2019

LVM Transfers Forest Areas to the Ministry of Defence to Strengthen National Defence Capabilities

The transfer of 2042.68 hectares of forest area (in Daugavpils Municipality Vabole, Līksna and Kalupe Rural Territories) under the control of JSC “Latvia’s State Forests” (LVM) to the Ministry of Defence for the expansion of the training ground “Meža Mackeviči” was completed at the end of December.

“The Latvian defence system cannot be based solely on the Ādaži Landfill and some shooting ranges. Therefore, we are very pleased about our long-term cooperation with the Ministry of Defence; this way JSC “Latvia’s State Forests” not only enhances the state's wealth by managing the state forests responsibly and sustainably, but also provides support for strengthening the state's defence capabilities. Thanks to the coverage of state forest land throughout Latvia, the Ministry of Defence can acquire land under its control and develop the necessary infrastructure in a relatively short period of time,” tells Valdis Kalns, Head of the LVM Real Estate.

Taking into account the facilities of the existing training ground “Meža Mackeviči”, which is located in Vabole Rural Territory of Daugavpils Municipality and covers 10.47 hectares and the National Armed Forces Development Plan for 2016-2028, in 2018, the Ministry of Defence agreed with the Ministry of Agriculture and LVM on co-operation and necessary actions for the transfer of state land areas owned by the ministry and LVM for the implementation of the state defence tasks.

In the future, the “Meža Mackeviči” training ground will be expanded and modernized to become one of the best military training sites in the Baltic States.

In 2019, LVM provided the necessary support and took steps to transfer to the Ministry of Defence another six areas with a total area of 2628.24 hectares in different regions of Latvia for strengthening the national defence capabilities of Latvia.

The work will continue also in 2020: LVM will support the transfer of seven other facilities to the Ministry of Defence for security activities.