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LVM Continues Work on the Reforestation of the Border between Latvia and Belarus

This January, it will be almost two years since JSC “Latvia's State Forests” (LVM) received the first task from the State Security Agency to deforest the Latvian-Belarusian border strip.​ During this time, the employees of LVM South Latgale and North Latgale regions have planned, organized, and managed border deforestation works for more than 147 km; here, deforestation has already been completed. Logging works are currently underway in the last of the received tasks – a 1.68 km long section in the Ķekava Municipality in the South Latgale region, which is also one of the last sections where deforestation works had not yet been carried out.

“During the reforestation of the Latvian-Belarusian border, we had to face several challenges when planning, organizing and managing logging works. These challenges included the limited place for the execution of the works, the difficult terrain and ground conditions, as well as the short deadlines for the execution of tasks and the organization of successful cooperation with the owners of other lands adjacent to the border, whose properties were required to be used for access to the place of execution of works. It is expected that part of the already deforested sections of the border will have to be reworked this year as well, because in the course of designing the border structure, places have been identified where it will be necessary to expand the deforested part of the border for the successful inclusion of the planned infrastructure,” says Māris Guļāns, LVM South Latgale Region Logging Manager.

In 2024, work on the deforestation of the Latvian-Belarusian border strip will continue, returning to places where the expansion of the deforested strip will be necessary for the implementation of the project, as well as the possible carrying out of deforestation works at the stage where the border is established along the Daugava River to build the necessary border infrastructure.​

To carry out deforestation works in the border zone, LVM attracted a number of cooperation partners with long-term experience in logging: SIA “Indāres”, SIA “Ludzas MRS”, SIA “Oga G”, SIA “Skaida PV”, SIA “Roga L”, SIA “RDO”.

The total length of the border between Latvia and Belarus is 172 912 km.