COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT The EU Environmental Implementation Review 2019 Country Report - LATVIA Accompanying the document Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions Environmental Implementation Review 2019: A Europe that protects its citizens and enhances their quality of life
Date: 2019-07-31
Institutions: Directorate-General for Environment, European Commission
Subjects: EU environmental policy, Latvia, application of EU law, climate change policy, environmental law, environmental protection, governance, green economy, public health, quality of the environment

EN 

  EN 

   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 31.7.2019  SWD(2019) 124 final/2  CORRIGENDUM This document corrects document SWD(2019) 124 final of 04.04.2019 Footnote 193 modified The text shall read as follows: COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT The EU Environmental Implementation Review 2019       Country Report - LATVIA               Accompanying the document Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions Environmental Implementation Review 2019:  A Europe that protects its citizens and enhances their quality of life   {COM(2019) 149 final} - {SWD(2019) 111 final} - {SWD(2019) 112 final} - {SWD(2019) 113 final} - {SWD(2019) 114 final} - {SWD(2019) 115 final} - {SWD(2019) 116 final} - {SWD(2019) 117 final} - {SWD(2019) 118 final} - {SWD(2019) 119 final} - {SWD(2019) 120 final} - {SWD(2019) 121 final} - {SWD(2019) 122 final} - {SWD(2019) 123 final} - {SWD(2019) 125 final} - {SWD(2019) 126 final} - {SWD(2019) 127 final} - {SWD(2019) 128 final} - {SWD(2019) 129 final} - {SWD(2019) 130 final} - {SWD(2019) 131 final} - {SWD(2019) 132 final} - {SWD(2019) 133 final} - {SWD(2019) 134 final} - {SWD(2019) 135 final} - {SWD(2019) 136 final} - {SWD(2019) 137 final} - {SWD(2019) 138 final} - {SWD(2019) 139 final}  
 
 
This  report  has  been  written  by  the  staff  of  the  Directorate-General  for  Environment,  European  Commission. 
Comments are welcome, please send them to ENV-EIR@ec.europa.eu 

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©European Union, 2019 

Reproduction is authorised provided the source is acknowledged.

1 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Table of Contents 

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ................................................................................................................................... 3 

PART I: THEMATIC AREAS .............................................................................................................................. 4 

1. 

TURNING  THE  EU  INTO  A  CIRCULAR,  RESOURCE-EFFICIENT,  GREEN  AND  COMPETITIVE  LOW-
CARBON ECONOMY .............................................................................................................................. 4 

Measures towards a circular economy ................................................................................................. 4 
Waste management .............................................................................................................................. 6 
Climate change ...................................................................................................................................... 8 

2. 

PROTECTING, CONSERVING AND ENHANCING NATURAL CAPITAL .................................................. 10 

Nature and biodiversity ....................................................................................................................... 10 
Maintaining and restoring ecosystems and their services .................................................................. 10 
Estimating natural capital ................................................................................................................... 11 
Invasive alien species .......................................................................................................................... 12 
Soil protection ..................................................................................................................................... 12 
Marine protection ............................................................................................................................... 13 

3. 

ENSURING CITIZENS' HEALTH AND QUALITY OF LIFE ........................................................................ 15 

Air quality ............................................................................................................................................ 15 
Industrial emissions ............................................................................................................................. 16 
 ................................................................................................................................................. 17 
Noise 
Water quality and management ......................................................................................................... 17 
Chemicals ............................................................................................................................................ 19 
Making cities more sustainable ........................................................................................................... 20 

PART II: ENABLING FRAMEWORK: IMPLEMENTATION TOOLS ................................................................... 22 

4. 

GREEN  TAXATION,  GREEN  PUBLIC  PROCUREMENT,  ENVIRONMENTAL  FUNDING  AND 
INVESTMENTS ..................................................................................................................................... 22 

Green taxation and environmentally harmful subsidies ..................................................................... 22 
Green public procurement .................................................................................................................. 23 
Environmental funding and investments ............................................................................................ 23 

5. 

STRENGTHENING ENVIRONMENTAL GOVERNANCE ......................................................................... 27 

Information, public participation and access to justice ...................................................................... 27 
Compliance assurance ......................................................................................................................... 29 
Effectiveness of environmental administrations................................................................................. 30 
International agreements ................................................................................................................... 31 
Sustainable development and the implementation of the UN SDGs .................................................. 32 

2 

 
 
 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – Latvia 

Executive summary 

Latvia  aims  to  maintain  a  good  level  of  environmental 
protection, particularly for air and water quality. It scores 
well on the quality of its bathing waters, 91.1 % of which 
were  of  excellent  quality  in  2017.  However,  for  the  vast 
majority  of  rivers  and  lakes  the  ecological  status  or 
potential as set out in the Water Framework Directive is 
less than good.  

Latvia  is  making  further  progress  in  complying  with  the 
EU Urban Waste Water Treatment rules. However, there 
is an on-going infringement procedure against Latvia as it 
still  does  not  ensure  that  waste  water  is  collected  and 
treated  in  accordance  with  the  Directive  in  15  larger 
agglomerations. 

Examples of good practice 

 

 

Two projects in Latvia are outlined as best practices 
and showcases. These are: (i) the LIFE Nature project 
‘Protection  and  management  of  coastal  habitats  in 
Latvia’; (ii) protected green infrastructure and water 
bodies 
the  Zemgale  Region  and  northern 
in 
Lithuania. 
Latvia  grants  the  public,  particularly  individuals  and 
NGOs, very broad access to justice in environmental 
cases.  It  has  well-developed  legislation  on  access  to 
information and public participation. The action plan 
on  open  government  partnership  and  the  work  of 
the  Environmental  Consultancy  Board  are  good 
examples  of  how  these  rights  are  being  put  into 
practice. 

Latvia  and  the  Environmental  Implementation  Review 
(EIR) 

In the 2017 EIR report, the main challenges identified for 
Latvia for the implementation of EU environmental policy 
and law were: 

 

 

to 
improve  waste  management,  particularly 
increasing  recycling,  rolling  out  separate  collection 
and reducing landfilling; 
to reduce resource intensity, which would lessen the 
exposure  of  Latvian  businesses  to  rising  resource 
costs. 

Latvia  organised  an  EIR  national  dialogue  in  December 
2017, with particular focus on waste management. 

In 2017 the Commission launched the TAIEX-EIR Peer-to-
Peer  (EIR  P2P)  tool  to  facilitate  peer-to-peer  learning 
between  experts  from  environmental  authorities.  Latvia 
participated in an EIR P2P workshop on the exchange of 
knowledge  and  experience  of  effective  measures  and 
good  practices  to  reduce  emissions  from  domestic 
heating. 

Progress on meeting challenges since the 2017 EIR 

Waste  management  remains  a  challenge  for  Latvia, 
particularly  in  terms  of  not  being  able  to  divert  waste 
from  landfilling.  According  to  the  Commission’s  ‘Early 
Warning  Report’  (2018),  Latvia  remains  at  risk  of  not 
attaining  the  2020  municipal  waste  recycling  target  and 
of  not  meeting  the  2020  landfill  diversion  target  for 
biodegradable waste. 

The  circular  (secondary)  use  of  material  in  Latvia  was 
well  below  the  EU-28  average  in  2016.  However,  the 
country  performs  above  the  EU-28  average  in  terms  of 
how many people are employed in the circular economy. 
The  proportion  of  SMEs  that  have  taken  resource-
efficiency  measures  is  below  the  EU  average,  even 
though the proportion of SMEs that have benefited from 
public  support  measures  for  the  production  of  green 
products  is  well  above  the  average.  Latvia  ranks  rather 
low  on  eco-innovation,  despite  it  being  the  5th  fastest 
growing innovator. 

Latvia  has  a 
relatively  high  density  of  green 
infrastructure  natural  areas  compared  to  other  EU 
Member  States.  Latvia  currently  expects  to  implement 
further  plans  and  activities  directly  relating  to  green 
infrastructure,  e.g.  flood  management 
in  cities  and 
Natura 2000 development. Latvia has pioneered a  MAES 
(mapping  and  assessment  of  ecosystems  and  their 
services) assessment for its marine waters. This confirms 
the  substantial  progress  Latvia  has  made  since  January 
2016 on implementing MAES. 

3 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – Latvia 

Part I: Thematic areas 

1. 

Turning the EU into a circular, resource-efficient, green and competitive low-

carbon economy 

Measures towards a circular economy 

The  Circular  Economy  Action  Plan  emphasises  the  need 
to  move  towards  a  life-cycle-driven  ‘circular’  economy, 
reusing  resources  as  much  as  possible  and  bringing 
residual  waste  close  to  zero.  This  can  be  facilitated  by 
developing  and  providing  access  to  innovative  financial 
instruments and funding for eco-innovation. 

Following  the  adoption  of  the  Circular  Economy  Action 
Plan in 2015 and the setting up of a related stakeholder 
platform  in  2017,  the  European  Commission  adopted  a 
new  package  of  deliverables  in  January  20181.  This 
included  additional  initiatives  such  as:  (i)  an  EU  strategy 
for plastics; (ii) a  Communication on how to address the 
interplay  between  chemical,  product  and  waste 
legislation; (iii) a report on critical raw materials; and (iv) 
a  framework  to  monitor  progress  towards  a  circular 
economy2. 

Based  on  the  10  indicators  in  the  circular  economy 
monitoring  framework,  Latvia  was  well  below  the  EU 
average  for  circular  (secondary)  use  of  material,  scoring 
3.9 %  in  2016  (EU  average  11.7 %).  Despite  this,  it  did 
post  an  increase  compared  with  previous  years.  In 
contrast,  Latvia  performs  above  the  EU-28  average  for 
the number of people employed in the circular economy 
(2.89 %  of  total  employment  in  2016,  EU-28  average 
1.73 %). 

In  the  2017  Special  Eurobarometer  468  on  attitudes  of 
EU  citizens  towards  the  environment,  89 %  of  Latvian 
people  said  they  were  concerned  about  the  effects  of 
plastic  products  on  the  environment  (EU-28  average 
87 %).  90 % said they were  worried about  the  impact of 
chemicals,  in  line  with  the  EU-28  average3.  In  addition, 
89 % of Latvian people support greater EU investment in 
environmental protection (EU-28 average 85 %). 

resource 

Latvia’s 
efficiently 
productivity4 
the economy uses material resources to produce wealth), 
in terms of value produced per kg of resources used was 
0.51 EUR/kg in 2017. This is far below the EU average of 

(how 

1 European Commission, 2018 Circular Economy Package. 
2 COM(2018) 029. 
3 European Commission, 2017, Special 486 Eurobarometer, ‘Attitudes 
of European citizens towards the environment’. 
4 Resource productivity is defined as the ratio between gross domestic 
product (GDP) and domestic material consumption (DMC). 

4 

2.04 EUR/kg5.  Figure  1  shows  that  Latvia’s  resource 
productivity has not improved since 2010. 

Figure 1: Resource productivity 2010-20176 

Targeted  policy  documents  on  the  circular  economy  are 
in  the  early  stages  of  development  and  are  undergoing 
academic  research7.  The  report  on  the  necessity  of  and 
towards  a  circular 
opportunities 
transitioning 
economy 
is  a  first  step  towards  a  more 
comprehensive circular economy policy in the country. 

in  Latvia 

for 

In  December  2017,  the  Ministry  of  Agriculture  adopted 
the  2030  Latvian  bioeconomy  strategy.  Ministries  have 
been  asked  by  the  government  to  take  the  strategy’s 
fields  of  action 
into  account  when  revising  and 
developing policy planning documents. 

The need to educate businesses on the circular economy 
has  received  some  attention  in  Latvia,  most  notably 
through  the  organisation  of  an  international  conference 
on the subject in Riga in 2016.8. 

Latvia  has  also  signed  a  2018-2021  cooperation 
programme  with  Flanders  (Belgium),  which  also  covers 
the  circular  economy.  As  for  EU  Ecolabel  products  and 

5 Eurostat, Resource productivity. 
6 Eurostat, Resource productivity. 
7 Tambovceva, T., Atstāja, D., Dimante, D. Development of Circular 
Economy – a Case Study of Latvia. No: 12th Conference of the European 
Society for Ecological Economics: Programme & Abstract Book, Ungārija, 
Budapest, 20.-23. jūnijs, 2017. Budapest: Corvinus University of 
Budapest, 2017, p. 466.-467. 
8 Development of Business Education for Circular Economy in Latvia in 
New Challenges of Economic and Business Development, May 2016. 

 
 
                                                                 
 
                                                                 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – Latvia 

EMAS-licensed  organisations9,  as  of  September  2018 
Latvia  had  only  15  products  and  4  licences  registered  in 
the EU Ecolabel scheme out of a total of 71 707 products 
and  2167  licences  in  the  EU10.  Moreover,  Latvia  and 
Croatia are the only EU countries11 with no organisations 
ISO  14001 
registered  on  EMAS.  However, 
environmental  management 
gained 
popularity  in  Latvia.  The  number  of  certificates  has 
steadily grown from 90 in 2005 to 373 in 201712. 

the 
system  has 

SMEs and resource efficiency 

Latvian  SMEs  score  in  line  with  the  EU  average  on 
environmental  issues,  as  shown  in  Figure  2.  A  below-
average  proportion  of  SMEs 
in  Latvia  have  taken 
resource-efficiency measures and offer green products or 
services.  Conversely,  Latvia  has  a  far  above  average 
percentage of SMEs which have a turn-over of more than 
50% generated by green products or services. 

Figure 2: Environmental performance of SMEs13 

intentions to invest in resource efficiency were about the 
same  as  in  2015,  similar  to  the  EU  average.  A  notable 
exception  is  minimising  waste  and  increasing  recycling 
inside  the  company,  for  which  awareness  is  significantly 
below the EU average. 

Only 7 % of Latvian companies relied on external support 
in  their  efforts  to  be  more  resource  efficient,  compared 
to an EU average of 22 % covering a range of 3 % to 38 %. 
42 %  of  Latvian  companies  collaborated  with  business 
associations. 

Of the Latvian companies surveyed, 33 % did not identify 
any form of external assistance as useful in helping them 
become resource efficient. Less importance is assigned to 
assistance on better cooperation among companies along 
value chains (11 %). 

There  is  potential  to  raise  awareness  and  ambition 
among  SMEs  in  Latvia  about  becoming  more  resource 
efficient.  Many  SMEs  have  already  recognised  the 
potential of the market for green products and services. 
The  challenge  is  to  reach  out  to  the  more  mainstream 
businesses. 

Eco-innovation 

In 2018, Latvia ranked 24th  on the European Innovation 
Scoreboard 2018, being the 5th fastest growing innovator 
(11.6 %  increase  since  201015).  However,  the  country’s 
overall  position  on  the  2017  Eco-innovation  index  has 
declined (see Figure 3), and continues to be below the EU 
average. It ranks the 22nd. (see Figure 4). 

Figure 3: Latvia’s eco-innovation performance 

The  2018  Eurobarometer  on  ‘SMEs,  resource  efficiency 
and  green  markets14’  showed  that  Latvian  companies’ 

The  main  impetus  for  eco-innovation  and  the  circular 
economy  in  Latvia  continues  to  come  from  the  energy 
and  resource-efficiency  targets  of  the  EU’s  Europe  2020 
strategy.  Investments  in  bioeconomy,  smart  materials, 
sustainable  energy  solutions  and  research  are  a  high 
priority in Latvia’s smart specialisation strategy16. 

9 EMAS is the European Commission’s Eco-Management and Audit 
Scheme – a programme to encourage organisations to behave in a more 
environmentally sustainable way 
10 European Commission, Ecolabel Facts and Figures. 
11 As of May 2018. European Commission, Eco-Management and Audit 
Scheme. 
12 ISO Survey of certifications to management system standards. 
13 European Commission, 2017-SBA factsheet: Latvia. 

14 Flash Eurobarometer 456 ‘SME, resource efficiency and green 
markets’ January 2018. The 8 dimensions were Save energy; Minimise 
waste; Save materials; Save Water; Recycle by reusing material 
internally; Design products easier to maintain, repair or reuse; Use 
renewable energy; Sell scrap materials to another company. 
15 European Commission, European innovation Scoreboard 2018. 
16 Smart specialisation strategies were introduced as a way to increase 
efficiency in research and innovation investments by integrating policy 

5 

 
                                                                 
 
                                                                                                        
 
Figure 4: 2017 Eco-innovation index (EU=100)17 

2019 priority action 

Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – Latvia 

  Develop  a  more  coherent  circular  economy  policy 

framework. 

