About The Conference
As demands for forests as a sustainable resource continue to grow, modern forestry is becoming increasingly multi-layered. It must simultaneously respond to environmental, economic and societal needs, while ensuring the preservation of biodiversity, carbon sequestration, recreational opportunities and the promotion of human wellbeing.
This conference will bring together forestry professionals, policymakers, scientists and forest owners to jointly explore how closer-to-nature forestry principles can be integrated into European Union policy and economic frameworks. The focus will be on balanced approaches that support forest ecosystem conservation, sustainable management and economic competitiveness.
This conference will bring together forestry professionals, policymakers, scientists and forest owners to jointly explore how closer-to-nature forestry principles can be integrated into European Union policy and economic frameworks. The focus will be on balanced approaches that support forest ecosystem conservation, sustainable management and economic competitiveness.
Location
18th of September Event space "VEF Spidola", Ieriku Street 5A, Riga, LV-1007
19th of September field visit to SIA “Rīgas meži” managed areas. Location tbc
19th of September field visit to SIA “Rīgas meži” managed areas. Location tbc
Date & Time
September 18, 2025, 11:00 AM - 17:00 PM - September 19, 2025, 8:30 AM - 13:00 PM
PARTICIPATION FEE
The conference fee is €60 + VAT
The main theme of the conference will be the Integrated Forest Management (IFM) approach, where habitat protection, restoration, and economic activities are implemented in parallel. The conference will explore how European Union habitat protection and restoration requirements can be incorporated into forestry processes through practical planning, monitoring, and management solutions.
Special attention will be given to nature-based forestry and the EU Biodiversity Strategy’s “10/30–30%” targets, with a practical breakdown of what these figures mean on the ground and how they can be applied in the Latvian context. Both national and international case studies will be presented.
The conference will also explore integrated ecosystem service planning – how to balance timber production with other forest ecosystem services using a landscape-scale approach, habitat lifecycle principles, and alignment with the carbon credit market.
In the session on ecosystem service markets, sector representatives will have the opportunity to explore the development of sustainable market mechanisms in Latvia that both respect the rights of forest owners and ensure environmental protection.
This conference will serve as an important platform for knowledge exchange, interdisciplinary collaboration and the development of a shared understanding of forests as a sustainable and multi-dimensional value. It will be particularly relevant for forest owners and managers, industry professionals, researchers, environmental organisations, public institutions and policymakers.
Programme
September 18
10:00AM
Arrival of participants and Registration
11:00 AM
Intermezzo
11:05 AM
Conference Opening
ARMANDS KRAUZE, Minister of Agriculture of the Republic of Latvia
VIESTURS KLEINBERGS, Chairman of the Riga City Council
ANITA SKUDRA, Chairwoman of the Board, SIA "Rīgas meži"
VIESTURS KLEINBERGS, Chairman of the Riga City Council
ANITA SKUDRA, Chairwoman of the Board, SIA "Rīgas meži"
SESSION 1 / fOREST MANAGEMENT
11:20 AM
An Integrated Forest Management Approach for More Effective Natural Resource Governance
TOMÁŠ VRŠKA, President Pro Silva
12:00 AM
Integrated Planning Approach of Forest Management in Riga City Forests
JĀNIS ĢĒRMANIS, Member of the Board, SIA "Rīgas meži"
12:30 AM
Panel Discussion "Integrated Forest Management – Balance Between Industry and Society"
JĀNIS ĢĒRMANIS, Member of the Board, SIA Rīgas meži
ANDIS PURS, Head of the State Forest Service
TEELE PALUOTS, Head of Forest Ecology, Estonia State Forest Management Centre
MĀRIS SPRINDŽUKS, Deputy Chairman of the Riga City Council
JAAN SEPPING, CEO / Founder at Ecobase
ANDIS PURS, Head of the State Forest Service
TEELE PALUOTS, Head of Forest Ecology, Estonia State Forest Management Centre
MĀRIS SPRINDŽUKS, Deputy Chairman of the Riga City Council
JAAN SEPPING, CEO / Founder at Ecobase
13:20 pM
Coffee Break
SESSION 2 / INTEGRATING ECOSYSTEM SERVICES
13:50 pM
How to Plan and Manage Forests to Maintain Aesthetic, Recreational, Health and Wellbeing Values
SIMON BELL, Chair Professor of Landscape Architecture at the Estonian University of Life Sciences, Professor of Landscape and Wellbeing and Co-Director, OPENspace, Edinburgh College of Art, University of Edinburgh
14:20 pM
Ecosystem Services Between Science, Policy and Forestry Practice
IVO VINOGRADOVS, Leading researcher at University of Latvia
14:45 pM
Integration of Ecosystem Services into Close-to-Nature Forestry - EU Policy or Working Practice?
