General impressions I was really impressed by the fantastic hospitality and enthusiasm from Janis (our main host) and indeed all our guides and other folk that we met. The Latvian people, their land and its wildlife seemed to express extraordinary resilience in the face of a turbulent history which last century included two world wars and lengthy periods of malign, foreign occupation. Today, Latvia appears to be very much a modern European democracy, moving forward but faced with potentially difficult legacies from earlier Soviet domination. These problems include deportations of local people, settlement by ethnic Russians, and collectivisation of farmland all of which have to some extent severed the link between people and the land. Run-down and poor quality housing and infrastructure in some towns and villages, together with abandoned military installations and other communist state sponsored projects will take resources to remove or improve.    more »

Angus Yarwood has compiled a joint report of the Nature Exchange visit to Western Latvia with contributions from all of the participants. Its a great read, but, you have to open the pdf attachment.
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Preliminary programme for Latvia. Latvian State Forest Service    more »