Member State fact sheet: Latvia
Integrated coastal management and climate change adaptation
I. SummaryLegislative and institutional framework
The national level institution responsible for ICM, MSP and climate change is the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Regional Development. Before January 2011, when the two ministries were merged, responsibilities where shared between the Ministry of Environmental Protection and the Ministry of Regional Development and Local Government. Relevant planning documents are developed at all levels of governance (national, regional and local or municipal); implementation of policies occurs in municipalities and is coordinated, if necessary, at the regional or national levels.
Policies and plans
According to the overarching strategic document in Latvia, the Sustainable Development Strategy of Latvia until 2030, commissioned by the Ministry of Regional Development and Local Government in 2010, the coastal areas are regarded as a territory of national importance. The Strategy discusses the importance and potential development trajectories for coastal areas. In April 2011, the Ministry for Environmental Protection and Regional Development issued the Guidelines for spatial development of the coastal area 2011-2017[i], which is the key ICM plan in Latvia. An official MSP process in Latvia was launched in January 2014, thus it is not yet clear how the ICM will be incorporated to the planning process.
The Ministry of the Environmental Protection and Regional Development (MoEPRD) has launched the tender on development of the long-term thematic plan for public infrastructure in coastal areas. The plan including draft SEA report shall be drafted by the end of 2015.
A climate change adaptation strategy is under development. Currently the most comprehensive document on adaptation in Latvia is the 6th communication in the framework of the UNFCCC process.
Links between ICM and CCA
According to the Guidelines for spatial development of the coastal area 2011-2017, the forthcoming national adaptation strategy will contain a chapter on adaptation in coastal areas. Currently, ICM and adaptation policies are not directly linked.
Transboundary co-operation
Latvia has participated in the development of the VASAB ICZM principles and the HELCOM-VASAB working group on MSP. The two coastal municipalities on the Estonia / Latvia border are cooperating regarding the management of the coastal area. Otherwise, the majority of adaptation initiatives and measures relevant to the coastal areas have occurred as part of EU funded projects in cooperation with other Member States in the Baltic Sea region. These include projects ASTRA, BaltADAPT, BalticClimate and others. These have mainly been studies and vulnerability assessments, as well as awareness raising activities.
II. Legislative and policy framework
II.1 Legislative structure
Integrated Coastal Management:
No legal act specifically establishing Integrated Coastal Management has been developed. Legal acts that are most relevant for ICM are listed below in section Other relevant legislation. As required in the EU ICZM Recommendation, legislation relevant to ICM calls for an ecosystem-based approach and for consideration of adaptation to climate change.
Climate Change Adaptation:
There are no legal acts specifically aimed at climate change adaptation.
Other relevant legislation: e.g. on Maritime Spatial Planning and land use planning, where information is available, identifying any ICM links
Legislation on protection of coastal areas:
- The Protection Zone Law (March 1997, June 2013)[ii] defines protection zones, outlines their functions; determines the formation, alteration and dismantling of protection zones; determines the management and inspection; and the limits to economic activities in protection zones. Based on the law, relevant Cabinet of Ministers regulations include:
o Methodology for setting of protection zones of the Baltic Sea and the Gulf of Riga[iii] (No. 86, February 2004).
o Regulations on the procedures for developing management plans for specifically protected natural areas (October 2007).
o Regulations on determining compensation for development of public walkways and for restrictions of private use in the Baltic Sea and Riga Bay coastal protection zone[iv] (No. 85, January 2010)
- The Law on Specially Protected Nature Territories[v] (October 1997, June 2009). Corresponding regulations on the use and protection of particular protection zones in coastal and marine areas, such as:
o Regulations on the protection and use of marine protected area ‘Irbes Strait’ (No. 807, October 2011)
o Regulations on the protection and use of marine protected area ‘Riga Gulf western coast’ (No. 653, August 2011)
o Regulations on the protection and use of marine protected areas ‘Nida-Pērkone’ (No. 652, August 2011)
Legislation relevant to maritime spatial planning:
- Law on Marine Environment Protection and Management (first adopted in October 2010, amended January 2011) determines the rights and obligations of the users of the maritime space, and includes provisions for maritime spatial planning; relevant associated Cabinet of Ministers regulations:
o Regulations on the Marine Board (No. 596, August 2011)
- Cabinet of Ministers regulations corresponding to the Spatial development planning law[vi](December 2011, June 2012) on Sea plan development, implementation and monitoring (No. 740, October 2012)[vii]
- Cabinet of Ministers regulations corresponding to the Law on Specially Protected Nature Territories[viii] (October 1997, June 2009) on Regulations on specially protected maritime territories (No. 15, January 2010)[ix]
Comprehensive legislation:
- The Law on Administrative Process[x] (first adopted in February 2004, current version adopted in March 2013) sets out the principles and objectives of the administrative process, the hierarchy of legal provisions, and other key elements of the administrative process
- The Law on Local Governments[xi] (June 1995, December 2011) sets out the competencies and responsibilities of local governments, and the relation to other levels of governance
- The Law on development planning system[xii] (January 2009, January 2012), determines the procedures for development planning, including the content requirements and public consultation requirements of development plans.
