latvian Farmers' Federation (LZF) was founded in 1991 and is one of a number of producer organizations. It has approximately 20 000 members. It represents regional farmers' organizations, farmers' co-operatives, co-operative organizations and associations, as well as other farmers' organizations in the whole of Latvia.
The LZF’s territorial structure includes 254 parish farmers' organizations and 26 regional farmers' organizations. The LZF’s aims and commitments are to represent its members' in political decision making concerning the development of agriculture and to ensure that their member’s legal rights are defended. The LZF aims to provide proposals and ideas to the Government, institutions and other organizations in order to favour the development of the rural economy and to promote family farming.
The Latvian Agricultural Advisory Service was established in 1991 in co-operation with the Ministry of Agriculture and with the Danish support and advice, and was converted in 1997 into a non-profit organization. It promotes the formation of other associations and unions (biological agriculture, a centre for rural innovations, agro-tourism). This service plays a key role in farmers' education and the training of agricultural teachers and advisers, including environmental training. Environmental education is a key element in the Law on Environmental Protection. The environment is now a compulsory subject in the agricultural training curriculum at the university level. Environmental training is also provided in agricultural schools.
Important organizations form target groups. These are sections of the public united by some common interest (farmers, consumers etc.), and that as a whole in some way influence an economic and environmental situation as a unified force. A single person may belong to different target groups simultaneously (e.g. a farmer may also be a consumer). As the State cannot solve environmental problems alone, co-operation with all the target groups is important to it, i.e. co-operation with decision makers representing the interests of a certain group, while at the same time representing the interests of the government in the group. Policy goals may be achieved only when all groups in society support the policy. Cooperation with target groups is problematic in a transitional society. Many important groups (e.g. industrialists, farmers, housewives, consumers) are not yet organized enough to be represented on the national level. Thus policy makers do not have adequate discussion partners with whom to discuss problems, measures and activities.

1. With a drastic decrease of production, Latvian agriculture today is characterized as environmentally sound.
2. An important basis for Latvian development is an environment with diverse natural resources. The state of the environment in Latvia is remarkably good in many areas in comparison with other European countries.
3. The development of the economy will increase pressure on the environment. For sustainable development all three factors: economic, social and environmental, could be harmonized on the bases of equivalency.
4. At the present stage of sustainable development, the main target of Latvian agricultural policy is to convert agriculture into a sector able to be integrated in the common European market and produce outputs able to successfully competing successfully with products made in other states, both in terms of quality and production costs.
5. There is a need for wide interdisciplinary investigation, data compilation and the acquisition of adequate experience in order to establish a legislative background for sustainable rural development, including agriculture and forestry.
6. The necessity for the introduction of a sustainable farming system demands higher competence in all areas of agriculture: agronomy, engineering, economy and the environment. It can be achieved through education, demonstrations and extension activities.
7. The main goals for agri-environmental research activities in the Baltic Sea Region are:

• to enhance sustainable rural development;
• to improve the water quality of the Baltic Sea and inland water sources.

References

Baltic Environmental Forum, 1998. Baltic State of the Environment Report Based on Environmental Indicators, Gandrs, Riga.
Busmanis, P., Carlson, G., et al. 1997. Agricultural Run-off Management, Land Report of Latvia (BAAP), Final Report 1994-1997, Latvia University of Agriculture/Swedish Institute of Agriculture Engineering, Jelgava/Uppsala.
Central Statistical Bureau of Latvia. 1998a. Agricultural Farms in Latvia in 1997, Riga.
Central Statistical Bureau of Latvia. 1998b. Agriculture in Latvia, A Collection of Statistical Data, Riga, 1998.
Central Statistical Bureau of Latvia. 1998c. Monthly Bulletin of Latvian Statistics, several issues, Riga.
Central Statistical Bureau of Latvia. 1998d. Statistical Yearbook of Latvia 1997, Riga, 1998.
Hadonina, D. 1998. Environmental Situation and Remediation Plans of Military Sites in Latvia, In: F.Fonnum et al. (eds.), Environmental contamination and Remediation Practices at Former and Present Military Bases, p. 63-69. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Netherlands.
Latvian State Institute of Agrarian Economics. 1997. Latvian Agriculture: Development, Possibilities, Problems, Proceedings, 1995-1997, Riga.
Latvia University of Agriculture. 1999. Code of Good Agricultural Practice for Latvia (project), Jelgava.
Michanen, G. & Blumberga, U. 1998. Environmental legal system in Latvia, Ministry of Environmental Protection and Regional Development of the Republic of Latvia and Swedish Environmental Protection Agency, Riga.
Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Latvia, Department of Information. 1998. Agriculture in Latvia 1997, Riga.
Ministry of Economy, Republic of Latvia. 1998. Economic Development of Latvia, Report, Riga.
Ministry of Environmental Protection and Regional Development. 1996. National Environmental Action Programme, Riga.
Ministry of Environmental Protection and Regional Development.1998a. Climate Change Mitigation Policy Plan for Latvia, Riga.
Ministry of Environmental Protection and Regional Development. 1998b. Groundwater Protection strategy, Riga, 1998.
Ministry of Environmental Protection and Regional Development. 1998c. Environmental Protection Policy in Latvia, The Eve of the Next Century, Riga.

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