Latvia gains new Interim Forest Stewardship Standard

The standard becomes effective on 15 July 2023.

The first FSC Interim Forest Stewardship Standard (IFSS) for Latvia has been published. It will promote sustainable and responsible forest management in the country by balancing social responsibility, environmental protection and economic viability.  

The new standard reflects public demands on forests and best-practice silviculture and puts new requirements on how important environmental and cultural values should be preserved in forests. These include identifying and protecting representative areas of native ecosystems and restoring them if necessary. The standard also establishes ways for forest management certificate holders to engage with communities and other interested parties. 

Aidas Pivoriunas, leader of the technical working group that developed the standard, welcomed the news. “I am convinced that the know-how of Latvian forest managers combined with the rigorous FSC forest management standard will deliver benefits for our beautiful forests and society.” 

The technical working group developed the standard in consultation with social, environmental, and economic interests, gaining consensus among the different actors. The development process considered local stakeholder engagement and full-scale field testing, which took place in forest sites of Ziemeļlatgale region. Field tests involved local experts in environment protection along with auditors from the certification body. Indicators that are part of the new standard were tested across a representative range of forest types, ownership types, scale categories and forest products. 

The standard’s requirements are applicable to all forest types – public and private – and organizations, as well as for small or low intensity managed forests and non-timber forest products. 

The FSC standard will give Latvian foresters an excellent opportunity to demonstrate well-known and recognized Latvian silviculture traditions, such as preservation of High Conservation Values, as part of state-of-the-art sustainable forest management, effectively responding to wider public and market needs. 

Please contact nationalstandards@fsc.org for any inquiries regarding the standard. The IFSS for Latvia (Both English and Latvian versions) can be accessed in the FSC Document Centre.