- Spatial development planning law[xiii](December 2011, June 2012), determines the procedures for spatial planning, that have to be followed when developing MSP and ICM spatial development plans.
- National development plan 2007-2013 (Cabinet of Ministers regulation No. 564, July 2006) outlines that the specific characteristics and natural value of territories has to be maintained and protected.
Regional
The regional level does not have legislative powers.
II.2 Administrative structures
National level:
The national level institution responsible for ICM, climate change (both mitigation and adaptation) and MSP is the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Regional Development.
ICM: The departments of Spatial Planning and Regional Development within the Ministry for Environmental Protection and Regional Development have the overall responsibility regarding ICM. The spatial planning of coastal areas is carried out at the local level and is discussed below. Previously the competency was shared between the Ministry of Environmental Protection and the Ministry for Regional Development and Local Government that were integrated into a single ministry in 2011.
Adaptation: The Ministry of Environmental Protection and Regional Development, Climate and Environmental Policy integration department, Climate change and adaptation policy division is responsible for climate change adaptation in Latvia. The obligation for climate change mitigation and adaptation lies with the national level. Planning occurs at the national level; implementation at the local or municipal level.
Other (MSP): Institutions with competencies regarding MSP at the national level include the Ministry for Environmental Protection and Regional Development (overall policy-making, coordination and drafting), the Maritime Administration of Latvia (technical input, measurements, BaltSeaPlan partner) and the Latvian Institute of Aquatic Ecology (technical input, data). The Ministry for Environmental Protection and Regional Development is also responsible for land use planning.
Regional level:
ICM: Latvia has five planning regions, corresponding to the NUTS III classification. The regional level has a coordinating function relevant to ICM. For example, The Riga planning region and Kurzeme planning region have issued guidelines for spatial planning in coastal areas.
Adaptation: The regional level does not have a distinct role in climate change adaptation. Generally planning occurs at the national level and implementation at the local level; regions may have supporting and coordination functions.
Other: Kurzeme and Riga planning regions (the two coastal regions of Latvia) are participating in a coordination group on MSP.
Other relevant administrations: e.g. river basin districts, local level:
n/a
Coordination mechanisms
According to the Latvia Member State report on the implementation of ICZM to DG Environment[xiv], cooperation and coordination between national level institutions, coastal municipalities and civil society organisations has improved in the recent years through inter-institutional working groups and discussions organised by (then) the Ministry of Regional Development and Local Government and (since January 2011) Ministry of Environmental Protection and Regional Affairs.
In September 2011, the Coastal cooperation and coordination group[xv] was set up by the Minister of Environmental protection and Regional Development, to facilitate the implementation of the Guidelines for spatial development of the coastal area 2011-2017[xvi]. The group includes representatives from all 17 coastal municipalities, Nature Conservation Agency[xvii], Riga and Kurzeme planning regions, from sectoral ministries (defence, internal affairs, economics, transport, agriculture and culture) and also from Latvian Association of Local and Regional Governments (LPS), Association of coastal municipalities[xviii] (affiliate under LPS), and the Environment consultative board. For specific issues, the group invites specialised experts from Latvia and abroad.
