Enclosed Latvian Forest Owners' Association (LMIP) competition “Those Forest”

The jury of the Latvian Forest Owners' Association (LMIP) competition “Communications Forest” has assessed all the properties that have been applied for, and the highest rated forest owner will be announced tomorrow, December 4. Among the finalists of the competition is the owner of the farm “fever” Aivars hawk from Vilaka municipality, owner of the “Berzkalni” farm for a long period of Sedlina from Kuldīga municipality and owner of the farm “Savents” Staņislavs Salmanis from Limbazi municipality.
 The winner of the competition's first place and prize for sustainable farming will be named during the award ceremony of the Forest Sector Award “gold champion”. On December 4, the cultural centre “northern blow” on the north-blond street 36, Riga.
“Each of the owners we met this year is different, but all the forests seen can serve as good examples for other forest managers. Forest management is a very hard work, but the result we saw is very good. Such managed properties can certainly inspire others to participate in the competition, showing the way for their colleagues and the new generation to take care of their land. The good story can never be too much, so we must continue to talk about the owners who take care of their properties and think of sustainable farming," says the Chairman of THE LMIPs Board, Arnis Muiznieks.
This year, the participants in the competition were able to observe that each of them used other management methods. This suggests that a well-managed forest does not have a common definition. The forest can be managed at different times and at the same time sustainably.
The three finalists of the competition are bound by another characteristic – each of them has focused very much on coniferous trees. For example, the owner of the property “fever”, Aivar hawk conifers, is one of the passion. Therefore, his woods show a variety of spruce types, which are based on more than 30 years of experience and knowledge derived from scientific research. In Sedlia's estate, “Berzkalni” has a great focus on pine trees, which also make the most pride. In addition, long enough to be more skilled in his woods, he regularly visits various lectures and seminars. On the other hand, Staņislavs Salmanis practises a special method of decontamination of spruce. According to the advice of the consultant, the spruce at each estate is open. What the result will be can only be assessed after several years, but it is already possible to assess the owner's concern for the management of his forest. There are carefully established trails and care for each tree.
The jury of the “Communications Forest” competition is represented by THE Chairman of THE Board of Governors of THE LMIB, Arnis Muižnieks, Deputy Forest Department Forest Strategy and Policy Division Ilze Silamiķele, Director of Forest Study station Mārtiņš Livums, Director of Forest Resources and Hunting Department of the Ministry of Agriculture Rita Benta, Latvian Agricultural University rector Irina Pilvere, Latvian Local Government Union advisor to Rural Development, Thomas Kotovics, Director of THE Latvian State Forests, Thomas Kotovics, Director of THE LTV programme “his land”, Edgars Ktovics, Director of THE State Culture Capital Foundation Edgars Rinkēvičs and biologist, researcher Maris Olte.
This year, 17 applications were received from Ozolnieki, Vilaka, Aizputes, Limbaži, Rezekne, Madona, Baldones, Kuldīga, Tukums, Vecumnieki, Vecpiebalgs, Smiltenes, eagles and Alūksne. Of these, six forest properties were selected for the second round, which the jury members were going to assess on the spot.
The competitions were assessed by analysing the contribution of forest owners to the creation of productive and sustainable forest stands, focusing on restoration, logging, care, forest infrastructure, landscape planning, use of scientifically justified methods for sustainable forest management. Local government feedback on the forest property was also requested.
The aim of the competition is to identify examples of good forestry practices in private forests and to promote sustainable forest management. The organizer of the competition is a Latvian forest owners' association. The competition informative partner is a portal La.lv.
Zane Emma,
“Those Forest” competition organised by Latvian Forest Owners Society
project Manager, Tel. 26612153
e-mail: zane@mezaipasnieki.lv
Project publicity photo