Waste management 

Turning waste into a resource is supported by: 
(i)  fully 
legislation,  which 
implementing  EU  waste 
includes  the  waste  hierarchy,  the  need  to  ensure 
separate  collection  of  waste,  the 
landfill  diversion 
targets, etc.; 
(ii) reducing waste generation and waste generation per 
capita in absolute terms; and  
(iii)  limiting  energy  recovery  to  non-recyclable  materials 
and  phasing  out  landfilling  of  recyclable  or  recoverable 
waste. 

This  section  focuses  on  management  of  municipal 
waste19  for  which  EU  law  sets  mandatory  recycling 
targets.20. 

in  Latvia  amounted  to 
Municipal  waste  generated 
410 kg/y/inhabitant  in  2016.  This  was  below  the  EU 
average of 486 kg/y/inhabitant, but since 2012 the figure 
has been following a steep upward trend21. 

Figure 5 depicts municipal waste by treatment in Latvia in 
kg  per  capita.  In  2016,  disposal  by  landfilling  (the  least 
preferred treatment in the waste hierarchy) remains the 
main  treatment  option  for  municipal  waste,  with  Latvia 
landfilling  64 %  of  municipal  waste,  compared  with  the 
EU  average  of  24 %.  While 
rate 
continuously  decreased  since  2012,  it  increased  by  2 % 
from  2015.  Since  2014  Latvia  has 
its 
composting  rate  from  6 %  to  10 %  (EU  average  17 %  in 
2016),  but  material  recycling  remains  at  the  very  low 
level of 10 %. 

landfilling 

increased 

the 

Figure  6  depicts  recycling  rates  for  municipal  waste. 
While the decrease in the recycling rate in 2016 seems to 
be influenced by improvements in waste data collection, 
Latvia’s  recycling  performance  is  very  weak.  As  a  result, 
Latvia  was  listed  in  the  Commission’s  ‘Early  Warning 
report’22 among the countries at risk of not attaining the 
2020  municipal  waste  recycling  target.  Latvia  is  also  at 
risk  of not  meeting the  2020 landfill diversion target  for 
biodegradable waste (a 75 % reduction from 1995 levels) 
and  is  lagging  behind  its  2013  target  of  50 %  reduction 

19 Municipal waste consists of mixed waste and separately collected 
waste from households and from other sources, where such waste is 
similar in nature and composition to waste from households. This is 
without prejudice to the allocation of responsibilities for waste 
management between public and private sectors. 
20 See Article 11.2 of Directive 2008/98/EC. This Directive was 
amended in 2018 by Directive (EU) 2018/851, and more ambitious 
recycling targets were introduced for the period up to 2035. 
21 European Commission, Eurostat, Municipal waste and treatment, by 
type of treatment method. 
22 COM(2018) 656 and SWD(2018)420. 

Assistance 
from  the  EEA/Norway  Grants  has  also 
provided  a  very  significant  boost  for  eco-innovation  in 
Latvia, as has the availability of natural resources such as 
forests, water and soil. However, overall developments in 
eco-innovation  in  Latvia  are  taking  place  in  individual 
businesses and organisations rather than system-wide. 

Businesses’  relative  lack  of  willingness  and  capacity  to 
innovate  can  still  be  considered  as  factors  hampering 
eco-innovation.  Lack  of  understanding  about 
the 
processes  of  eco-innovation 
is  also  a  barrier. 
Furthermore, there is a lack of a targeted national policy 
framework in Latvia and fragmented support landscape. 

identified 

The  venture capital market  has recognised the potential 
of eco-innovation. The Ministry of Education and Science 
such  as  energy  efficiency, 
has 
sustainable  transport  and  the  knowledge-based  bio 
economy  as  priority  science  sectors  for  the  2018-2021 
period. 

topics 

Research  prioritisation  and  investment  in  these  fields  is 
beginning  to  deliver  results.  Circular  economy  and  eco-
innovation areas are also well covered by clusters such as 
the  Smart  City  Cluster  of  Latvia,  the  Life  Science  Cluster 
of  Latvia,  the  Green  Tech  Cluster  and  the  Cleantech 
Cluster18. 

areas - between regions, sectors and levels. These strategies have to be 
developed by Member States or regions to receive cohesion funding. 
17 European Commission, Eco-innovation Observatory: Eco-Innovation 
scoreboard 2017. 
18 European Commission, Eco-Innovation Observatory: Eco-innovation 
Country Profiles 2016-2017. 

6 

 
                                                                                                        
                                                                 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – Latvia 

(by 2015 Latvia had reduced the amounts of such waste 
going to landfills by 32 %23). 

Figure  5:  Municipal  waste  by  treatment  in  Latvia  2009-
201624 

However,  there  is  no  clear  vision  on  how  to  encourage 
people  living  in  apartment  blocks  to  separate  waste  at 
home.  

Starting  from  2021  there  will  be  mandatory  separate 
collection  of  bio-waste  part  of  municipal  waste,  which 
makes up almost half of municipal waste generated. Until 
then  it  remains  voluntary,  but  it  is  being  incentivised 
through EU funds.  

To  help  bridge  the  implementation  gap  in  Latvia,  the 
Commission’s  early  warning  report25  recommended  a 
set of detailed priority actions. 

Figure 6: Recycling rate of municipal waste 2009-201626 

Separate collection at source of dry recyclables relies on 
systems that for now contribute insufficiently to Latvia’s 
recycling  performance.  Recently  adopted  minimum 
requirements  for  municipalities  to  ensure  adequate 
density  of  separate  collection  bring  sites  and  collection 
points for household waste could improve the  situation. 

23 Latvian report on the transposition and implementation of Directive 
99/31/EC on the landfill of waste for 2013-2015. 
24 European Commission, Eurostat, Municipal waste by waste 
operations. 
25 Adopted 24.9.2018. 
26 European Commission, Eurostat, Recycling rate of municipal waste. 

7 

The focus so far has been on MBT (mechanical biological 
treatment)  technology  which,  apart  from  stabilising  and 
diverting  small  amounts  of  biodegradable  waste  from 
landfills,  does  very  little  to  contribute  towards  recycling 
performance. 

The  Law  on  Natural  Resource  Tax  foresees  a  gradual 
increase of the landfill tax from 20 EUR/tonne in 2017 to 
in  2020.  As  this  tax  will  generate  more 
50  EUR/t 
revenues,  it  is  important  that  these  are  channelled 
towards measures to improve waste management in line 
with  the  waste  hierarchy.  In  addition,  to  make  recycling 
economically  viable  and  support  implementation  of  the 
waste  hierarchy,  a  tax  on  treatment  of  residual  waste 
(e.g. via MBT) should be introduced albeit at a lower level 
than the landfill tax. 

Data  collection  has  improved  somewhat  in  the  past  few 
years.  All  packaging  data  are  now 
in  the 
reported  municipal  waste  data  and  this  largely  explains 
the  increase  in  the  recycling  rates  since  2012.  However, 
significant  shortcomings  in  data  collection  remain  and 
need to be urgently addressed. 

included 

responsibility  scheme 

The  extended  producer 
for 
packaging  operates  on  a  competitive  basis.  While  the 
scheme  covers  a  large  amount  of  the  packaging  put  on 
the  market,  more  coordination  is  needed  in  collection 
and  infrastructure  to  make  it  more  cost-efficient  and  to 
make  the  schemes  cover  all  the  costs  of  collection  and 
treatment of packaging waste. Latvia is working towards 
setting  up  a  mandatory  deposit  system  for  beverage 
packaging.  

Despite the shorter term recommendations set out in the 
early  warning  report  even  more  effort  will  be  necessary 

 
 
                                                                 
 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – Latvia 

For emissions not covered by the EU ETS, Member States 
have  binding  national  targets  under  the  Effort  Sharing 
legislation.  Latvia  had  lower  emissions  than  its  annual 
targets in each of the years 2013-2017. For 2020, Latvia's 
national target under the EU Effort Sharing Decision is to 
avoid increasing emissions by more than 17 % compared 
to  2005.  For  2030,  Latvia's  national  target  under  the 
Effort Sharing Regulation will be to reduce emissions by 6 
% compared to 2005.  

Figure  7:  Change  in  total  greenhouse  gas  emissions 
1990-2017 (1990=100%)29. 

to comply with the recycling targets set for the post-2020 
period27. 

Waste  management  was  the  main  topic  of  discussion  at 
the EIR national dialogue with Latvia in December 2017. 

2019 priority actions 

 

 

Implement  the  landfill  tax  increase  as  planned  to 
phase  out  landfilling  of  recyclable  and  recoverable 
waste. Channel those revenues towards measures to 
improve  waste  management  in  line  with  the  waste 
hierarchy. 
Improve  and  extend  separate  collection  of  waste, 
including  for  bio-waste.  Review  and  /  or  harmonise 
minimum  service  standards  for  separate  collection 
(e.g. frequency of collections, types of containers etc.) 
in  municipalities  to  ensure  high  capture  rates  of 
recyclable waste.  

  Use economic instruments such as ‘pay as you throw’, 
and set mandatory recycling targets for municipalities 
with measures to tackle non-compliance (e.g. fines). 

  Develop 

run 

and 

implementation 

support 
programmes for municipalities to help support efforts 
to organise separate collection and improve recycling 
performance. 
Improve  the 
responsibility  systems, 
minimum requirements on EPR28. 

functioning  of  extended  producer 
line  with  the  general 

in 

 

Climate change 

The EU has committed to undertaking ambitious climate 
action internationally as well as in the EU, having ratified 
the Paris Climate Agreement  on 5 October 2016. The EU 
targets are to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 
20 % by 2020 and by at least 40 % by 2030, compared to 
1990.  As  a  long-term  target,  the  EU  aims  to  reduce  its 
emissions  by  80-95 %  by  2050,  as  part  of  the  efforts 
required by developed countries as a group. Adapting to 
the adverse effects of climate change is vital to alleviate 
its  already  visible  effects  and  improve  preparedness  for 
and resilience to future impacts. 

The EU emissions trading system (EU ETS) covers all large 
greenhouse  gas  emitters  in  the  industry,  power  and 
aviation  sectors  in  the  EU.  The  EU  ETS  applies  in  all 
Member States and has a very high compliance rate. Each 
year,  installations  cover  around  99  %  of  their  emissions 
with the required number of allowances. 

The  Sustainable  Development  Strategy  of  Latvia  until 
2030  sets  a  55%  greenhouse  gas  emissions  reduction 
target compared to 1990 levels. 

Transport  represents  almost  a  quarter  of  Europe's 
greenhouse  gas  emissions  and  is  the  main  cause  of  air 
pollution  in  cities.  In  2016,  total  GHG  emissions  in  the 
transport sector, compared to 1990 level, have increased 
by  5.1%  but  have  been  decreased  by  0.5%  compared  to 
2015.  The  last  3  years,  from  2013  to  2016,  transport 
emissions increased by 10 %.  

The  F-gas  Regulation  requires  Member  States  to  run 
training and certification programmes, introduce rules for 
penalties  and  notify  these  measures  to  the  Commission 
by 2017. Latvia has notified both measures. 

The  accounting  of  GHG  emissions  and  removals  from 
forests and agriculture is governed by the Kyoto Protocol. 
A  Preliminary  accounting  for  2013-2016  depicts  net 
debits  of,  on  average,  1.4  Mt  CO2-eq  per  year,  which 
corresponds  to  a  negative  contribution  of  -1.2%  of  the 
EU-28 accounted sink  of  -115.7 Mt  CO2-eq. Latvia is one 

27 Directive (EU) 2018/851, Directive (EU) 2018/852, Directive (EU) 
2018/850 and Directive (EU) 2018/849 amend the previous waste 
legislation set more ambitious recycling targets for the period up to 
2035. These targets will be taken into consideration to assess progress 
in future Environmental Implementation Reports. 
28 Directive (EU) 2018/851. 

29 Annual European Union greenhouse gas inventory 1990–2016 (EEA 
greenhouse gas data viewer). Proxy GHG emission estimates for 
2017Approximated EU greenhouse gas inventory 2017 (European 
Environment Agency). Member States national projections, reviewed by 
the European Environment Agency. 

8 

                                                                 
 
                                                                 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – Latvia 

therefore 

were over EUR 63 million. National legislation  - The Law 
on  Pollution,  prescribes  that  revenues  derived  from  the 
auctions  of  EU  emission  allowances  must  be  spent  for 
climate-related  measures, 
in  2016  new 
national  green  investment  scheme  for  tackling  global 
to 
climate 
the 
change, 
consequences  of 
reducing 
greenhouse  gas  emissions  has  been  established.  Four 
calls  for  projects  have  been  organized  since  2016  with 
overall  co-funding  in  amount  of  50  MEUR.  All  unspent 
revenues from the auctions of allowances from previous 
years  are  accumulated  and  earmarked  for  climate 
change-related  open  tenders  for  projects  and  measures 
in upcoming years. 

adaptation 
change  and 

supporting 
climate 

Figure 9: Greenhouse gas emissions by sector (Mt. CO2-
eq.).  Historical  data  1990-2016  Projections  2017-
203032.  

2019 priority action 

In this report, no priority actions have been included on 
climate action, as the Commission will first need to assess 
the  draft  national  energy  and  climate  plans  which  the 
Member  States  needed  to  send  by  end  of  2018.  These 
plans  should  increase  the  consistency  between  energy 
and climate policies and could therefore become a good 
example  of  how  to  link  sector-specific  policies  on  other 
interlinked  themes  such  as  agriculture-nature-water  and 
transport-air-health.  

of  six  EU  Member  States  which  show  net  debits  in  this 
preliminary accounting exercise. 

Figure  8:  Targets  and  emissions  for  Latvia  under  the 
Effort Sharing Decision and Effort Sharing Regulation30. 

The  EU  Strategy  on  adaptation  to  climate  change, 
adopted  in  2013,  aims  to  make  Europe  more  climate-
resilient, by promoting action by Member States, better-
informed  decision  making,  and  promoting  adaptation  in 
key vulnerable sectors. By adopting a coherent approach 
and  providing  for  improved  coordination,  it  seeks  to 
enhance the preparedness and capacity of all governance 
levels to respond to the impacts of climate change. While 
in  2013  only  15  Member  States  had  an  adaptation 
strategy, today all but three have adopted one, with the 
three remaining Member States actively working on it. In 
2016,  the  Commission  launched  an  evaluation  of  this 
strategy. 
actual 
implementation and the achievement of the objectives of 
the  strategy.  The  evaluation  is  currently  underway,  with 
findings to be published in autumn 2018. 

evaluation 

examines 

The 

the 

Latvia  is  expected  to  finalise  its  National  Adaptation 
Strategy  (NAS)  to  climate  change  up  to  2030  in  early 
2019. Climate change risk and vulnerability assessments, 
cost-benefit  and  cost-effectiveness  assessments 
for 
adaptation  measures  were  developed  in  2017  for  the 
most  vulnerable  sectors,  which  include  biodiversity  and 
ecosystem services, forestry and agriculture, tourism and 
landscape  planning,  health  and  welfare,  building  and 
infrastructure  planning,  civil  protection  and  emergency 
includes  an  adaptation 
planning.  The  draft  NAS 
monitoring,  reporting  and  evaluation  system  with  18 
adaptation indicators and 24 climate change parameters. 

The  total  revenues  from  the  auctioning  of  emission 
allowances under the EU ETS over the years312013-2017 

30 Proxy GHG emission estimates for 2017Approximated EU greenhouse 
gas inventory 2017 (European Environment Agency). Member States 
national projections, reviewed by the European Environment Agency. 
31 Auctions of allowances for the EU ETS 3rd period started in 13 
November, 2012. 

32 Annual European Union greenhouse gas inventory 1990–2016 (EEA 
greenhouse gas data viewer). Proxy GHG emission estimates for 
2017Approximated EU greenhouse gas inventory 2017 (European 
Environment Agency). Member States national projections, reviewed by 
the European Environment Agency. 

9 

 
                                                                 
 
 
                                                                 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – Latvia 

2. 

Protecting, conserving and enhancing natural capital 

Nature and biodiversity 

in  the  EU  by  2020. 

The  EU  biodiversity  strategy  aims  to  halt  the  loss  of 
biodiversity 
full 
implementation  of  the  Birds  and  Habitats  Directives  to 
achieve  favourable  conservation  status  of  protected 
species and habitats. It also requires that the agricultural 
and  forest  sectors  help  to  maintain  and 
improve 
biodiversity. 

