Conference on sustainable use of natural resources at the Faculty of Forestry and Environmental Sciences

The conference will be opened at 10:00 AM with speeches from Minister of Agriculture Armands Krauze, LBTU Vice-Rector for Finance Linards Sisenis, and Chairman of the Latvian Forest Certification Council, Advisor to the Minister of Agriculture on Forest Resource Sustainable Management and Utilization Māris Liopa. After the opening speeches, three discussion sessions will take place.

The first session, titled "Conditions for Balancing Economic, Environmental, and Social Interests Today and Future Development Scenarios," will feature Parliamentary Secretary of the Ministry of Economics Jurģis Miezainis, who will speak on "Synergy of the Economy and Natural Resources Industries," Director-General of the State Forest Service Andis Purs, who will present on "Forest Industry Strategy – Tasks for National Sustainable Development," and Member of the Board and Policy Director of the Latvian Chamber of Commerce and Industry Jānis Lielpēteris, who will address "Land Use in Latvia: Balancing National Understanding, Sustainability, and European Goals."

The second session, "Nature Restoration and Land Use Goals – Best Solutions and Compromises. Scientific Aspects," will feature speeches by Scientific Assistant at the LVMI "Silava" Pauls Zeltiņš, who will present on "Adaptation of Latvian Forestry to Climate Change: Long-Term Forest Selection and Adaptation Program," Chairman of the Scientific Council of LVMI "Silava" Dr. Āris Jansons, who will talk about "Aspects of Implementing Nature Restoration," LVMI "Silava" Researcher Mg. silv. Diāna Jansone, who will address "Increasing the Resilience of Managed Forests to Climate Extremes," LMSP Forestry Expert Juris Buškevics, who will discuss "Economic, Environmental, and Social Aspects of Urban Forest Management – Problems and Solutions," and First Vice-President of the International Peatland Society and Chairwoman of the Lake and Mire Research Center, Dr. Geol. Ilze Ozola, who will speak on "Sustainability in the Peat Industry and Its Impact on Forests and Other Land Use Sectors."

The third session, titled "Sustainability in the Bioeconomy Sector – Perspectives from Related Industries, Scientific Basis, and Achievements," will feature Sabīna Alta, Development Director of SIA "Laflora," who will present "Greening Cross-Border Supply Chains with Improved Environmental Footprint Monitoring," Dr. Florencia Franzini, Bioeconomy Program Researcher at the European Forest Institute, who will discuss "Factors Influencing Forest Practitioners' Management Objectives and Activities" (presentation in English), Professor Dr. Piotr S. Mederski from the University of Life Sciences in Poznań, who will speak on "Forecasting Timber Resources in Poland and Their Potential for Industrial Partners" (presentation in English), and Dr. habil. oec. Baiba Rivža, Tenured Professor at the LBTU Institute of Economics and Finance, who will present "Achievements of Latvian Forest Science at the European Level – Evidence of Science-Based Forest Industry Development."

The conference will conclude with a panel discussion titled "Will Europe Become Greener? Climate Neutrality, Climate Change Adaptation, and Environmental Protection – Perspectives of Economic Sectors and Scientists," moderated by a journalist from the "Dienas Bizness" magazine. The discussion will include representatives from various sectors and sciences.

Current information on the conference can be found on the LMSP website.

The conference is supported financially by the Forest Development Fund and is also supported by the Latvian Forest and Related Sectors Portal "Zeme un Valsts," the Latvian University of Bioeconomics and Technology, the Faculty of Forestry and Environmental Sciences, the Latvian State Forest Research Institute "Silava," and Daugavpils University.