In the Alternative Care Centre “Pīlādzis” of Carnikava County Council, the second monitoring group meeting within the project “LIFE CoHaBit - Coastal Habitat Conservation in the Nature Park “Piejura”” was successfully held. The meeting was participated by representatives delegated to the project management group as well as all project partners – Carnikava County Council, the City Development Department of Riga City Council, the Nature Conservation Agency, and the Association “Baltic Shores”.
The meeting was opened by Genovefa Kozlovska, the Deputy Chairman of Carnikava County Council. She emphasized the value and significance of the project in long term. During the meeting, Gundega Ulme, the LIFE CoHaBit project manager representing the leading project partner Carnikava County Council, outlined to the monitoring group the progress of the project implementation in the Nature Park “Piejura” in administrative territories both of Carnikava and Riga.
Daina Bojāre, the Monitoring Coordinator and expert from the Nature Conservation Agency, presented the project monitoring guidelines to the monitoring group, which will allow to assess the impact of the project's habitat restoration measures on the conservation status of species and habitats. At the end of the meeting, Gundega Ulme presented the nearest planned works to the audience.
The project monitoring group jointly discussed the way to inform the public about practical works in the Nature Park. Experience has shown that when starting the restoration work of grey and wooded dunes, where in the framework of these works also thinning of forest stands and creation of glades was carried out, it is necessary to inform the public more closely about the importance of the work to be done. It is also important to decide on monitoring of the project results also after the implementation of the project, as well as on the need to direct and develop the idea of a permanent administration of the Nature Park.
In total 17 participants from different institutions participated in the monitoring group meeting: the Administration of Latvian Environmental Protection Fund, LLC “Rīgas meži”, JSC “Latvia's State Forests”, the Environmental Unit of the Freeport of Riga, the Municipal Agency "Carnikavas Komunālserviss", the Environmental Administration of the Housing and Environment Department of Riga City Council, the Association "Kalngalieši", Pierīga regional administration of the Nature Conservation Agency, and the Nature Protection Department of the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Regional Development.
