Environmental policy

Our goal is to monitor and evaluate political developments related to nature and environmental issues, to stimulate discussions about nature and environmental problems among policy makers and to achieve the inclusion of these issues in the agenda of Latvian policy makers and parties.

The diversity of nature is largely in the hands of politicians, and it is political decisions that can have the most significant impact on the preservation of natural diversity or, on the contrary, its further decline and degradation of ecosystems.

The Latvian Nature Foundation invites us to think sustainably about the country’s development – not only about how much our country gets in terms of money, but also about the impact we have on nature and natural resources through our activities.

Public opinion polls regularly show that the issues of nature conservation are important to the people of Latvia. For example, the in-depth public opinion survey conducted in 2022 revealed that 93% of Latvian residents consider nature conservation important. (Kantar, 2022).

Our appeal in the field of environmental policy is based on the principle of sustainability. This means that we leave to the next generations no less resources than we received from our predecessors. This means taking care of natural values, not depleting Latvia’s natural capital, as well as understanding that nature protection in Latvia is necessary not because it is required by European Union regulations and requirements, but because our country’s economy, people’s well-being and lives depend on nature. quality. The preservation of a quality living environment is also provided for by the Constitution of the Republic of Latvia, strategic policy planning documents and laws for the development of Latvia.

The LFN is the initiator of the joint association of Latvian environmental organizations “Green Barometer”, which unites the largest environmental organizations in Latvia – the Latvian Fund for Nature, the Latvian Ornithological Society, the “Green Liberty” society, the World Nature Fund and the Latvian Organic Agriculture Association. “Green Barometer” regularly monitors legislative processes and provides its recommendations and opinions on policy planning documents and regulatory acts in environmental policy.