On 12 and 13 September in Daugavpils "Vides projekti" Ltd. is organizing international seminar "Coordination of Economical and Environmental Interests on Latvian – Belarusian Border". The meeting was arranged to discuss a possibility to create a cross-border protected nature territory and to negotiate on further cooperation for completion of this objective.

The seminar falls under the project "Strengthening of Belarusian – Latvian Cooperation on Priority Cross-Border Environment Protection Issues" implemented by "Vides projekti" and supported by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The key objective of the project is to facilitate cooperation for settling of environmental issues essential to Latvia in the Latvian-Belarusian borderland region. One of the sub-targets of the project is to facilitate cooperation for development of the cross-border ecological network and for prevention of nature values. During the previous meeting, as the most advantageous solution, creation of a common specially protected nature territory was approved.

Discussion subjects during the first day (12 September, hotel "Sventes Muiža") will be:
– Protection of species and habitats, system of specially protected nature territories (SPNT) in the country, their categories, protection regimes, management.
– Previous experience of Latvian – Belarusian cross border cooperation.
– SPNT located near border, nature and historical values, current and required protection of those, risk factors.
 – Activities of the involved institutions for facilitation of development cooperation.

At the end of the first seminar day debate will be held on options of cooperation improvement between Belarus and Latvia, discussing also about the SPNT creation alternatives.

Meeting of 12 September will be attended by Daiga Vilkaste, director of the Nature Protection Department of the Ministry of Environment, Andris Urtāns, Deputy Director of North Vidzeme Biosphere Reserve, Iveta Lobanoka, Department Manager of the Daugavpils Regional Environment Administration, A. Barševskis, Rector of the Daugavpils University, as well as delegates from the Belarus research institutes and Ministry of Environment.

On the second day of the meeting (13 September), the participants of the seminar will go for a tour in the Latvia – Belarus frontier territory. The tour will be guided by the professor A.Barševskis.


Additional information:
Inese Kukle,
Project Manager of the "Vides projekti" Ltd.
phone 7503544
e-mail: inese.kukle@videsprojekti.lv