It  requires 

Biodiversity strategy 

Latvia’s  environmental  policy  concept  (EPC)  for  2014-
202033  covers  biodiversity  protection  issues  linked  to 
the  implementation  of  the  goals  and  objectives  of  the 
Convention on Biological Diversity.34 

pressures of high impact. Latvia elaborates guidelines for 
setting conservation objectives to get better acceptance.  

Progress 
restoring 
in  maintaining  or 
conservation status of species and habitats 

favourable 

Member  States  report  every  6  years  on  the  progress 
made under the Birds and Habitats Directives. As a result, 
no  new  information  is  available  on  the  state  of  natural 
habitats and species in Latvia or on progress to improve 
the  conservation  status  of  species  and  habitats,  as 
compared to the 2017 EIR Latvia country report. 

Setting up a coherent network of Natura 2000 sites 

2019 priority actions 

Overall,  it  is  acknowledged  that  improvements  in  the 
status  of  species  and  habitats  have  recently  been 
reported in Latvia. 

The situation has not changed since the 2017 EIR. 

Designating Natura 2000 sites and setting conservation 
objectives and measures 

New  data  on  the  conservation  status  of  habitats  and 
species will be available for the next EIR. The results from 
Latvia’s last report under Article 12 of the Birds Directive 
show  that  short-term  trends  of  breeding  birds  are 
improving for 19 % of species and are stable for 22 %, but 
are  decreasing  for  12 %  of  species.  The  same  categories 
for  long-term  trends  are  47 %,  18 %  and  25 %.  Although 
data  under  Article 12  do  not  provide  pressure 
information  for  all  bird  species,  Latvia  reports  that 
climate  change,  biological  resource  use  other  than 
agriculture  &  forestry  and  sylviculture  and  forestry  are 

33  Latvian Cabinet of Ministers, Environ. 
34 THE EPC does not directly address implementation of target 2 of the 
EU Biodiversity Strategy.  

10 

 

 

objectives 

Complete  the  special  areas  of  conservation  (SAC) 
designation process and put  in place clearly defined 
conservation 
necessary 
and 
conservation measures for sites.  
Improve  incentives  for  foresters  and  farmers  to 
better  protect  forest  and  grassland  habitat.  Ensure 
sustainable  forest  management  and  efficient  use  of 
biomass.  

the 

Maintaining  and  restoring  ecosystems  and 
their services 

The EU biodiversity strategy aims to maintain and restore 
ecosystems  and  their  services  by 
including  green 
infrastructure  in  spatial  planning  and  restoring  at  least 
15 %  of  degraded  ecosystems  by  2020.  The  EU  green 
infrastructure  strategy  promotes  the  incorporation  of 
green infrastructure into related plans and programmes. 

 
 
                                                                 
 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – Latvia 

The EU has provided guidance on the further deployment 
of green and blue infrastructure in Latvia35 and a country 
page  on  the  Biodiversity  Information  System  for  Europe 
(BISE)36. This information will also contribute to the final 
evaluation of the EU Biodiversity Strategy to 2020. 

increasing 

farming  area, 

infrastructure  targets  such  as 

Latvia’s 2014-2020 national development plan37 includes 
increasing  the 
green 
organic 
forest  coverage, 
promoting  the  sustainable  use  and  biodiversity  of  land 
and  other  natural  resources  and  species  conservation 
measures.  Latvia’s sustainable  development  strategy 
covering  the  period  until  203038  also  mentions  green 
corridors  within  the  urban  transport  network.  The 
strategy  states  that  the  government  should  introduce  a 
plan to preserve and restore natural capital at state level. 
This  would  also 
include  spatial  planning  of  nature 
preservation and restoration. 

in  Latvia  put 

Several  LIFE  projects 
in  place  green 
infrastructure.  Examples  of  these  are  the  projects  to 
restore  bittern  habitats  and  protect  coastal  habitats. 
Green  infrastructure  has  also  been  incorporated  into 
Riga’s  2014-2020  development  programme  and  green 
infrastructure  initiatives  have  been  implemented  in  the 
city of Liepāja. In 2018, the Latvia-Lithuania cross border 
Green 
project 
co-operation 
Infrastructure 
in  the  Landscape  of  Lowland  Rivers 
(ENGRAVE)39  was  launched.  Lead  by  Zemgale  planning 
region, it will provide methodological guidelines on green 
infrastructure and landscape planning and test  it at four 
case study areas.  

“Enhancement 

of 

further 

information 

is  needed  on 

However, 
the 
incorporation  of  green  infrastructure  in  sector-specific 
policy  areas  and  in  spatial  planning.  Challenges  include 
the  lack  of  awareness  of  green  infrastructure  in  general 
and  the  lack  of  a  national  strategy  in  this  area.  A 
mechanism for coordination between different sectors is 
needed,  as  well  as  capacity  building  and  training  of 
relevant  stakeholders  and  development  of  an  incentives 
system  and 
infrastructure 
development. 

instruments 

for  green 

is  encouraged  to:  (i)  continue 
and 

in 
Latvia 
deploying 
and 
incorporating  them  across  other  policies  consistent  with 
the MAES framework; (ii) consider the recommendations 

infrastructure 

its  efforts 

green 

blue 

35 The recommendations of the green infrastructure strategy review 
report and the EU Guidance on a strategic framework for further 
supporting the deployment of EU-level green and blue infrastructure. 
36 Biodiversity Information System for Europe. 
37 Cross-Sectoral Coordination Centre, National Development Plan of 
Latvia for 2014–2020.  
38 Saeima of the Republic of Latvia, Sustainable Development Strategy 
of Latvia until 2030. 
39 Keep.eu website. 

11 

of the green infrastructure strategy review report40; and 
(iii)  make  full  use  of  the  EU  guidance  on  a  strategic 
framework for further supporting the deployment of EU-
level  green  and  blue  infrastructure.  It  is  also  invited  to 
provide  regular  updates  on  its  green  infrastructure-
related  developments  via 
its  country  page  on  the 
Biodiversity  Information  System  for  Europe  BISE41.  This 
information will also contribute to the final evaluation of 
the  EU  biodiversity  strategy  to  2020,  which  will  be 
communicated to the Council and Parliament in 2020. 

Latvia is invited to provide information about: (i) progress 
on  a  restoration  prioritisation  framework  as  referred  to 
in Action 6a of the EU biodiversity  strategy; (ii) or other 
strategic  approaches  to  restoration;  and 
(iii)  any 
information  on  practical  implementation.  As  part  of  the 
LIFE+  project  Nat-Programme,  Latvia  has  established 
restoration  priorities  for  habitats  of  community  interest 
within its Natura 2000 sites42. 

Estimating natural capital 

The  EU  biodiversity  strategy  calls  on  Member  States  to 
map  and  assess  the  state  of  ecosystems  and  their 
services43 in their national territories by 2014, assess the 
economic  value  of  such  services  and  integrate  these 
values  into  accounting  and  reporting  systems  at  EU  and 
national level by 2020. 

including 

Latvia  has  pioneered  a  MAES  assessment  for  its  marine 
internal  marine  waters,  territorial 
waters, 
waters  and  exclusive  economic  zone.  The  assessment 
in  2016  as  one  of  the  steps  for 
was  performed 
implementing 
in 
development of the national maritime spatial plan. 

ecosystem-based 

approach 

an 

Latvia continues to be involved in two LIFE projects which 
are relevant for MAES. The LIFE Viva Grass44 project aims 
to demonstrate opportunities for the multifunctional use 
of  grasslands  as  a  basis 
the 
sustainability  of  rural  areas  and  as  a  stimulus  for  local 
economies.  LIFE  Ecosystem  services  is  about  mapping 
ecosystems  and  carrying  out  an  economic  evaluation  of 
the identified services in a number of pilot areas45. 

for  strengthening 

In  2017  Latvia  also  started  the  biophysical  mapping  of 
habitats of EU importance. The aim is to set the baseline 
information  on  the  extent,  areas  and  quality  of  the 
habitat types listed in the Habitats Directive and present 

40 The recommendations of the green infrastructure strategy review 
report 
41 Biodiversity information system for Europe, Green Infrastructure in 
Latvia.  
42 National Conservation and Management Programme for Natura 
2000 sites in Latvia.  
43 Ecosystem services are benefits provided by nature such as food, 
clean water and pollination on which human society depends.  
44 LIFE Viva Grass project. 
45 European Commission, LIFE EcosystemServices. 

                                                                 
                                                                 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – Latvia 

in Latvia. The mapping will be done in the whole country, 
not only for Natura 2000 sites. 

Figure  11:  Number  of  IAS  of  EU  concern,  based  on 
available georeferenced information for Latvia49 

The  MAES  working  group  meeting  held  in  Brussels  in 
September  2018  noted  that Latvia  has  made  substantial 
progress  since  January  2016  in  implementing  MAES 
the 
(Figure  10).  This  assessment  was  made  by 
ESMERALDA 
27 
on 
implementation  questions.  The  assessment  is  updated 
every 6 months. 

project46 

based 

and 

is 

Figure 10: Implementation of MAES (September 2018) 

Business  and  biodiversity  platforms,  networks  and 
communities of practice are key tools for promoting and 
facilitating  natural  capital  assessments  among  business 
and  financial  service  providers,  for  instance  via  the 
Natural  Capital  Coalition’s  protocol47.  The  assessments 
contribute  to  the  EU  biodiversity  strategy  by  helping 
private  businesses  better  understand  and  value  both 
their  impacts  and  dependence  on  nature.  Biodiversity 
platforms  have  been  established  at  EU  level48  and  in  a 
number of Member States. 

Latvia has not yet established such a platform. 

Invasive alien species 

Under  the  EU  biodiversity  strategy,  the  following  are  to 
be achieved by 2020:  
(i) invasive alien species identified;  
(ii) priority species controlled or eradicated; and  
(iii)  pathways  managed  to  prevent  new  invasive  species 
from disrupting European biodiversity.  
This  is  supported  by  the  Invasive  Alien  Species  (IAS) 
Regulation, which entered into force on 1 January 2015. 

The  report  on  the  baseline  distribution  (Figure  11),  for 
which  Latvia  reviewed  its  country  and  grid-level  data, 
shows that out of the 37 species on the first Union list, 7 
have been observed in the environment in Latvia, and all 
of  them  established.  According  to  available  data, 
Sosnowsky’s  hogweed  (Heracleum  sosnowskyi)  is  the 
most widely spread among them. 

46 European Commission, Esmeralda project. 
47 Natural Capital Coalition, Natural Capital Protocol. 
48 Business and Biodiversity, The European Business and Biodiversity 
Campaign aims to promote the business case for biodiversity in the EU 
Member States through workshops, seminars and a cross media 
communication strategy. 

Between  the  entry  into  force  of  the  Union  list  and 
18 May 2018, Latvia did not notify any new appearances 
of IAS of Union concern, as provided for in Article 16(2) of 
the IAS Regulation. 

Latvia  has  fulfilled  all  its  notification  obligations  under 
the Directive. 

Soil protection 

The  EU  soil  thematic  strategy  underlines  the  need  to 
ensure a  sustainable use of soils.  This  entails preventing 
further  soil  degradation  and  preserving  its  functions,  as 
well as restoring degraded soils. The 2011 Roadmap to a 
Resource Efficient Europe states that by 2020, EU policies 
must  take  into  account  their  direct  and  indirect  impact 
on land use. 

Soil  is  an  extremely  fragile  finite  resource  and  it  is 
increasingly  degrading  in  the  EU.  The  percentage  of 
artificial  land50 in Latvia (Figure 12) is the 3rd  lowest in 
the EU (after Sweden and Finland). This can be seen as a 
measure  of  the  relative  pressure  on  nature  and 
biodiversity,  and  of  the  environmental  pressure  from 
people living in urbanised areas. 

49 Tsiamis K; Gervasini E; Deriu I; D`amico F; Nunes A; Addamo A; De 
Jesus Cardoso A. Baseline Distribution of Invasive Alien Species of Union 
concern. Ispra (Italy): Publications Office of the European Union, 2017. 
50 Artificial land cover is defined as the total of roofed built-up areas 
(including buildings and greenhouses), artificial non built-up areas 
(including sealed area features, such as yards, farmyards, cemeteries, 
car parking areas etc. and linear features, such as streets, roads, 
railways, runways, bridges) and other artificial areas (including bridges 
and viaducts, mobile homes, solar panels, power plants, electrical 
substations, pipelines, water sewage plants, and open dump sites). 

12 

 
                                                                 
 
                                                                 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – Latvia 

Figure 12: Proportion of artificial land cover, 2015 51 

Latvia  ranks  below  the  EU  average  for  artificial  land 
coverage,  with  1.6 %  of  artificial  land  (EU-28  average: 
is  31/km2, 
4.1 %).  The  country’s  population  density 
significantly below the EU average of 11852. 

Contamination  can  severely  reduce  soil  quality  and 
threaten  human  health  or  the  environment.  A  recent 
report of the Joint Research Centre (JRC)53 estimated that 
potentially  polluting  activities  have  taken  or  are  still 
taking place on approximately 2.8 million sites in the EU. 
At EU level,  650 000 of these sites have been  registered 
in national or regional inventories. 65 500  contaminated 
sites already have been remediated. Latvia has registered 
3 574  sites  where  potentially  polluting  activities  have 
taken or are taking place, and already has remediated or 
applied aftercare measures on 44 sites. 

Soil erosion by water is a natural process, but this natural 
process can be aggravated by climate change and human 
activities  such  as  inappropriate  agricultural  practices, 
deforestation,  forest  fires  or  construction  works.  High 

sediment 

in 
levels  of  soil  erosion  can  reduce  productivity 
agriculture  and  can  have  negative  and  transboundary 
impacts  on  biodiversity  and  ecosystem  services.  High 
levels  of  soil  erosion  can  also  have  negative  and 
lakes  (due  to 
transboundary  efforts  on  rivers  and 
increased 
transport  of 
and 
volumes 
contaminants).  According  to  the  RUSLE  2015  model54, 
Latvia  has  an  average  soil  loss  rate  by  water  of  0.32 
tonnes per hectare per year (t ha−a yr−y) compared to the 
EU  mean  of  2.46 t ha−a yr−y.  This 
indicates  that  soil 
erosion  in  Latvia  is  low  on  average.  Note  that  these 
figures are the output of an EU-level model and therefore 
not be considered as locally measured values. The actual 
rate of soil loss can vary strongly within a Member State 
depending on local conditions. 

Soil organic matter plays an important role in the carbon 
cycle and in climate change. Soils are the second largest 
carbon sink in the world after the oceans. 

As  part  of  the  2009-2014  EEA  grants  programme 
“National Climate Policy” a digital soil database has been 
developed.  The  dataset  contains  historical  information 
about soil maps of agricultural lands (mapped from 1960 
until  1991).  Currently  it  is  not  possible  to  provide 
qualitative  and  up-to-date  reliable  soil  information  to 
various stakeholders (public bodies, farmers, researchers, 
international organizations).  

With  the  support  from  the  Kingdom  of  Norway  (the 
Norwegian  Financial  Mechanism  2014-2020)55  Latvia 
plans  to  establish  a  national  soil  carbon  monitoring 
system  as  well  to  establish  up-to-date  information  on 
land use management in the context of climate change.  

Marine protection 

EU coastal and marine policy and legislation require that 
by  2020  the  impact  of  pressures  on  marine  waters  be 
reduced  to  achieve  or  maintain  good  environmental 
status (GES) and ensure that coastal zones are managed 
sustainably. 

The Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD)56 aims 
to achieve good environmental status of the EU’s marine 
waters  by  2020.  To  that  end,  Member  States  must 
develop  a  marine  strategy  for  their  marine  waters,  and 
cooperate  with  the  EU  countries  that  share  the  same 
marine (sub)region. 

For  Latvia,  the  Baltic  Marine  Environment  Protection 
Commission  (Helsinki  Commission)  plays  an  important 

51 European Commission, Eurostat, Land covered by artificial surfaces 
by NUTS 2 regions. 
52 European Commission, Eurostat, Population density by NUTS 3 
region. 
53 Ana Paya Perez, Natalia Rodriguez Eugenio, Status of local soil 
contamination in Europe: Revision of the indicator “Progress in the 
management Contaminated Sites in Europe”, 2018. 

