In 7th-8th November of this year, NEEMO EEIG, the supervisor of LIFE CoHaBit project, visited Latvia. In the visit, all project partners - Carnikava County Council, the City Development Department of Riga City Council, the Nature Conservation Agency, and the Association “Baltic Shores” – were represented.
On the first day of the monitor's visit, the project territories, where the first practical habitat restoration works have already been carried out, were examined. The day started in Carnikava County, where we looked at the installed reed fences, which is currently the only place in the Baltics where such a method is being tried. Reed fences act as wind energy suppressors and contribute to the growth of the dune, as well as reduce the trampling down of the dune growth. Next we went to Daugavgriva, where two project areas were surveyed; the first – the territory of the lagoon restoration, the second – the territory of restriction of invasive plants and restoration of the Meadow. For the restoration of the lagoon, the method of regular mowing is applied.
It is essential to reduce the number of reeds, leaving only a few older reed clamps, and also to create open accesses to the lagoon waterfront. The project also includes works on the restriction of invasive plants and restoration of the meadow near the lagoons of Daugavgriva. The biggest challenge in this area was not only the large overgrowth of shrubbery and the high density of invasive plant species (Canada Goldenrod and Himalayan balsam), but also the area was heavily littered both with household waste and construction debris, which made the work particularly challenging. At the end of the day, we examined the progress of habitat restoration work in the coastal meadows of Vakarbulli. The first works have already been carried out on the territory, as part of which a thick layer of the last year's grass was removed, in small areas the top layer of soil was removed, and the Meadow was mowed applying the method of mowing in strips. The aim of the works is to restore the Meadow and the Bullupe shore plant, where there will be abundant deposits of Marsh Gladiolus, Strawberry Clover, Sea Thrift, and other plants and habitats of insects and birds.
On the second day of the monitor's visit, the project progress was presented and discussed, major challenges were negotiated and further objectives were set. In general, it can be concluded that LIFE CoHaBit is an ambitious project that still will face many challenges, but a lot of work has been done to successfully proceed with it.