According to the Informative Report ‘On the division of competencies among institutions regarding maritime spatial planning’, in 2010 an agreement was signed between the Ministry of Economics, Ministry for Environmental Protection and Regional Development, Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Defence, and Ministry of the Interior to facilitate the exchange of information and streamline the issuing of permits for economic activity in the maritime space. The Informative Report also prescribes a coordination board for MSP, involving the aforementioned ministries (and also Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs), Kurzeme and Riga planning regions, coastal municipalities, port authorities, and other relevant stakeholders. The secretariat of the coordination board is located in the Ministry for Environmental Protection and Regional Development.
II.3 Policies and strategies
National ICM policy/strategy
In April 2011, the Cabinet of Ministers approved the Guidelines for spatial development of the coastal area 2011-2017[xix], prepared by the Ministry for Environmental Protection and Regional Development[xx]. A strategic environmental assessment (SEA) has been carried out while preparing the guidelines. The overall aim of the policy is to create coastal areas with high quality infrastructure that would facilitate economic activity while minimising adverse impacts of climate change. The guidelines discuss climate change impacts and projections for the coastal zones, and recognise that long-term impacts from climate change have to be considered to ensure sustainable developing of coastal zones (e.g. creating and updating infrastructure). The Guidelines acknowledge that climate change impacts have been addressed on an ad hoc basis, and that the current coastal infrastructure does not sufficiently address anticipated climate impacts and a more proactive policy should be adopted[xxi]. The guidelines require that climate impacts in coastal areas would be discussed in the forthcoming National Adaptation Strategy, especially impacts of and solutions to coastal erosion.
National adaptation strategy/action plan
A national adaptation strategy (NAS) is currently being prepared. The NAS is expected to be developed in the framework of the forthcoming Guidelines of the National Environmental Policy for 2014-2020. The draft NAS was submitted to the Cabinet of Ministers as part of the implementation report of the Guidelines of the National Environmental Policy for 2009-2015 for the 2009-2012 period[xxii]. According to the Guidelines for development of the coastal areas 2011-2017, the NAS is expected to have a chapter dedicated to climate change in coastal areas.
Other relevant policies
The Informative report ‘On the division of competencies among institutions regarding maritime spatial planning’ was adopted by the Cabinet of Ministers in April 2012. The report acknowledges that, until 2012, MSP has been considered in sectoral policies, but a comprehensive plan or policy still needs to be developed. The Informative Report outlines the required changes to regulations at various administrative levels, and also includes the required research to develop an evidence based and comprehensive maritime spatial plan. The official MSP process was launched in January 2014.
‘Sustainable Development Strategy of Latvia until 2030 (LIAS)[xxiii]’ (10 June 2010), is the overarching medium-term planning document in Latvia. In Chapter 6 on Spatial Development Perspective, the coast of the Baltic Sea is recognised as a space of national interest[xxiv]. The document recognises the need to view the seacoast development in the context of maritime spatial planning. Several solutions are proposed including developing Guidelines for spatial planning development of the coastal areas[xxv], forecasting of the seacoast processes, and maritime spatial planning.
Spatial planning system development concept (July 2009); the document recognises the specific problems of municipalities on the coast of the Baltic Sea, and calls for a maritime spatial plan, that would reconcile the different interests of Ministries in the long term.
Land Policy Guidelines 2008-2014 (October 2008) recognise the conflict between the protection of dunes and the rise in demand for use.
Environmental Policy Guidelines 2009-2015 (July 2009) stresses the need for integrated coastal management and maritime spatial planning to ensure a sustainable management of resources, in balancing the protection of environmental assets and economic gains.
Guidelines for environmental monitoring programme 2009-2012 (March 2009) provides the administrative and financial framework for the monitoring of environmental status.
National Programme for Flood Risk Assessment and Management 2008-2015 (December 2007, updated August 2012) considers vulnerabilities arising from storm surges and coastal flooding, and the impacts of these threats on Natura 2000 sites. Within the programme, actions have been carried out to limit the impacts of coastal erosion on the environment and health of residents; to explore 130km of the 496 km shoreline; and to find environmentally friendly technical solutions for coastal protection.
Fisheries sector strategic plan 2007-2013 (April 2007), including provisions for sustainable economic development of coastal zones that are dependent on fishing activity.
Regional level
The Riga planning region and Kurzeme planning region have issued guidelines for coastal planning. These guidelines have to be followed when developing municipal territorial development plans[xxvi].