54 Panagos, P., Borrelli, P., Poesen, J., Ballabio, C., Lugato, E., 
Meusburger, K., Montanarella, L., Alewell, C., The new assessment of 
soil loss by water erosion in Europe, (2015) Environmental Science and 
Policy, 54, pp. 438-447. 
55 Legal Acts of the Republic Of Latvia.  
56Directive 2008/56/EC. 

13 

 
                                                                 
                                                                 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – Latvia 

contribution  to  achieving  the  Directive’s  goals.  Major 
gaps remain  in Latvia regarding the good  environmental 
status  (GES)  definitions  for  many  aspects  of  the  marine 
environment, 
changes, 
contaminants,  marine  litter  and  underwater  noise.  The 
same  applies  for  birds,  mammals  and  fish  species  in 
biodiversity. 

hydrographical 

namely 

Latvia  reports  ‘existing’  measures  in  its  programme, 
relating  to  an  extensive  list  of  existing  international 
conventions,  EU  policies  and  national  legislation  and 
efforts. How these will address pressures on the marine 
environment, GES and targets is, however, not  provided 
in  detail.  Latvia  reports  ‘new’  measures,  specifically 
designed  for  the  purposes  of  the  Marine  Strategy 
Framework  Directive  (MSFD), 
its  programme  of 
measures,  which  mainly  raise  awareness  or  aim  to  fill 
knowledge  gaps  and  support  the  identification  of  future 
needs for measures to achieve GES. These do not directly 
address pressures. 

in 

The  programme  of  measures  covers  some  relevant 
pressures  on  its  marine  environment  and  targets  to  be 
achieved. It does not, however, address some pressures, 
activities  and  associated  impacts  identified  as  important 
at  sub-regional  level,  such  as  the  introduction  of  non-
indigenous species through shipping and pressures on all 
biodiversity  species  and  habitats.  There  are  no  specific 
measures  for  hydrographical  changes  and  underwater 
noise, reportedly because of data gaps. 

shortcoming 

the  measures 

their 
One 
is 
in 
implementation  timeline,  as  Latvia  reports 
it  will 
implement  them  in  2018,  2019  and  2020.  This  is  not  in 
line  with  MSFD  requirement  to  reach  GES  by  2020. 
Overall,  the  Latvian  programme  of  measures  does  not 
address  MSFD  needs  to  progress  towards  GES,  with 
significant weaknesses noted in coverage of pressures for 
several  descriptors  and  delayed  implementation  of  new 
measures. 

2019 priority actions 

  Define good environmental status and targets where 
these  do  not  exist,  as  well  as  timelines  for  achieving 
GES, when these have not been reported. 

  Provide  more  information  about  measures,  establish 
more measures with a direct impact on pressures and 
quantify  how  far  the  measures  are  expected  to 
reduce pressure, and monitor progress. 

  Ensure  regional  cooperation  with  Member  States 
sharing  the  same  marine  (sub)  region  to  address  the 
main pressures. 

  Ensure reporting of the different elements under the 
Marine  Strategy  Framework  Directive  by  the  set 
deadline. 

14 

 
 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – Latvia 

3. 

Ensuring citizens' health and quality of life 

Air quality 

EU clean air  policy and legislation require the significant 
improvement  of  air  quality  in  the  EU,  moving  the  EU 
closer to the quality recommended by the World Health 
Organisation.  Air  pollution  and  its  impacts  on  human 
health,  ecosystems  and  biodiversity  should  be  further 
reduced with the long-term aim of not exceeding critical 
loads  and  levels.  This  requires  strengthening  efforts  to 
reach  full  compliance  with  EU  air  quality  legislation  and 
defining strategic targets and actions beyond 2020. 

The  EU  has  developed  a  comprehensive  body  of  air 
quality 
legislation57,  which  establishes  health-based 
standards and objectives for a number of air pollutants. 

According to a special report from the European Court of 
Auditors58,  EU  action  to  protect  human  health  from  air 
pollution has not had its expected impact. There is a risk 
that  air  pollution  is  being  underestimated  in  some 
instances.  Member  States  are  now  required  to  report 
both  real-time  and  validated  air  quality  data  to  the 
Commission59.  Upgrading 
its  air  quality  monitoring 
system,  which  is  planned  in  2019,  will  put  Latvia  in  a 
position to report also real-time air quality data.  

Emissions  of  several  air  pollutants  have  decreased 
significantly 
reductions 
in  Latvia60.  The  emission 
between  1990  and  2014  mentioned  in  the  previous  EIR 
continued between 2014 and 2016. Emissions of sulphur 

57 European Commission, 2016. Air Quality Standards. 
58 European Court of Auditors, Special report no 23/2018: Air pollution: 
Our health still insufficiently protected. 
59 Article 5 of Commission Implementing Decision 2011/850/EU of 12 
December 2011 laying down rules for Directives 2004/107/EC and 
2008/50/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards 
the reciprocal exchange of information and reporting on ambient air 
quality (OJ L 335, 17.12.2011, p. 86) requires Member States to provide 
Up-To-Date data. 
60 See EIONET Central Data Repository and Air pollutant emissions data 
viewer (NEC Directive). 

15 

oxides (SOx) fell by 11 %, emissions of ammonia (NH3) by 
2.34 %,  emissions  of  volatile  organic  compounds 
(NMVOCs) by 8.22 %, emissions of fine particular  matter 
PM2.5 by 10.65 % and emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx) 
by 3.76 % between 2014 and 2016 (see also Figure 13 on 
the total PM2.5 and NOx emissions per sector). 

Figure 13: PM2.5 and NOx emissions by sector in Latvia61 

Despite these emission reductions, additional efforts are 
needed  to  attain  the  emission  reduction  commitments 
(compared  with  2005  emission  levels)  laid  down  in  the 
new National Emissions Ceilings Directive  62 for 2020 to 
2029 and for any year from 2030. 

For 2016, Latvia does not report having exceeded any air 
quality limit values63. Air quality in Latvia is reported to 
be  generally  good,  with  exceptions.  For  2015, 
the European Environment  Agency estimated that about 
1 600  premature  deaths  could  be  attributed  to  fine 
particulate  matter64  concentrations,  50 
to  ozone 
concentration65  and  over  130  to  nitrogen  dioxide66 
concentrations in Latvia67. 

61 2016 NECD data submitted by Member State to the EEA.  
62 Directive 2016/2284/EU. 
63 EEA, Eionet, Central Data Repository. 
64 Particulate matter (PM) is a mixture of aerosol particles (solid and 
liquid) covering a wide range of sizes and chemical compositions. PM10 
(PM2.5) refers to particles with a diameter of 10 (2.5) micrometres or 
less. PM is emitted from many anthropogenic sources, including 
combustion. 
65 Low level ozone is produced by photochemical action on pollution. 
66 NOx is emitted during fuel combustion e.g. from industrial facilities 
and the road transport sector. NOx is a group of gases comprising 
nitrogen monoxide (NO) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2). 
67 EEA, Air Quality in Europe – 2018 Report, p. 64. Please see details in 
this report as regards the underpinning methodology). 

 
                                                                 
 
 
                                                                 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – Latvia 

Figure  14:  Air  quality  zones  exceeding  EU  air  quality 
standards in 201768 

Figure  15:  Number  of  IED  industrial  installations  by 
sector, Latvia (2015)72 

The  industrial  sectors  identified  contributing  the  most 
emissions to air in Latvia are: (i) the energy-power sector 
for  pollutants  such  as  sulphur  oxides  (SOx),  nitrogen 
oxides  (NOx),  particulate  matter  (PM10)  and  chromium 
(Cr);  (ii)  the  minerals  sector  for  sulphur  oxides  (SOx), 
nitrogen  oxides  (NOx),  cadmium  (Cd),  arsenic  (As)  and 
polychlorinated  dibenzodioxins  and  polychlorinated 
dibenzofurans 
‘other  activities’ 
(intensive  rearing  of  poultry  or  pigs  and  surface 
treatment) for non-methane volatile organic compounds 
(NMVOCs)  and  particulate  matter 
(PM10).  The 
breakdown is shown in the following graph. 

(PCDD/F);  and 

(iii) 

Figure 16: Emissions to air from IED sectors and all oher 
national total air emissions, Latvia (2015) 

2019 priority action 

 

Take  action,  in  the  context  of  the  forthcoming 
national  air  pollution  control  programme,  to  reduce 
the main emission sources. 

Industrial emissions 

The  main objectives of EU policy on industrial emissions 
are to: 
(i) protect air, water and soil; 
(ii) prevent and manage waste; 
(iii) improve energy and resource efficiency; and  
(iv) clean up contaminated sites.  
To  achieve  this,  the  EU  takes  an  integrated  approach  to 
the  prevention  and  control  of  routine  and  accidental 
industrial emissions. The cornerstone of the policy is the 
Industrial Emissions Directive69 (IED). 

The  overview  below  on  industrial  activities  regulated  by 
the  IED  is  based  on  the  ‘industrial  emissions  policy 
country profiles’ project70. 

In  Latvia,  around  90  industrial  installations  are  required 
to have a permit under the IED71. In 2015, the industrial 
sectors in Latvia with the most IED installations were the 
intensive  rearing  of  poultry  or  pigs  (42 %),  followed  by 
the energy-power sector (19 %) and waste  management 
(19 %). 

68 EEA, EIONET Central Data Repository. Data reflects the reporting 
situation as of 26 November 2018. 
69 Directive 2010/75/EU covers industrial activities carried out above 
certain thresholds. It covers energy industry, metal production, mineral 
and chemical industry and waste management, as well as a wide range 
of industrial and agricultural sectors (e.g. intensive rearing of pig and 
poultry, pulp and paper production, painting and cleaning). 
70 European Commission, Industrial emissions policy country profile – 
Latvia.  
71 This overview of industrial activities regulated by IED is based on the 
project on Industrial Emissions policy Country profiles: Industrial 
emissions policy country profiles 

Regarding water emissions, the energy-power sector was 
identified  as  having  a  significant  environmental  burden 
due to its generation of non-hazardous waste. The waste 
management  sector  mainly  contributes  to  hazardous 
waste generation. 

The  EU  enforcement  approach  under  the  IED  creates 
strong  rights  for  citizens  to  have  access  to  relevant 
information and to participate in the permitting process. 

72 European Commission, Industrial emissions policy country profile – 
Latvia. 

16 

 
 
                                                                 
 
 
                                                                 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – Latvia 

This  empowers  NGOs  and  the  general  public  to  ensure 
that  permits  are  appropriately  granted  and  their 
conditions met. 

Best  available  techniques  (BAT)  reference  documents 
(BREFs)  and  BAT  conclusions  are  developed  through  the 
exchange  of 
information  between  Member  States, 
industrial  associations,  NGOs  and  the  Commission.  This 
ensures  a  good  collaboration  with  stakeholders  and  a 
better application of the IED rules. 

Thanks  to  the  national  competent  authorities’  efforts  to 
apply the legally binding BAT conclusions and associated 
BAT  emission  levels  in  environmental  permits,  pollution 
has decreased considerably and continuously in the EU. 

For  example,  by  applying  the  recently  adopted  BAT 
emission levels for large combustion plants, emissions of 
sulphur dioxide will be  cut  on average by between 25 % 
and  81 %,  nitrogen  oxide  between  8 %  and  56 %,  dust 
between 31 % and 78 % and mercury between 19 % and 
71 % at EU level. The extent of the reduction depends on 
the situation in individual plants. 

The challenges identified for Latvia were odour from the 
intensive  rearing  of  poultry  and  pigs  and  air  pollution 
from waste incineration. 

2019 priority actions 

  Review permits to ensure that they comply with new 

 

adopted BAT conclusions. 
Strengthen  control  and/or  enforcement  to  ensure 
compliance with the BAT conclusions. 

  Address pollution in the form of: (i) odour from the 
intensive  rearing  of  poultry  and  pigs;  and  (ii)  air 
pollution from waste incineration. 

Noise 

The  Environmental  Noise  Directive73  provides  for  a 
common  approach  to  avoiding,  preventing  and  reducing 
the harmful effects of exposure to environmental noise. 

Excessive noise from aircrafts, railways and roads is one 
of the main causes of health problems in the EU74. 

Based  on  a 
limited  set  of  data75,  the  European 
Environment Agency calculated that environmental noise 
causes at least around 20 premature deaths in Latvia and 
is  responsible  for  around  100  hospital  admissions  per 
year. Noise also disturbs the sleep of some 40 000 people 
in Latvia. 

The  noise  mapping  for  the  previous  reporting  round 

(reference  year  2011),  is  complete,  as  are  the  action 
plans  (reference  year  2013).  These  instruments  adopted 
after  consultation  of  a  relevant  public,  should  include 
measures to keep noise low or reduce it. It is for each EU 
country to establish the noise limits.  

These  instruments,  adopted  after  a  public  consultation 
had  been  carried  out,  should  include  measures  to  keep 
noise low or reduce it.  

Water quality and management 

EU  legislation  and  policy  requires  that  the  impact  of 
pressures  on  transitional,  coastal  and  fresh  waters 
(including  surface  and  ground  waters)  be  significantly 
reduced.  Achieving,  maintaining  or  enhancing  a  good 
status  of  water  bodies  as  defined  by  the  Water 
Framework Directive  will  ensure that EU citizens benefit 
from good quality and safe drinking and bathing water. It 
will  further  ensure  that  the  nutrient  cycle  (nitrogen  and 
phosphorus)  is  managed  in  a  more  sustainable  and 
resource-efficient way. 

The  existing  EU  water  legislation76  puts  in  place  a 
protective  framework  to  ensure  high  standards  for  all 
water  bodies  in  the  EU  and  addresses  specific  pollution 
sources  (for  example,  from  agriculture,  urban  areas  and 
industrial  activities).  It  also  requires  that  the  projected 
impacts  of  climate  change  are 
into  the 
integrated 
corresponding  planning 
instruments  e.g. Flood  Risk 
Management  Plans  and  River  Basin  Management  Plans, 
including  Programme  of  Measures  which  include  the 
actions  that  Member  States  plan  to  take  in  order  to 
achieve the environmental objectives. 

Water Framework Directive 

The  most  significant  pressures  on  surface  water  bodies 
in  Latvia  are  unknown  anthropogenic  pressures  (27%  of 
surface  water  bodies),  followed  by  urban  wastewater 
(22%)  and  physical  alteration  of  channels  and  dams, 
barriers and locks (15%).  

Nutrient  pollution  was  the  most  significant  impact  on 
surface water (47% of surface water bodies) followed by 
26%  with  an  unknown  impact  type  from  anthropogenic 
pressures  and  pressures  due  to  altered  habitats  due  to 
morphological changes (26%). 

Latvia has developed more assessment methods but the 
confidence  in  the  classification  of  ecological  status  or 
potential  of  rivers  and  lakes  has  deteriorated  since  the 
first river basin management plans. The ecological status 

73 Directive 2002/49/EC. 
74 Fritschi, L., Brown, A.L., Kim, R., Schwela, D., Kephalopoulos, S. (eds), 
Burden of disease from environmental noise, WHO/JRC, World Health 
Organization, Regional Office for Europe, Copenhagen, Denmark, 2011. 
75 EEA, Noise Fact Sheets 2017. 

76 This includes the Bathing Waters Directive (2006/7/EC), the Urban 
Waste Water Treatment Directive (91/271/EEC) (on discharges of 
municipal and some industrial wastewaters), the Drinking Water 
Directive (98/83/EC) (on potable water quality), the Water Framework 
Directive (2000/60/EC) (on water resources management), the Nitrates 
Directive (91/676/EEC) and the Floods Directive (2007/60/EC). 

17 

                                                                 
                                                                 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – Latvia 

or  potential  is  less  than  good  for  the  vast  majority  of 
water  bodies  in  rivers  (57-92  %)  and  lakes  (77-90  %)  as 
illustrated in Figure 17. This shows that Latvia has a long 
way  to  go  to  achieve  the  objectives  set  down  in  the 
Water Framework Directive. 

information  on  Latvia’s  bathing  waters 

there  was  no  bathing  water  of  poor  quality  in  Latvia 78. 
Detailed 
is 
available  on  a  national  portal 79  and  on  an  interactive 
map  viewer  designed  and  hosted  by  the  European 
Environment Agency 80. 

Figure 18: Bathing water quality 2014-2017 81 

The proportion of natural water bodies in good or better 
ecological status orpotential in 2015 is much lower (21 %) 
than  anticipated  in  the  first  plans  (almost  90  %).  It 
appears that the achievement of objectives is postponed 
from 2015 to 2021 or even 2027 for the vast majority of 
water bodies.  

