On October 1, the first public consultation of the LIFE CoHaBit Nature Conservation Plan of Nature Park "Piejūra" took place at Carnikava Elementary School, where the developers of Nature Conservation Plan (Latvian Fund for Nature) informed the public about the Nature Conservation Plan and related issues. The public consultation gave the floor to everyone who was interested and the representatives of the Nature Conservation Agency and the developers of the Nature Conservation Plan (Latvian Fund for Nature) responded.

In the introduction to the public consultation, the Latvian Fund for Nature made a presentation on the Nature Park “Piejūra”, explaining what the Nature Conservation Plan was and what the situation was with the Nature Park “Piejūra” and the objectives of the new Nature Conservation Plan. It was emphasized that 24 protected habitats of EU importance have been identified in the Nature Park, covering 86% of the area. In the park, there are at least 123 species specially protected in Latvia. Participants were informed about the 4 most important nature values in the nature park:

• Dune forests,
• Coast,
• Nutrient-poor lakes,
• Seaside meadows

The presentation highlighted the problems and threats to the preservation of the natural values of the area, the main ones being:

• Excessive, insufficiently directed recreational load,
• Eutrophication or overgrowth of forests and waters,
• Lack of natural forest structures,
• Overgrowing of meadows.
• Spread of invasive (alien) species.

A more detailed description of the planned protection and management measures to prevent the threat to the natural values of the area in forests, open dunes, lakes and grasslands, as well as proposals for the planning of tourism flows were presented. Recommendations were made to change the functional zoning along with the establishment of a Nature Conservation Plan:

• Planned regulated regime zone for protection of the most valuable forests (507 ha) (of which 360 ha are existing micro-reserves),
• Increase area of nature reserve (from 1,246 ha to 2,420 ha).

Proposals were made to change the boundaries of the Nature Park by excluding areas that are insignificant for nature conservation at the borders of the Nature Park. Also, it was proposed to add Juraslejas meadows to the Nature Park, triggering widespread discussions between the residents and the developers of the Nature Plan (representatives of the Latvian Fund for Nature).

Residents were worried that their private property would thus become a public space, and that this would mean additional restrictions and burdens on the use of their private land, as well as reducing the value of their overall property. The authors of the plan explained that the inclusion of a site in a Nature Park is not necessarily the same as the inclusion of a site in a nature reserve, and accordingly this does not impose such strict restrictions. It was emphasized that Nature Parks are territories that represent the natural, cultural and historical values of a certain area and are suitable for recreation, education and education of the community.

The developers of the plan mentioned the potential benefits of adding the Juraslejas meadow to the Nature Park, stressing that it would enhance landowners' ability to raise funding to resume management and develop visitor infrastructure. Also, by including Juraslejas meadow in the Nature Conservation Plan, approximately 35 ha of coastal meadow habitats could be restored through proper management, which would make up about 20% of the coastal meadow habitats in the whole territory of Latvia.

There was a discussion on how to further manage the Nature Park area. One of the versions from the residents' point of view was that it would be necessary to create an administration for the Nature Park “Seaside”, which received positive feedback from both the municipality and the Nature Conservation Board.

Presentation of the Nature Conservation Plan for the Nature Park “Piejūra” is available HERE.

The developers of the Nature Conservation Plan invite residents to submit comments and suggestions by sending them electronically to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or by mail: Latvian Fund for Nature, 3-7 Vilandes Street, Riga, LV-1010.