Rucava logging case exposes gaps in nature protection

The felling of a nearly 400-year-old forest near Rucava was legal, Latvia’s Ministry of Agriculture says, while police investigate whether protected species habitats were damaged or destroyed. LSM reported the case, citing TV Kurzeme.

The state-run Forest Research Station received 53,000 euros from an auction of timber from the site. The station said it would use the proceeds to support its operations, not for research.

The State Forest Service found that the required ecological trees had been left standing in accordance with regulations, and that the number of retained trees was sufficient. It also said a nest and other natural values in the area had been taken into account.

The Latvian Fund for Nature has raised concerns about more trees marked for felling beside the clear-cut, including pines that appear to be very old. Those trees are now protected from further logging after a decision in early October to establish four micro-reserves in Kurzeme, covering a total of 57 hectares.

The fund says the central issue is not whether enough biologically valuable trees were left behind, but whether the forest should have been cut at all. It says similar habitats are being felled elsewhere in Latvia, sometimes across much larger areas.

The Ministry of Agriculture says the case does not provide sufficient grounds to revise the existing rules. The association Puse Latvijas disagrees and asked police to investigate the Rucava logging.

Police have opened criminal proceedings to determine whether habitats of specially protected species were destroyed or damaged.