Figure 17: Ecological status or potential of surface water 
bodies in Latvia77 

Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive  

There are more surface water bodies with good chemical 
status,  (up  from  6  to  10  %),  but  also  more  failing  to 
achieve good status (up from 0 to 5 %). There appear to 
be more monitoring sites but less surveillance. 

Groundwater  bodies  are  not  at  risk  of  failing  good 
quantitative  status  although  some  14%  are  not 
monitored for quantitative status. 

Significant  pressures  are  identified  in  the  second  river 
basin  management  plans  and  addressed  by  measures. 
Some  measures  have  been  completed  since  the  first 
programme  of  measures  but  obstacles  such  as 
governance  and  lack  of  finance  have  occurred  during 
implementation.  

Bathing Water Directive 

Figure 18  shows that  in 2017,  out  of Latvia’s 56  bathing 
waters,  91.1 %  were  of  excellent  quality,  3.6 %  of  good 
quality  and  0 %  of  sufficient  quality  (the  2016  figures 
were  82.1 %,  8.9 %  and  1.8 %  respectively).  In  2017, 

77 EEA, WISE dashboard. 

for 

found 

Treaty 

reaching 

the  Commission 

implementation  of 

the  Urban  Waste  Water 
On 
Treatment  Directive,  the  final  deadline  set  in  Latvia’s 
Accession 
compliance  was 
31 December  2015.  So  far,  the  Commission  has  checked 
Latvia’s  compliance  with  the  Accession  Treaty  deadlines 
of  2008  and  2011,  but  not  yet  those  of  2015.  On  that 
basis, 
that  a  number  of 
agglomerations  (i.e.  population  centres  or  places  of 
economic activity) that should have been compliant since 
2008  or  2011  are  still  non-compliant  and  launched  an 
infringement procedure against Latvia as it still does not 
ensure  that  waste  water  is  collected  and  treated  in 
larger 
the  Directive 
accordance  with 
agglomerations,  where  reliance  is  placed  on  individual 
systems  or  other  appropriate  systems,  such  as  septic 
tanks.  In  addition  to  that,  in  one  agglomeration  the 
Latvian  authorities  still  have  to  ensure  that  the  urban 
waste  water  entering  collecting  systems  is  subject  to 
appropriate treatment. 

14 

in 

The final deadline of end-2015 concerns an additional 52 
smaller agglomerations. 

The  estimated  investment  needed  to  ensure  adequate 
collection 
remaining 
of 
agglomerations is EUR 64 million82. 

treatment 

and 

the 

78 EEA, 2017. European bathing water quality in 2016 , p. 17. 
79 Ministry of Health of the Republic of Latvia, Health Inspectorate, 
Bathing water. 
80 EEA, State of bathing waters. 
81 European Environment Agency, 2018. European bathing water quality 
in 2017, p. 21. 

18 

 
                                                                 
 
                                                                 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – Latvia 

Floods Directive 

The  Floods  Directive  established  a  framework  for  the 
assessment and management of flood risks, aiming at the 
reduction  of  the  adverse  consequences  associated  with 
significant floods. 

Latvia  has  adopted  and  reported  its  first  flood  risk 
management  plans  under  the  Directive,  which  the 
European Commission has assessed.  

The  Commission’s  assessment  found  that  good  efforts 
were made with positive results in setting objectives and 
devising  measures  focusing  on  prevention,  protection 
and  preparedness.  The  assessment  also  showed  that,  as 
was the case for other Member States, Latvia’s Flood Risk 
Management  Plans  do  not  yet  include  a  strong  link 
between 
the  measures  and 
identification  of  specific  sources  of  funding.  In  addition, 
there 
change 
consideration  in  the  2nd  cycle  of  implementation  of  the 
Floods Directive and to apply cost-benefit analysis for the 
prioritisation of measures that lend themselves to this. 

the  objectives  and 

reinforcing 

climate 

scope 

for 

is 

2019 priority actions 

 

 

 

 

Complete  the  development  of  assessment  methods 
for all biological quality elements in accordance with 
the Water Framework Directive. 
Take steps to reinforce climate change consideration 
in the 2nd Flood Risk Management Plan  
Take steps to clarify the method for the prioritisation 
of  measures,  including  the  assessment  of  costs  and 
benefits  in  relation  to  the  Flood  Risk  Management 
Plan.  
Ensure  compliance  with  Urban  Waste  Water 
Directive in all agglomerations. 

Chemicals 

The  EU  seeks  to  ensure  that  by  2020  chemicals  are 
produced and used in ways that minimise any significant 
adverse  effects  on  human  health  and  the  environment. 
An  EU  strategy  for  a  non-toxic  environment  that  is 
conducive  to  innovation  and  to  developing  sustainable 
substitutes,  including  non-chemical  options,  is  being 
prepared. 

legislation83  provides  baseline 
The  EU’s  chemicals 
protection for human health and the environment. It also 
ensures  stability  and  predictability 
for  businesses 
operating within the internal market. 

(ECHA) 
In  2016,  the  European  Chemicals  Agency 
published  a  report  on  REACH  and  the  CLP84  Regulation 
that showed that enforcement activities are still evolving. 
Member  States  cooperate  closely  in  the  Forum  for 
Information  on  Enforcement85.  This 
Exchange  of 
dialogue  has  shown  that  there  is  scope  to  increase  the 
effectiveness  of  enforcement  activities,  in  particular  for 
registration obligations and safety data sheets where the 
level of non-compliance is still relatively high. 

While progress has been made, there is room to further 
improve  and  harmonise  national  enforcement  activities 
across  the  EU,  including  controls  on  imported  goods. 
Enforcement  remains  weak  in  some  Member  States, 
particularly  for  controls  on  imports  and  supply  chain 
obligations.  The  enforcement  architecture  is  complex  in 
most  EU  countries  and  enforcement  projects  reveal 
differences  in  compliance  between  Member  States  (e.g. 
some  tend  to  systematically  report  higher  compliance 
than  the  EU  average,  while  others  report 
lower 
compliance). 

A  2015  Commission  study  already  emphasised  the 
importance  of  harmonised  market  surveillance  and 
enforcement  when  implementing  REACH  at  Member 
State  level,  deeming  it  to  be  a  critical  success  factor  in 
the operation of a harmonised single market86. 

In March 2018, the Commission published an evaluation 
of  REACH87.  The  evaluation  concludes  that  REACH 
delivers  on  its  objectives,  but  that  progress  made  is 
slower  than  anticipated.  In  addition,  the  registration 
dossiers often are incomplete. The evaluation underlines 
the need to enhance enforcement by all actors, including 
in  particular  for 
registrants,  downstream  users  and 
importers,  to  ensure  a  level  playing  field,  meet  the 
objectives  of  REACH  and  ensure  consistency  with  the 
actions envisaged to improve environmental compliance 
and  governance.  Consistent  reporting  of  Member  State 
enforcement activities  was considered  important  in that 
respect. 

The  responsibility  for  REACH  enforcement  in  Latvia  is 
allocated  to  four  enforcing  authorities:  the  Health 
Inspectorate, the Consumer Rights Protection Centre, the 
State  Environmental  Service  and  the  State  Labour 
Inspectorate.  Responsibility  for  CLP  enforcement 
is 
allocated to three enforcement authorities — the Health 
Inspectorate,  the  State  Environmental  Service  and  the 
State  Labour 
for 
biocides  enforcement  is  allocated  to  five  enforcement 
Inspectorate,  the  State 
authorities  —  the  Health 
Environmental  Service,  the  State  Labour  Inspectorate, 

Inspectorate,  while  responsibility 

82 OECD, Financing investments in the water sector.  
83 Principally for chemicals: REACH (OJ L 396, 30.12.2006, p.1.); for 
Classification, Labelling and Packaging, the CLP Regulation (: OJ L 252, 
31.12.2006, p.1.), together with legislation on biocidal products and 
plant protection products. 

84 ECHA, Report on the Operation of REACH and CLP 2016. 
85 ECHA, On the basis of the projects REF-1, REF-2 and REF-3. 
86 European Commission, Monitoring the Impacts of REACH on 
Innovation, Competitiveness and SMEs, Final Report, 2015. 
87 COM(2018) 116. 

19 

                                                                                                        
                                                                 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – Latvia 

In  order 

the  Consumer  Rights  Protection  Centre,  and  the  Food 
and  Veterinary  Service88. 
to  promote 
cooperation  of  the  involved  authorities  in  the  field  of 
enforcement of REACH, CLP and biocides regulations, the 
Ministry  of  Environmental  Protection  and  Regional 
Development  has  organised 
for 
exchanging  information  and  sharing  experiences.  The 
responsibility  for  enforcement  of  requirements  on  plant 
protection products belongs to the State Plant Protection 
Service. 

regular  meetings 

Making cities more sustainable 

EU policy on the urban environment encourages cities to 
put  policies  in  place  for  sustainable  urban  planning  and 
design.  These  should  include  innovative  approaches  to 
urban  public 
sustainable 
buildings,  energy  efficiency  and  urban  biodiversity 
conservation. 

transport  and  mobility, 

living 

in  Europe 

in  urban  areas 

The  population 
is 
projected to rise to just over 80% by 205089. Urban areas 
pose  particular  challenges  for  the  environment  and 
human  health,  but  they  also  provide  opportunities  for 
using  resources  more  efficiently.  The  EU  encourages 
municipalities to become greener through initiatives such 
as the Green Capital Award90, the Green Leaf Award 91 
and the Green City Tool 92. 

Financing greener cities 

Latvia  has  assigned  EUR 230  million,  or  9.5 %  of  its 
allocation  under  the  European  Regional  Development 
Fund 
sustainable  urban  development 
actions)93 94.  Nine  Latvian  cities  are  to  receive  these 
funds. 

(ERDF 

for 

is 

responsible 

the  EU.  The  network 

Latvia  participates  in  the  European  Urban  Development 
Network  (UDN95),  which  includes  more  than  500  cities 
for 
across 
implementing  integrated  actions  based  on  sustainable 
urban  development  strategies  financed  by  ERDF  in  the 
2014-2020  period. 
In  June  2018,  a  workshop  was 
organised  in  Latvia  in  the  context  of  the  network.  The 
workshop  was  open  to  cities  in  Estonia,  Latvia  and 
Lithuania  implementing  sustainable  urban  development, 
to  organisations  active  in  urban  development  in  these 
countries as well as to managing authorities. The aim of 
the  event  was  to  exchange  ideas  and  find  solutions  to 

88 ECHA, National Inspectorates - Latvia. 
89 European Commission, Eurostat, Urban Europe, 2016, p.9. 
90 European Commission, European Green Capital. 
91 European Commission, European Green Leaf Award. 
92 European Commission, Green City Tool. 
93 European Commission, Latvian Operational Programme 2014-2020. 
94 Partnership Agreement with Latvia 2014-2020. 
95 European Commission, The Urban Development Network. 

20 

common challenges in sustainable urban development in 
the cities of the Baltic States. 

Participation in EU urban initiatives and networks 

in  EU 
Latvian  municipalities  are  generally 
initiatives  on  environment  protection  and  climate 
change. 

involved 

initiative 

A  total  of  six  Latvian  municipalities  are  involved  in  the 
sustainable  urban 
URBACT 
development, through 14 different thematic networks96. 
None  of  these  networks  are  currently  led  by  Latvian 
cities. 

support 

to 

Several  Horizon  2020  network  projects  have  also 
contributed  to  the  sustainability  of  Latvian  cities.  The 
CIVITAS  project  includes  the  Riga  municipality,  which 
represents Latvia  in a  common effort  to achieve cleaner 
and better transport in cities97. 

Three  projects 
in  Latvia  are  supported  through  EU 
regional policy programmes. These are: the Baltic Biogas 
Bus  project  to  increase  biogas  use  in  city  buses,  the  ‘A 
breath  of  fresh  air  for  Baltic  arts  and  crafts’  project  and 
the 
cultural, 
educational and recreational space’ project. 

‘Spikeri  quarter 

transformed 

into 

Some 21 Latvian towns and cities are involved in the EU 
Covenant  of  Mayors  under  the  coordination  of  the 
Latvian  Environmental  Investment  Fund98.  As  of  July 
2018, Jelgava, Jēkabpils, Jūrmala, Liepāja and Livani have 
already implemented their action plans and their results 
are  being  monitored.  The  remaining  towns  and  cities 
have  at  least  presented  their  climate  action  plan  and 
commitments to be implemented by 2020 or 203099. 

initiatives  and  networks  should  be 
These  urban 
welcomed and encouraged, as they contribute to a better 
urban  environment. 
In  2017,  21 %  of  the  Latvian 
population  living  in  urban  areas  considered  that  their 
residential area was affected by pollution, grime or other 
environmental  problems,  a  more  or  less  stable  figure 

96 URBACT, Associated Networks by country. 
97 European Commission, Horizon 2020 Civitas Project. 
98 Convent of Mayors. 
99 Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy, Country signatories. 

                                                                 
                                                                 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – Latvia 

compared  to  previous  years:  2016  (23.4 %)  and  2015 
(22.6%). These figures are slightly higher than the EU-28 
averages  for  the  same  years  (20 %  in  2017,  18.9 %  in 
2016 and 19.2 % in 2015100). 

Nine municipalities in Latvia and Lithuania came together 
to  jointly  implement  the  motto  ‘Let’s  make  our  cities 
greener’.  The  project  focuses  on  urban  areas  and 
improving their green infrastructure. Great emphasis was 
placed  on  collaboration  between  architects  and  city 
planners in both countries, trying to find the best way to 
balance the aesthetics, ecology and functionality of green 
areas101. 

Nature and cities 

More than 12 % of the Natura 2000 network in Latvia is 
found in urban areas102. This is close to the EU average 
of 15 % (see Figure 19). 

Figure  19:  Proportion  of  Natura  2000  network 
Functional Urban Areas (FUA) 103 

in 

There  are  currently  few  plans  or  activities  in  Latvia 
directly  relating  to  green 
infrastructure,  e.g.  flood 
management  in  cities  and  Natura  2000  development. 
However, there is high potential for green infrastructure 
to  be 
further  developed  through  several  existing 
programmes and policy areas. 

A  2016  study  on  green  infrastructure 104  identified 
specific challenges for Latvia in this area. These were: (i) 
the  lack  of  a  general  strategic  framework  for  green 
infrastructure  policy  development;  and  (ii)  the  lack  of 
know-how  and  awareness  (especially  at  municipal  level) 
and of public participation. 

Latvia has a relatively high density of green infrastructure 
natural areas compared to other EU Member States. The 
current  Latvian  Natura  2000  network  has  333  sites 
(including  seven  marine  areas),  with  terrestrial  Natura 
2000 sites occupying 12 %, or 787 729 ha, of the national 

100 European Commission, Eurostat, Pollution, grime or other 
environmental problems by degree of urbanisation. 
101 Biodiversity Information system for Europe: Latvia. 
102 European Commission, Eurostat, Definition of Functional Urban 
Areas. 
103 European Commission, the 7th Report on Economic, Social and 
Territorial Cohesion, 2017, p. 121. 
104 European Commission, Green Infrastructure in Latvia. 

territory. This is the third-lowest coverage of Natura 2000 
areas in the EU.  

Several  ‘nature-cities’  projects  can  be  cited  as  best 
practices.  These  are:  (i)  ‘Protection  and  management  of 
‘Protected  green 
coastal  habitats 
infrastructure  and  water  bodies  in  the  Zemgale  Region 
and northern Lithuania’105. 

in  Latvia’; 

(ii) 

Urban sprawl 

Latvia  had  a  low  weighted  urban  proliferation  (WUP), 
with  0.93  UPU/m2  in  2009,  compared  to  a  European 
average  (EU-28+EEA-4)  of  1.64  UPU/m2.  The  figure 
remained  relatively  stable  compared  to  2006  (0.9 
UPU/m2)106107. 
Traffic congestion and urban mobility 

Traffic  congestion  is  not  one  of  the  main  environmental 
issues affecting Latvia. In 2016 the total number of road 
vehicles in Latvia was around 664 000, while 21.31 hours 
were  spent  by  the  average  driver  in  road  congestion  in 
Latvia108.  Latvian  cities  generally  have  low  levels  of 
from  Riga  which  has  a 
traffic  congestion,  apart 
congestion level of 23 %109. 

105 European Commission, Green Infrastructure in Latvia. 
106 EEA, Urban Sprawl in Europe, Annex I, 2014, pp.4-5. 
107 Urban Permeation Units measure the size of the built-up area as 
well as its degree of dispersion throughout the region. 
108 Hours spent in road congestion annually. 
109 TOMTOM, TOMTOM Traffic Index. 