LEENA LESKINEN, Suomen metsäkeskus - Finnish Forest Centre
15:05 PM
Climate and Biodiversity Smart Forestry: Ingka Investments’ Approach
NIKS SAUVA, Ingka Investments Latvia
SESSION 3 / NATURE AND SOCIETY
15:25 PM
Reflections on the role of the EU in supporting healthy forests
HANNAH MOWAT, Campaigns Coordinator, FERN
15:45 AM
Nature for Future Generations
ARTŪRS JANSONS, Environmental Expert
16:05 AM
Intermezzo
KEYNOTE ADDRESS
16:10 pM
Presentation
Winning strategies in the era of ecological overshoot
Mathis Wackernagel, Dr. (Ph.D.)
16:45 pM
Closing / Networking
September 19
8:30 AM
Field Visit to SIA “Rīgas meži” Managed Areas
CASE STUDY – The Experience of Rīgas Meži in Urban and Suburban Forest Management: Opportunities and Challenges
13:00 pM
Closing
INFO: [email protected]
Privacy Notice for the Conference “Integrated Forest Management for Environmental, Social, and Economic Balance”
The conference organized by SIA “Rīgas meži” (hereinafter – the Company) on September 18–19, 2025, is planned as a public event.
Photography and video recording will take place during the event. As a result, your personal data, including facial images, may be processed as a participant of the event. The photographs and video recordings will capture, store, and may subsequently publish images and footage where individuals or groups of participants are visible and/or audible.
Photographs and videos may be shared with other participants and organizations involved in the event and may be published in the media, on the websites and/or social media platforms of SIA “Rīgas meži”, the Riga City Municipality, and other participants.
The purpose of this data processing is the Company’s communication with the public (public information sharing).
The legal basis for this data processing is the Company’s legitimate interests, including informing and engaging the public in the Company’s key areas of activity.
Non-public personal data processed for this purpose will be stored for five years after the end of the event. Publicly disclosed data will remain available without a time limit.
Participation in the public event is entirely voluntary. If you object to the aforementioned data processing, the Company will not be able to ensure your participation in the event without processing your personal data as described above. Personal data will be processed in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). According to GDPR provisions, event participants have the right to request access to their personal data, rectification or erasure, restriction of processing, object to processing, request data portability, and file a complaint with the Data State Inspectorate if the Company breaches GDPR requirements.
Contact information for the Data State Inspectorate: Elijas iela 17, Riga, phone: +371 67223131, e-mail: [email protected].
Data controller: SIA “Rīgas meži”, registration no. 40003982628, legal address: O. Vācieša iela 6, k-1, Rīga, LV-1004, e-mail for data protection matters: [email protected].
Privacy Notice prepared on: July 22, 2025
Photography and video recording will take place during the event. As a result, your personal data, including facial images, may be processed as a participant of the event. The photographs and video recordings will capture, store, and may subsequently publish images and footage where individuals or groups of participants are visible and/or audible.
Photographs and videos may be shared with other participants and organizations involved in the event and may be published in the media, on the websites and/or social media platforms of SIA “Rīgas meži”, the Riga City Municipality, and other participants.
The purpose of this data processing is the Company’s communication with the public (public information sharing).
The legal basis for this data processing is the Company’s legitimate interests, including informing and engaging the public in the Company’s key areas of activity.
Non-public personal data processed for this purpose will be stored for five years after the end of the event. Publicly disclosed data will remain available without a time limit.
Participation in the public event is entirely voluntary. If you object to the aforementioned data processing, the Company will not be able to ensure your participation in the event without processing your personal data as described above. Personal data will be processed in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). According to GDPR provisions, event participants have the right to request access to their personal data, rectification or erasure, restriction of processing, object to processing, request data portability, and file a complaint with the Data State Inspectorate if the Company breaches GDPR requirements.
Contact information for the Data State Inspectorate: Elijas iela 17, Riga, phone: +371 67223131, e-mail: [email protected].
Data controller: SIA “Rīgas meži”, registration no. 40003982628, legal address: O. Vācieša iela 6, k-1, Rīga, LV-1004, e-mail for data protection matters: [email protected].
Privacy Notice prepared on: July 22, 2025