21 

 
                                                                 
 
                                                                 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – Latvia 

Part II: Enabling framework: implementation tools 

4. 

Green taxation, green public procurement, environmental funding and 

investments 

Green  taxation  and  environmentally  harmful 
subsidies 

incentives, 

Financial 
taxation  and  other  economic 
instruments  are  effective  and  efficient  ways  to  meet 
environmental  policy  objectives.  The  circular  economy 
action  plan  encourages  their  use.  Environmentally 
harmful  subsidies  are  monitored  in  the  context  of  the 
European  Semester  and  the  energy  union  governance 
process. 

materials114.  However,  elsewhere  in  the  waste  sector 
taxes  need  to  be  increased  (e.g.  landfill  taxes),  as 
described earlier. 

Figure  20:  Environmental  tax  revenues  as  %  of  GDP 
(2017)115 

Latvia’s  revenue  from  environmentally  relevant  taxes 
remains higher than the EU average. Environmental taxes 
accounted  for  3.48 %  of  GDP  in  2017  (EU-28  average: 
2.4 %)  (Figure  20),  and  energy  taxes  for  2.97 %  of  GDP 
(EU average 1.84 %110). In the same year, environmental 
tax revenues were 11.11 % of total revenues  from taxes 
contributions,  a  proportion 
and 
considerably higher than the EU-28 average of 5.97 %. 

security 

social 

The structure of taxation shows a share of revenues from 
labour  tax  in  total  tax  revenues  in  line  with  the  EU 
average,  with  45.6 %  in  2016,  while  the  implicit  tax 
burden  on  labour  was  29.8 % 111.  Consumption  taxes 
remained  relatively  high  (42.8 %,  3rd  highest  in  the  EU-
28),  pointing  to  limited  potential  for  shifting  taxes  from 
labour to consumption. 

The  Commission  has  repeatedly  stated  during 
its 
‘European  Semester’  economic  surveillance  process  that 
there is potential to change the Latvia’s taxation system. 
The  country  report  on  Latvia  for  2018  stated  that  the 
government planned to further increase excise duties on 
fuels112.  There  has  indeed  been  a  further  increase  in 
excise  duty  on  oil  products  used  as  fuel  from  1 January 
2018 and another is planned from 1 January 2020113. 

There  are  several  instances  of  Latvia  taking  sound  tax 
measures to benefit the environment. A good example is 
is  an  all-inclusive  natural 
the  packaging  tax,  which 
resource  tax.  The  packaging  tax  is  the  main  economic 
instrument  used  to  stimulate  lower  consumption  of 
packaging  materials  and  greater  recovery  of  such 

Meanwhile,  fossil  fuel  subsidies  have  increased  in  the 
past  decade,  mainly  due  to  the  expansion  of  payments 
for  cogeneration  plants  using  natural  gas.  Several  tax 
exemptions remain in place in Latvia for the use of fossil 
fuels 
from  sectors  such  as  agricultural  transport, 
importation  of  own  consumption  oil  products,  heating, 
industry,  domestic  shipping  and  poultry  breeding116. 
These  exceptions  amounted  to  EUR 70  million  in  2016, 
and  the  budgetary  transfers  and  subsidies  amounted  to 
over EUR 117 million. 

110 European Commission Eurostat, Environmental tax revenues, 2018. 
111 European Commission, Taxation Trends Report, 2017. 
112 European Commission, European Semester Country Report 2018, p. 
20. 
113 European Commission, Taxation Trends in the European Union, 
2018, p.110. 

114 Institute for European Environmental Policy, Case Studies on 
Environmental Fiscal Reform, Packaging tax in Latvia. 
115 European Commission, Eurostat, Environmental tax revenues, 
2019. 
116 OECD, Inventory of Support Measures for Fossil Fuels, 2018. 

22 

 
                                                                 
 
                                                                 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – Latvia 

No  progress  has  been  made  on  reducing  the  ‘diesel 
differential’  (i.e.  the  difference  in  taxing  diesel  and 
petrol)  since  2005.  In  2016  there  was  still  a  27 %  gap 
between  petrol  and  diesel  tax  rates,  up  from  17 %  in 
2005117.  The  tax  treatment  for  company  cars  is  also  a 
cause  for  concern118  new  tax  measures  have  been 
introduced for this type of car in 2018119. 

GDP).  A  substantial  proportion  of  this  money  goes  to 
sectors  with  a  high  environmental 
impact  such  as 
construction  or  transport.  Therefore,  green  public 
procurement  (GPP)  can  help  to  significantly  lower  the 
negative  impact  of  public  spending  on  the  environment 
and  can  help  support  sustainable  innovative  businesses. 
The Commission has proposed EU GPP criteria124. 

CO2-based  motor  vehicle  taxes  are  in  place.  Rates  vary 
from  EUR 12  for  vehicles  emitting  between  51  and 
95 g/km  to  EUR 756  for  vehicles  emitting  more  than 
350 g/km120. 

Incentives to encourage the purchase of cars with lower 
CO2  emissions  were  common  in  2016,  linked  to  annual 
circulation  taxes,  road  tolls  and  congestion  or 
low 
emission  zone  charges,  as  well  as  the  acquisition  of 
cleaner  vehicles.  There  are  no  incentives  connected  to 
(i.e. 
the  preferential  use  of  public 
installations  of  refuelling  and  charging  facilities  for  low 
emission  vehicles121).  New  vehicles  purchased  in  Latvia 
are  among  the  least  environmentally  friendly  in  the  EU, 
with  average  CO2  emissions  of  128.9  grams  per 
kilometre,  above  the  EU  average  of  118  grams 
in 
2016122. 

infrastructure 

The use of alternative fuels in new passenger cars sold in 
Latvia  has  considerably  decreased  over  the  past  few 
years.  The  proportion  of  new  passenger  cars  using 
alternative  fuels  in  2016  was  only  20 %  of  that  in  2013. 
Most  of  these  vehicles  are  electric  vehicles.  This  is 
particularly  noteworthy  when  one  considers  that  Latvia 
has particularly high CO2 emissions from its passenger car 
fleet123. 

As  mentioned  in  the  2017  EIR,  Latvia  has  its  2015-2017 
in  place.  Since 
green  procurement  promotion  plan 
October  2014, 
the  application  of  green  public 
procurement criteria is mandatory in Latvia for procuring 
food  supply  and  catering  services  in  state  and  local 
government institutions. The current regulation (in force 
since  1 July  2017)  extends  the  scope  of  mandatory 
application to additional six product groups and services, 
namely: copying and graphic paper, office IT equipment, 
office  furniture,  food  and  catering  services,  cleaning 
products and services, indoor lighting, street lighting and 
traffic signals. At the same time, the Regulation sets the 
GPP requirements and criteria for the groups of products, 
services and works, where GPP application is voluntary. 

Public procurement in Latvia accounts for 20 % of GDP. In 
turn,  green  public  procurement 
in  financial  terms 
reached  19 %  from  all  public  procurements  in  2015,  but 
decreased to 13-14 % in 2016 and 2017 respectively. The 
statistics  on  GPP  are  collected  each  year  by  the 
Procurement  Monitoring Bureau. The proportion of  GPP 
is  highly  dependent  on  common  procurement  contracts 
for projects financed by EU financial instruments125. 

A  European  Parliament  study  shows  that  Latvia  has 
partially implemented the GPP national action plan126. 

Green public procurement 

Environmental funding and investments 

The  EU  green  public  procurement  policies  encourage 
Member  States  to  take  further  steps  to  apply  green 
procurement  criteria  to  at  least  50 %  of  public  tenders. 
The European Commission is helping to increase the use 
of  public  procurement  as  a  strategic  tool  to  support 
environmental protection. 

The purchasing power of public procurement amounts to 
around  EUR 1.8  trillion  in  the  EU  (approximately  14%  of 

European  Structural  and  Investment  Fund  (ESIF)  rules 
oblige  Member  States  to  promote  environment  and 
climate  in  their  funding  strategies  and  programmes  for 
economic, 
rural 
development and maritime policy. 

social  and 

territorial 

cohesion, 

Achieving  sustainability  involves  mobilising  public  and 
private  financing  sources127.  Use  of  the  European 
Structural  and  Investment  Funds  (ESIFs)128  is  essential  if 

117 EEA, Environmental taxation and EU environmental policies, 2017, 
p.27. 
118 European Commission, Taxation of commercial cars in Belgium, 
2017, p.3, graph 1 has Latvia with a low imputation rate for calculating 
taxable benefit-in-kind. 
119 FleetEurope, Major changes to company car taxation in Europe. 
120 ACEA, CO2 based motor vehicle taxes in Europe. 
121 EEA, Appropriate taxes and incentives do affect purchases of new 
cars, 18 May 2018. 
122 EEA, Average CO2 emissions from new passenger cars sold in EU-28 
Member States plus Norway, Iceland and Switzerland in 2016. 
123 European Commission, Transport in the European Union Current 
Trends and Issues, 2018, pp.27-28. 

124 In the Communication ‘Public procurement for a better 
environment’ (COM(2008) 400) the Commission recommended the 
creation of a process for setting common GPP criteria. The basic 
concept of GPP relies on having clear, verifiable, justifiable and 
ambitious environmental criteria for products and services, based on a 
life-cycle approach and scientific evidence base. 
125 The Ministry of Environmental Protection and Regional 
Development, Promoting Green Public Procurement. 
126 European Parliament, Green Public Procurement and the Action 
Plan for the Circular Economy, 2017, pp. 79-80. 
127 See, for example, Action plan on financing sustainable growth 
(COM(2018) 97).  
128 i.e. the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), the Cohesion 
Fund (CF), the European Social Fund (ESF), the European Agricultural 

23 

                                                                 
                                                                 
 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – Latvia 

million EUR from the CF for environment protection)133. 
In  addition,  around  10 %  of  the  ERDF  budget  is  being 
used for sustainable urban development. 

in 

additional 

The  ERDF  and  CF  are  supporting  projects  such  as:  (i) 
improved  waste 
investment 
management  capacity;  (ii)  additional  population  served 
by improved wastewater treatment; (iii) flood protection 
measures;  (iv)  rehabilitation  of  land;  and  (v)  habitats 
conservation 134. 

and 

Figure 21: ESIF 2014-2020 – EU allocation by theme, 
Latvia (EUR billion)135 

these 

countries  are  to  achieve  their  environmental  goals  and 
into  other  policy  areas.  Other 
integrate 
instruments 
LIFE 
as  Horizon 
programme129  and  the  European  Fund  for  Strategic 
(EFSI)130  may 
the 
Investments 
implementation and spread of good practices. 

support 

2020, 

such 

also 

the 

European Structural and Investment Funds 2014-2020 

regional  operational 
Through  seven  national  and 
programmes,  Latvia  has  been  allocated  EUR 5.63  billion 
from ESIFs over the period 2014-2020. With a  minimum 
national  contribution  of  EUR 1.27  billion,  a  total  budget 
of  EUR 6.9  billion  is  to  be  invested  in  areas  such  as 
creating 
innovation, 
protecting  the  environment  and  supporting  social 
inclusion131.  

jobs  and  growth,  promoting 

A  vital  part  of  ensuring  successful  and  efficient 
investment  of  EU  funds  is  the  administrative  capacity  in 
Member  States,  including  human  resources,  relevant 
knowledge and skills, systems and tools. The importance 
of  administrative  capacity  is  given  appropriate  attention 
in  Latvia.  For  example,  in  2015  a  seminar  on  anti-fraud 
and  anti-corruption  measures  relating  to  ESIFs  was 
organised  in  Riga,  while  in  2017  Latvian  representatives 
participated  in  an  Integrity  Pact  stakeholder  event  in 
Bucharest.  Latvia  also  actively  participates 
in  TAIEX 
REGIO  peer-to-peer  events.  Since  2015,  seven  Latvian 
experts have participated in six events and provided their 
expertise to other Member States in nine events132. 

Cohesion policy 

For  2014-2020,  Latvia  has  been  allocated  around 
EUR 4.51  billion  in  total  cohesion  policy  funding.  The 
funding breaks down as follows: 

- 

- 

- 

- 

EUR 3.04  billion  from  the  ERDF  and  the  ESF  for  less 
developed regions (the entire country is classified as 
a less developed region); 

EUR 1.35 billion through the Cohesion Fund; 

EUR 93.6  million 
Cooperation; 

for 

European 

Territorial 

The EU  funds for the 2007-2013 period  were fully  spent 
136  by  Latvia.  It  was  one  of  four  Member  States  that 
benefited  most  from  cohesion  policy  funds  in  terms  of 
per 
to  direct  environmental 
capita 
investments137. 

allocations 

EUR 29 million for the Youth Employment Initiative. 

Rural Development 

The  ERDF  allocation  for  the  low  carbon  economy  is 
EUR 286  million,  along  with  a  contribution  of  EUR 65 
million  to  climate  adaptation  and  EUR 367  million  for 
environmental  measures  (as  well  as  allocation  of  190 

Between 2014 and 2020 Latvia will also receive 1.1 billion 
from  EU  sources  for  rural  development.  The  budget  for 
represents 
the  agri-environmental/climate  measure 

Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) and the European Maritime and 
Fisheries Fund (EMFF). The ERDF, the CF and the ESF are referred to as 
the ‘cohesion policy funds’. 
129 European Commission, LIFE programme. 
130 European Investment Bank, European Fund for Strategic 
Investments, 2016. 
131 European Commission, European Structural and Investment Funds 
(Country factsheet Latvia), 2017. 
132 TAIEX REGIO PEER 2 PEER. 

133 European Commission, Partnership agreement with Latvia, 2014-
2020. 
134 European Commission, European Structural and Investment Funds, 
Country Data for Latvia. 
135 European Commission, European Structural and Investment Funds, 
Data By Country. 
136 European Commission, European Structural and Investment Funds, 
SF 2007-2013 Funds Absorption Rate, 2018. 
137 European Commission, COWI-MILIEU, Study on the integration of 
environmental concerns in the Cohesion Policy funds (ERDF, ESF, CF), 
2017, p.246. 

24 

                                                                                                        
 
                                                                 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – Latvia 

to  Natura  2000  and 

6.62 %  of  the  total  allocation,  while  the  measure  on 
natural constraints takes up 13.34 %, with approximately 
0.3 %  allocated 
the  Water 
Framework  Directive.  Latvia  has  recently  focused  on 
in 
afforestation,  specifically  supporting  afforestation 
areas  of  low  fertility  and  unused  areas  (e.g.  depleted 
quarries,  sandy  areas).  Improvements  have  also  been 
made in relation to beekeeping and beehives. 

European Maritime and Fisheries Fund 

Latvia receives around EUR 184 million in co-financing for 
the fisheries and maritime sector, with a EU contribution 
of  EUR 139  million138.  Latvia’s  operational  programme 
also  includes  environmental  aspects  such  as  promoting 
environmentally 
efficient, 
innovative,  competitive  and  knowledge-based  fisheries 
(planned  funding:  EUR 41.9  million)  and  aquaculture 
(planned funding EUR 46.3 million). 

sustainable, 

resource 

The Connecting Europe Facility 

The Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) is a key EU funding 
instrument  developed  specifically  to  direct  investment 
into European transport, energy and digital infrastructure 
to  address  identified  missing  links  and  bottlenecks  and 
promote sustainability. 

By the end of 2017, under the Connecting Europe Facility 
Latvia  had  signed  agreements  worth  EUR 266.8  million 
covering  10  transport  projects  and  EUR 177.4  million 
covering 7 energy projects139 140. 

Horizon 2020 

Latvia has benefited from Horizon 2020 funding since the 
programme  started  in  2014.  As  of  January  2019,  117 
participants  have  been  granted  a  maximum  amount  of 
EUR 18.7 million for projects from the Societal Challenges 
work 
environmental 
issues141 142.  

dealing  with 

programmes 

biodiversity-related  actions  (3.1 %  of  the  Horizon  2020 
contribution to the country)143. 

LIFE programme 

they 

total 

represent  a 

Since  1992,  when  the  LIFE  programme  was  launched,  a 
total  of  46  projects  have  been  co-financed  in  Latvia144. 
Altogether 
investment  of 
EUR 53 million,  of  which  EUR 33  million  came  from  the 
EU. Of these projects, 14 projects funded under the LIFE 
‘environment  and  resource  efficiency  priority’  have 
covered  a  wide  range  of  themes,  such  as  coastal 
protection,  noise  pollution  abatement  and  sustainable 
tourism.  Another  28  projects  funded  under  LIFE  ‘nature 
and  biodiversity  priority’  focused  on  the  conservation, 
restoration  and  management  of  habitats,  and  on  the 
conservation  of  species  (priority  beetle  species  and 
protected  bird  species  in  the  ‘Adazi’  Natura  2000  site, 
and  the  lesser  spotted  eagle).  One  project,  focusing  on 
the  sustainable  and  responsible  management  and  reuse 
of  degraded  peatlands  in  Latvia,  is  supported  under  the 
LIFE  climate  change  mitigation  and  LIFE  climate  change 
adaptation priorities. 

European Investment Bank 

EIB loans in Latvia amounted to nearly EUR 443.5 million 
from  2013  to  2017.  In  2018  the  EIB  Group145  loaned 
Latvian  businesses  and  public 
institutions  EUR 18.4 
million,  as  shown  in  Figure  22.  Of  this  amount,  around 
EUR 14  million  (76%)  went  directly  to  environment-
related projects146. 

Figure 22: EIB Loans to Latvia in 2018147 

In  addition  to  the  abovementioned  work  programmes, 
climate and biodiversity expenditure is present across the 
entire  Horizon  2020.  In  Latvia,  projects  accepted  for 
funding  in  all  Horizon  2020  working  programmes  until 
December  2018  included  EUR  18  million  destined  to 
climate  action  (32.6 %  of  the  total  Horizon  2020 
contribution  to  the  country)  and  EUR  2  million  for 

138 European Commission, Press release, 2014. 
139 European Commission, CONNECTING EUROPE FACILITY (CEF) – 
Transport grants 2014-2017. 
140 European Commission, CEF-energy, Latvia. 
141 European Commission own calculations based on CORDA (COmmon 
Research DAta Warehouse). A maximum grant amount is the maximum 
grant amount decided by the Commission. It normally corresponds to 
the requested grant, but it may be lower. 
142 i.e. (ii) Food security, sustainable agriculture and forestry, marine 
and maritime and inland water research and the bioeconomy; (iii) 
Secure, clean and efficient energy; (iv) Smart, green and integrated 
transport; and (v) Climate action, environment, resource efficiency and 
raw materials. 

European Fund for Strategic Investments 

The European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI) is an 
initiative to help overcome the current investment gap in 
the  EU  and  boost  economic  growth.  The  EFSI  has 
mobilised    EUR 229  million  in  Latvia  as  of  January  2019, 
and  the  secondary  investment  triggered  by  the  funds  is 

143 European Commission own calculations based on CORDA (COmmon 
Research DAta Warehouse). 
144 European Commission, LIFE in Latvia, 2017. 
145 The EIB Group includes EIB and EFSI investments and loans. 
146 EIB, Latvia and the EIB, 2018. 
147 EIB, Latvia and the EIB, 2018. 

25 

                                                                 
 
                                                                 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – Latvia 

expected  to  amount  to  EUR 960  million148.  No  specific 
projects  have  been  launched  in  the  environment  sector 
so far. 

National environmental financing 

Latvia  spent  EUR 134.7  million  on  environmental 
protection as general government expenditure in 2016, a 
decrease  of  17 %  from  2015.  64 %  of  these  payments 
were  allocated  to  waste  management  activities  (EU 
average:  49.7 %),  with  EUR 8.4  million  going 
to 
wastewater  management  (6 %  of  total)  and  EUR 23.5 
million  to  pollution  abatement  (17 %  of  total).  4.6 %  of 
environmental  expenditure  was  allocated  to  protection 
of biodiversity and landscape (EUR 6.2 million). Between 
funding 
2012  and  2016  general  government 
for 
environmental  protection 
to  EUR 769 
million149. 

amounted 

Part  of  the  national  funding 
is  operated  by  the 
Administration  of  Latvian  Environmental  Protection 
Fund150.  The  fund  promotes  sustainable  economic 
development  by  integrating  environmental  protection 
into  all  sectors  of  the  economy  and  taking  action  to 
conserve biodiversity and protect ecosystems151. 

In  addition,  local  municipalities  are  also  required  to 
reinvest their income from natural resource tax revenues 
to invest in the environmental protection. In this context, 
the  Riga  municipality  has  established 
its  own 
environmental fund152. 

As  it  has  been  mentioned  in  the  report,  one  of  the 
challenges  for  Latvia  is  to  ensure  that  environmental 
financing remains at an adequate level. Existent financial 
in  areas  such  as  water  quality  and  waste 
gaps 
management are delaying the correct implementation of 
EU  environmental  law  and  policies.  Therefore,  ensuring 
financial  resources  to  reduce  the  implementation  gap 
should be considered as a priority for the country. 

2019 priority actions 

 

 

Take steps to identify sources of funding to facilitate 
the 
implementation  of  the  Water  Framework 
Directive objectives. 
Prepare  for  the  next  financing  period  2021-2027  to 
ensure  the  sufficient  funding  for  implementation  of 
environment  protection,  particularly  in  the  areas  of 
waste and water. 

148 European Investment Bank, EFSI project map. 
149 European Commission, Eurostat, General Government Expenditure 
by function, 2018. 
150 The State Enterprise ‘’Latvian Environmental Investment Fund’’. 
151 Latvian Environmental Protection Fund Law. 
152 Riga environmental protection fund. 

26 

 
                                                                 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – Latvia 

5. 

Strengthening environmental governance 

Information, public participation and access to 
justice 

Citizens  can  more  effectively  protect  the  environment  if 
they  can  rely  on  the  three  ‘pillars’  of  the  Aarhus 
Convention:  
(i) access to information;  
(ii) public participation in decision making; and  
(iii) access to justice in environmental matters.  

It is of crucial importance to public authorities, the public 
and  business  that  environmental  information  is  shared 
efficiently  and  effectively153.  Public  participation  allows 
authorities  to  make  decisions  that  take  public  concerns 
into account. Access to justice is a set of guarantees that 
allows  citizens  and  NGOs  to  use  national  courts  to 
protect the environment154. It includes the right to bring 
legal challenges (‘legal standing’)155. 

Environmental information 

information  (e.g.  on 

Latvia has a mixed system for the active dissemination of 
environmental  data.  The  Ministry  of  Environmental 
Protection  and  Regional  Development  has  a  website156 
in  which  all  domains  are  mentioned,  but  for  some  of 
industrial 
those  domains  the 
emissions)  is  limited  and  out  of  date.  For  water,  air, 
waste  and  chemicals  the  website  of  the  Latvian 
Environmental, Geological and Meteorological Centre157 
also  provides  information  and  data.  Sometimes  links 
between  the  two  sites  are  provided.  For  biodiversity, 
most  content  was  easily  found  via  the  Ministry’s  main 
environmental  site.  For  other  domains  it  was  more 
difficult to find content. A lot of items are difficult to find, 
but  most  of  the  the  information  is  easily  and  openly 
accessible,  and  free  of  charge.  In  addition,  the  site’s 
usability  can  be  further  improved.  Information  was  not 
always available on the main site, but on other sites, and 
these were often not properly linked. 

153 The Aarhus Convention, the Access to Environmental Information 
Directive, 2003/4/EC and the INSPIRE Directive, 2007/2 together create 
a legal foundation for the sharing of environmental information 
between public authorities and with the public. This EIR focuses on 
INSPIRE. 
154 The guarantees are explained in Commission Notice on access to 
justice in environmental matters, OJL 275, 18.8.2017 and a related 
Citizen’s Guide. 
155 This EIR looks at how well Member States explain access to justice 
rights to the public, and at legal standing and other major barriers to 
bringing cases on nature and air pollution. 
156 The Ministry of Environmental Protection and Regional 
Development. 
157 State Ltd "Latvian Environment, Geology and Meteorology Centre". 

the  most 

report158  and 

implementing  the 

INSPIRE 
Latvia’s  performance  on 
Directive  leaves  room  for  improvement.  The  country’s 
performance  has  been  reviewed  based  on  its  2016 
implementation 
recent 
monitoring data from 2017159. Latvia has achieved good 
progress  and 
implementation  for  coordination,  data 
identification,  documentation  of  data  and  data  sharing 
and  reuse.  However,  additional  efforts  are  needed  to 
make  the  data  accessible  through  services  and  to 
prioritise  environmental  datasets  in  implementation,  in 
particular those identified as high-value spatial data sets 
for the implementation of environmental legislation160. 

Figure  23:  Access  to  spatial  data  through  view  and 
download services in Latvia (2017)  

Public participation 

In  Latvia,  public  participation  is  provided  for  by  several 
legal  acts,  in  particular  the  Environmental  Protection 
Law,  the  Law  on  Pollution,  the  Law  on  Environmental 
the  Spatial  Development 
Impact  Assessment  and 
Planning  Law.  Moreover,  several  cabinet  of  ministers 
regulations complement these laws. 

All draft  planning documents161 and draft  legal acts162 
are listed on the web site of the Ministry of Environment, 
where they can be commented on. Another body aiding 
more  efficient  participation  in  environmental  decision-
making  is  the  Environmental  Consultancy  Board163, 
consisting  of  20  annually  elected  environmental  NGO 
representatives.  Public  participation  in  environmental 
impact  assessment  (EIA)  and  strategic  environmental 
is  facilitated  by  the  Ministry  of 
assessment  (SEA) 

158 European Commission, INSPIRE LV country sheet 2017. 
159 INSPIRE monitoring dashboard. 
160 European Commission, List of high value spatial data sets 
161 The Ministry of Environmental Protection and Regional 
Development. 
162 The Ministry of Environmental Protection and Regional 
Development. 
163 The Ministry of Environmental Protection and Regional 
Development. 

27 

 
 
                                                                 
 
                                                                 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – Latvia 

other  kind  of  legal  dispute,  claimants  must  prove  that 
their  own  individual  rights  have  been  infringed  in  order 
to be entitled to lodge a complaint or appeal before the 
court. 

Administrative  procedures  in  institutions  are  free  of 
charge. However, claimants submitting an appeal before 
the  administrative  court  should  take  account  of  state 
fees. According to Administrative Procedure Law (Article 
128(3)),  the  court,  taking  into  account  the  financial 
situation  of  an  individual,  may  decrease  the  amount  of 
the  fee  or  exempt  that  person  from  paying  it.  Both  in 
administrative  and  court  procedures  claimants  have  to 
cover  their  own  expenses,  including  the  fees  of  legal 
advisers and experts. 

If  an  appeal  against  an  administrative  decision  or 
omission is successful fully or in part, the court will order 
the defendant (the State or a municipality) to reimburse 
the  fee  to  the  claimant.  If  the  appeal  has  not  been 
successful, the claimant will not recover the fee paid. The 
same  principle  applies  to  deposit  payments.  The  court’s 
decision  to  order  reimbursement  of  expenses  does  not 
cover  other  kinds  of  expenses.  Therefore,  any  other 
expenses  (except  state  fees  and  deposit  payments) 
incurred by the participants are not recovered. However, 
is 
if  the  appeal  against  the  administrative  decision 
successful,  the  claimant  may  seek  to  recover  from  the 
defendant  all  damages  caused  by  the  unlawful  decision, 
and this may include previous payments to a legal adviser 
or experts. Fees for lawyers and experts can be high and 
only an individual can claim these fees back if the appeal 
is  successful.  Therefore,  ensuring  the  necessary  funding 
in such cases could be complicated for NGOs. 

2019 priority actions 

 

Improve  access  to  spatial  data  and  services  by 
making  stronger 
linkages  between  the  country 
INSPIRE  portals  ,  identify  and  document  all  spatial 
datasets  required  to  implement  environmental  law, 
and  make  the  data  and  documentation  at  least 
accessible  'as  is'  to  other  public  authorities  and  the 
public  through  the  digital  services  envisaged  in  the 
INSPIRE Directive. 

  Better inform the public about their rights regarding 
in  relation  to  air 

access  to  justice,  particularly 
pollution and nature. 

Environment,  which  lists  all  public  hearings164,  and  the 
State Environmental Bureau, which publishes information 
about the public hearings165,166,. 

On a wider scale, Latvia has included several initiatives on 
public participation in its second national action plan167 
for  the  open  government  partnership  initiative.  These 
include a single portal for the drafting and harmonisation 
of draft  legislative acts. Public participation in producing 
the draft legislative acts is available168. 

The Eurobarometer figures from 2017 show that there is 
(76 %  of 
a  relatively  strong  agreement 
in 
respondents)  that  an 
protecting the environment which is the same as in 2014. 

individual  can  play  a  role 

in  Latvia 

Access to justice 

Latvia  needs  to  make  further  progress  on  informing  the 
general  public  about  effective  remedies  for  individuals 
and  environmental  associations  on  access  to  justice  in 
environmental matters under national and EU law. Even 
though  the  Ministry  of  Environment  does  not  have  a 
special  section  covering  this  area  on  its  website,  the 
country’s judicial administration provides information on 
its  web  site169  on  various  judicial  aspects,  including  a 
guide  on  how  to  sue.  However,  there  is  room  for 
improvement in how clear and understandable this guide 
is  for  ordinary  people.  Therefore,  the  public  authorities 
need  to  make  structured  and  user-friendly  information 
available online. 

Latvia grants the public, specifically individuals and NGOs, 
very broad access to justice in environmental cases (actio 
popularis,  i.e.  the  right  to  defend  common  interests). 
Everyone  has  the  right  to  lodge  a  complaint  to  the 
responsible administrative institution or an appeal before 
the  administrative  court 
in  environmental  matters 
without  any  other  specific  conditions.  In  other  words,  a 
complaint  may  be  lodged  if  a  person  considers  that  an 
administrative  decision,  a  real  action  or  an  omission 
violates the law protecting the environment and nature, 
or  threatens  to  cause  damage  to  the  environment170. 
The  right  to  lodge  complaints  and  appeals  purely  on 
environmental  grounds  is  the  only  exception  allowed  in 
administrative  institutions  or  before  the  courts.  In  any 

164 The Ministry of Environmental Protection and Regional 
Development. 
165 Environment State Bureau. 
166 Environment State Bureau. 
167 Open Government Partnership, Second National Action Plan of 
Latvia. 
168 News portal ManaBalss.lv. 
169 News portal tiesas.lv. 
170 According to Art.29 of Administrative Procedure Law, in cases 
provided for by law, public authorities have the right to submit a 
complaint to an administrative institution or an appeal to a court in 
order to defend the rights and legal interests of private persons. This 
may include also right of a private person to live in a benevolent 
environment. 

28 

                                                                 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – Latvia 

Compliance assurance 

to  ensure 

Environmental compliance assurance covers all the work 
undertaken  by  public  authorities 
that 
industries,  farmers  and  others  fulfil  their  obligations  to 
protect  water,  air  and  nature,  and  manage  waste171.  It 
includes  support  measures  provided  by  the  authorities, 
such as:  
(i) compliance promotion172;  
(ii) inspections and other checks that they carry out, i.e. 
compliance monitoring173; and  
(iii)  the  steps  that  they  take  to  stop  breaches,  impose 
sanctions  and  require  damage  to  be  remedied,  i.e. 
enforcement174.  
Citizen  science  and  complaints  enable  authorities  to 
focus  their  efforts  better.  Environmental  liability175 
ensures that the polluter pays to remedy any damage. 

Compliance promotion and monitoring 

Online information is given to farmers on how to comply 
with  obligations  on  nitrates  and  nature.  The  quality  of 
this 
indicator  of  how  actively 
authorities  promote  compliance  in  areas  with  serious 
implementation gaps.  

information 

is  an 

The  official  website  of  the  Ministry  of  Agriculture 
includes information for farmers about the obligations on 
nitrates  and  on  how  to  prepare  fertilization  plans.  It 
provides  also  guidelines  on  construction  of  manure 
storages,  codes  of  good  agricultural  practices  and  other 
relevant information176.  

The State Plant Protecton Service (SPPS), the responsible 
authority  for  the  controls  of  the  distribution  and  use  of 
fertilisers  and  plant  protection  products  (PPPs)  regularly 
updates  its  website  www.vaad.gov.lv  regarding  current 
requirements that farmers need to comply with.  

a 

also 

hosts 

separate 
which 

homepage 
SPPS 
http://noverojumi.vaad.gov.lv/ 
promotes 
integrated  pest  managements  practices,  provides 
harmful  organism  monitoring  data  and  materials 
concerning sustainable use of PPPs. A mandatory training 
system  is  in  place  for  all  professional  users,  distributors 
of  PPPs  and  plant  protection  advisors  which,  inter  alia, 
covers environmental protection requirements.  

Furthermore,  each  year  SPPS  organises  seminars  for 
farmers  all  across  Latvia  to  promote  proper  and 

sustainable  use  of  PPPs  and  fertilisers,  as  well  as  takes 
part  in  workshop  events  organised  by  the  Latvian  Rural 
Advisory and Training Centre and other organisations.  

industrial 

inspect  these 

Major 
installations  can  present  serious 
pollution  risks.  Public  authorities  are  required  to  have 
plans  to 
installations  and  to  make 
individual  inspection  reports  available  to  the  public177. 
Although some information about such plans and reports 
can  be  found  on  official  websites  in  Latvia,  it  is  not 
sufficiently comprehensive. 

Citizen science and complaint handling 

Engaging  the  general  public,  including  through  citizen 
science, can promote knowledge about the environment 
and help the authorities in their work. There are several 
citizen  science  initiatives  in  Latvia,  such  as  the  public 
monitoring  programme  for  nature  objects  developed  by 
the Nature Conservation Agency178 with the support  of 
the  ‘Biodiversity  protection  in  North  Vidzeme  Biosphere 
Reserve’  GEF/UNDP  co-financed  project.  A  dedicated 
website  has  been  created  (http://dabasdati.lv/en/)  to 
enable  members  of 
their 
observations  and  also  to  promote  awareness  and 
protection of nature values in Latvia, educate society and 
encourage  dialogue  between  scientists  and  nature 
protection specialists. 

the  public 

report 

to 

to  complaints 

The availability of clear online information about how to 
make  a  complaint  is  an  indicator  of  how  responsive 
authorities  are 
the  public. 
Information  on  the  possibility  to  complain  about  an 
environmental  nuisance  or  environmental  damage  is 
easily  available  in  Latvia  on  the  website  of  the  State 
Environmental  Service.  There 
the  mobile 
application Vides SOS179 developed to make complaints 
submission easier. 

is  also 

from 

Enforcement 

When  monitoring 
identifies  problems,  a  range  of 
responses  may  be  appropriate.  While  some  annual 
in  Latvia180, 
activity  reports  are  publicly  available 
information  is  missing  on  the  issuing  of  warnings,  the 
application  of  penalties  and  on  compliance  after  follow-
up  measures  and  enforcement  action  have  been  taken. 
No publicly available statistical information was found on 
prosecutions  and  penalties  imposed  for  environmental 
crime  or  on  responses  to  cross-compliance  breaches  on 
nitrates and nature181. 

171 COM(2018)10, SWD(2018)10. 
172 This EIR focuses on the help given to farmers to comply with nature 
and nitrates legislation. 
173 This EIR focuses on inspections of major industrial installations. 
174This EIR focuses on the availability of enforcement data and co-
ordination between authorities to tackle environmental crime. 
175 Directive 2004/35/CE creates the framework. 
176 Ministry of Agriculture of Republic of Latvia. 

177 Directive 2010/75/EU, article 23. 
178 The Nature Conservation Agency. 
179 The State Environmental Service of the Republic of Latvia. 
180 For instance, the State Environmental Service publishes annual 
reports. 
181 Relevant information is provided in annual public reports of SPPS as 
well as published in the media.  

29 

                                                                 
                                                                 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – Latvia 

is  especially  challenging. 

Tackling  waste,  wildlife  crimes  and  other  environmental 
offences 
It  requires  close 
cooperation  between  inspectors,  customs  authorities, 
police  and  prosecutors.  No 
information  could  be 
identified  on  the  official  Latvian  websites  on  formal  or 
informal  cooperation  arrangements  between  these 
authorities. 

Environmental liability 

The  Environmental  Liability  Directive  (ELD)  establishes  a 
framework  based  on  the  ‘polluter  pays’  principle  to 
prevent  and  remedy  environmental  damage.  The  2017 
EIR  focused  on  better  information  on  environmental 
damage, financial security and guidance. The Commission 
is still collecting evidence on the progress made. 

2019 priority actions 

  Better 

inform 

the  public  about 

compliance 
promotion,  monitoring  and  enforcement.  At  a 
minimum this  should involve ensuring availability of 
detailed online information to farmers about how to 
comply  with  obligations  on  nitrates  and  nature  and 
providing  more  online  information  on  inspection 
plans and reports on industrial inspections. 
Publish  information  on  outcomes  of  enforcement 
action  and  of  the  follow-up  to  detected  cross-
compliance breaches on nitrates and nature. 
Ensure  more 
dealing with environmental crime work together. 
Improve  financial  security  for  liabilities  and  ELD-
guidance  and  publish  information  on  environmental 
damage. 

information  on  how  professionals 

 

 

 

Effectiveness of environmental 
administrations 

in 

involved 

implementing 

environmental 
Those 
legislation at EU, national, regional and local levels need 
to have the knowledge, tools and capacity to ensure that 
the  legislation  and  the  governance  of  the  enforcement 
process bring about the intended benefits. 

Administrative capacity and quality 

According to the Sustainable Governance Index (including 
economic,  social  and  environmental  policies),  Latvia  is 
ranked  19th  among  41  countries  worldwide  (or  14th  in 
the  EU182).  However,  according 
to  worldwide 
governance  indicators,  Latvia  has  the  highest  potential 
for  improvement  on  political  stability  (which  fell  from 
73 %  in  2006  to  60 %  in  2016)  and  corruption  control 

182 Sustainable Governance Indicators. 

30 

perception (which in 2016 remained at the same level as 
in 2006183). 

in 

Staff  numbers 
the  Ministry  of  Environmental 
Protection  and  Regional  Development  and  its  subsidiary 
institutions  are  stable,  at  a  little  above  900  people184. 
The  second  largest  employer  in  environmental  matters, 
with  293  staff  in  2016,  was  the  State  Environmental 
Service185. 

Latvia’s  score  in  the  2018  Environmental  Performance 
Index is 66.12, placing the country 37 out of 180186. 

It  has  been  acknowledged  that  Latvia 
is  making 
significant  efforts  towards  wider  use  of  centralised 
procurement.  The  amendments 
the  Code  of 
Administrative  Violations  are  expected  to  bring  greater 
discipline  and  accuracy 
to  public  procurement 
decisions187. 

to 

Coordination and integration 

Environmental 

As  mentioned  in  the  2017  EIR,  the  transposition  of  the 
(EIA) 
revised 
Directive188  provides  an  opportunity  for  countries  to 
streamline their regulatory framework on environmental 
assessments. Latvia has transposed the revised Directive.  

Impact  Assessment 

the 

Streamlining  helps 

in  environmental  assessments 

The  Commission  encourages 
streamlining  of 
environmental  assessments  to  reduce  duplication  and 
avoid  overlaps 
for 
reduce  unnecessary 
projects. 
administrative  burden. 
It  also  accelerates  decision-
making,  without  compromising  the  quality  of  the 
environmental  assessment  procedure189.  Latvia  has 
introduced  streamlining  of  environmental  assessments 
under the EIA and Habitats Directives. 

In addition, the State Regional  Development  Agency has 
developed a one-stop shop concept for Latvia190. 

There  are  a  number  of  strategies  and  programmes  in 
Latvia  for  financing  environment-related  projects.  These 
are:  the  2014-2020  national  development  plan,  the 
sustainable  development  strategy  for  Latvia,  set  to  run 

183 Worldwide Governance Indicators 
184 Baltic Institute of Social Sciences & O.D.A., Study on the future role 
of governance and its development, 2015. 
185 State Environmental Service, Reports on the results of the testing 
of category A equipment. 
186 Yale Center for Environmental Law & Policy, Environmental 
Performance Index, Yale University, 2018, p. 4. 
187 European Commission, Public procurement, Study on 
administrative capacity in the EU, Latvia Country Profile. 
188 Directive 2014/52/EU. 
189 The Commission issued a guidance document in 2016 regarding the 
setting up of coordinated and/or joint procedures that are 
simultaneously subject to assessments under the EIA Directive, Habitats 
Directive, Water Framework Directive, and the Industrial Emissions 
Directive, OJ C 273, 27.7.2016, p. 1. 
190 State Regional Development Agency, Approved One Stop Shop 
concept. 

                                                                 
                                                                 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – Latvia 

until  2030,  the  sustainable  development  strategy  for 
Riga,  also  set  to  run  until  2030,  and  the  2014-2020 
development programme for Riga. 

Adaptability, 
(eGovernment) 

reform 

dynamics 

and 

innovation 

In  a  comparative  overview  of  public  administration 
characteristics  and  performance  in  the  EU-28,  Latvia’s 
overall  digitalisation  and  service  delivery  capacity  and 
performance  was  ranked  at  3/5191.  In  the  DESI  Report 
2018, Latvia had a score of 65 out of 100 on digital public 
services, higher than the EU average of 58192. 

For  digital  public  services,  Latvia  has  a  score  of  0.51/1 
based  on  Europe’s  2017  digital  progress  report.  This  is 
lower than the EU-28 average (0.55/1)193. 

Latvia  is  planning  further  digitisation  of  services,  in 
response both to the rapid increase in eGovernment use 
among the population and the development of a national 
e-governance strategy. 

Enabling financing and effective use of funds 

The use of funds is usually encouraged through open calls 
for proposals and is promoted on the relevant webpages 
of the responsible institutions. 

International agreements 

The  EU  Treaties  require  the  EU  environmental  policy  to 
promote  measures  at  international  level  to  deal  with 
regional or worldwide environmental problems. 

The EU is committed to strengthening environmental law 
and its implementation globally. It therefore continues to 
support  the  Global  Pact  for  the  Environment  process, 
which  was  launched  by  the  United  Nations  General 
Assembly in May 2018194. The EIR is one of the tools to 
ensure  that  the  Member  States  set  a  good  example  by 
respecting  European  Union  environmental  policies  and 
laws and international agreements.  

Latvia  has  signed  and  ratified  almost  all  Multilateral 
Environmental  Agreements.  However, 
it  has  neither 
signed  nor  ratified  the  International  Convention  for  the 
Regulation of Whaling and the Nagoya Protocol. 

191 Hammerschmid, G., Thijs, N., A Comparative Overview of Public 
Administration Characteristics and Performance in EU28, report 
prepared for DG EMPL of the European Commission, 2017, p. 48, graph 
29. 
192  European  Commission,  Digital  Economy  and  Society  Index  Report 
2018, Digital Public Services. 
193 European Commission, Europe's Digital Progress Report, Trends in 
European Digital Public Services in the EU, 2017, p.9. 
194 UN General Assembly Resolution 72/277 and Organizational 
session of the ad hoc open-ended working group.  

Forests:  EU  Timber  Regulation195/  Forest 
Enforcement,  Governance 
Regulation196 

Trade 

and 

Law 
(FLEGT) 

In  accordance  with  the  EU  Timber  Regulation  (EUTR), 
which prohibits the placing on the EU market of illegally 
harvested  timber,  competent  authorities  in  EU  Member 
States  must  conduct  regular  checks  on  operators  and 
traders, and apply penalties in case of non-compliance. 

Between  March  2015  and  February  2017,  Latvia  carried 
out  24  planned  checks  on  operators  importing  timber. 
However,  it  has  not  reported  on  the  number  of  checks 
is 
conducted  on  operators  of  domestic  timber. 
estimated 
that  140 000  Latvian  operators  placed 
domestic  timber  on  the  EU  market  for  the  first  time  in 
this  period,  and  290  imported  timber.  Although  Latvia 
reported  taking  11  enforcement  actions  against  timber 
importers  who  infringed  the  due  diligence  requirement, 
it has not yet issued penalties. 

It 

Latvia  has  made  efforts  to 
improve  the  quality  of 
inspections  and  due  diligence  systems,  in  particular  by 
organising  activities  to  gain  more  knowledge  on  third 
countries, e.g. study trips. 

On cooperation (Article 12 EUTR), Latvia reported having 
collaborated  with  other  government  institutions  within 
the country, e.g. customs, forest services, national police. 

Genetic  resources:  Nagoya  Protocol  on  Access  to 
Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of 
Benefits Arising (ABS)197  

Latvia  has  delivered  on  its  reporting  obligations  under 
the  EU  ABS  Regulation,  which  transposes  into  the  EU 
legal order the required compliance measures under the 
Nagoya  Protocol.  However,  it  has  neither  designated 
competent  authorities  nor 
for 
infringements  of  the  EU  ABS  Regulation.  As  this  is  in 
breach of the EU ABS Regulation, the Commission sent a 
letter of formal notice in January 2018, inviting Latvia to 
comply with its obligations under the Regulation. 

imposed  penalties 

International  wildlife 
the  Convention  on 
trade: 
International  Trade  in  Endangered  Species  of  Wild 
Fauna and Flora (CITES)198 

Latvia  has  established  relevant  national  authorities  for 
the  international  wildlife  trade  and  regularly  processes 
requests for import, export, re-export, and intra-EU trade 
documents.199,  

195 Regulation (EU) No 995/2010. 
196 Regulation (EC) No 2173/2005. 
197 Regulation (EU) No 511/2014. 
198 The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of 
Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). 
199 Council Regulation (EC) No 338/97. 

31 

                                                                 
                                                                 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – Latvia 

No additional funding has been specifically earmarked for 
SDG implementation. 

Latvia  submitted 
its  national  voluntary  review  of 
implementation  of  the  SDGs  to  the  UN  in  2018200.  The 
voluntary national review is based on: (i) the mapping (in 
2017) of SDGs at target level with Latvian policy, with the 
participation  of  all  ministries;  and  (ii)  the  mid-term 
impact  assessment  of  the  national  development  plan 
2020, which also tracks progress towards the Latvia 2030 
strategy. 

Reports  on  seizures  of  illegal  wildlife  shipments,  in 
particular  those  reported  every  6  months  to  TRAFFIC 
under  its  contract  with  the  Commission,  and  those 
exchanged  through  the  EU-TWIX  platform,  testify  to  the 
activity of customs authorities. 

2019 priority action 

 

Increase  efforts  to  be  party  to  relevant  multilateral 
environmental  agreements,  by  signing  and  ratifying 
the remaining agreements. 

Sustainable 
implementation of the UN SDGs  

development 

and 

the 

Sustainable development links environmental, social and 
economic policies in a coherent framework and therefore 
helps  to 
legislation  and 
policies. 

implement  environmental 

Sustainable development planning began in Latvia in the 
early  1990s,  when  the  country  regained  independence 
and  launched  its  initial  environmental  policy,  with  the 
express 
intent  of  balancing  economic  and  social 
processes  with  environmental  needs.  Latvia  adopted  a 
sustainable development policy in 2002. 

In  2007  Latvia  began  a  new  sustainable  development 
planning  process  in  which  people  expressed  their  vision 
for Latvia until 2030 on all dimensions of sustainability. It 
resulted 
in  Latvia’s  new  Sustainable  Development 
Strategy  of  Latvia  until  2030  (Latvia  2030)  adopted  by 
Parliament in 2010. Because of the breadth and depth of 
the public discussions about the future of Latvia that took 
place  with  diverse  groups  across  the  country,  Latvia’s 
main  long-term  planning  document,  i.e.  ‘Latvia  2030’ 
Latvia’s sustainable development strategy until 2030, can 
be considered a social contract.  

A  cross-sector  coordination  centre  operating  under  the 
direct  authority  of  the  Prime  Minister  is  responsible  for 
the  preparation  of  the  National  Development  Plan  and 
for  integrating  SDGs  into  the  national  planning  system 
and  into  public  policy  making  at  national  level.  Most  of 
in  national 
included  and  addressed 
the  SGs  are 
development  documents  and  sector-specific  policies. 
Ministries are encouraged to use mapping of indicators in 
the mid-term evaluation process of sector-specific policy 
documents  and,  in  cooperation  with  the  public,  to 
include 
implementation. 
Evaluations, 
together  with  public  discussions,  will 
contribute  to  the  programming  of  the  next  National 
Development Plan 2021-2027 and subsequent horizontal 
and sectoral policy documents. 

future  policy 

SDGs 

in 

there 

Additionally 
is  a  Sustainable  Development 
Committee  at  the  Latvian  Parliament  (Saeima),  which  is 
important  driver  of  sustainable  development, 
an 
promoting  new  policy 
initiatives,  working  with 
stakeholders and highlighting research. 

200 UN, Report to the UN High Level Political Forum on Sustainable 
Development 2018, Latvia Implementation of the Sustainable 
Development Goals. 

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