National Environmental Policy Plan for Latvia

The National Environmental Policy Plan for Latvia is a national cross-sectoral plan of Latvia. Its main objectives are significant improvement of environmental quality in territories that pose an increased risk for human health, and the stability of ecosystems while sustaining environmental quality in the rest of the territory; protection of existing biodiversity and landscape characteristics of Latvia; sustainable use of natural resources; and integration of environmental policy into all branches and fields of life (the national economy in general, and in the strategic plans of its various branches, in legislation and public awareness), thus establishing the basis for sustainable development.
The Plan aims to make agriculture, forestry and fisheries more productive and sustainable. To this end, it seeks elaboration and implementation of a scientifically substantiated system of forecasts and recommendations for use of fertilisers for cultivated plants and integrated crop protection; minimisation of agricultural pollution, preventing its discharge or emission into watercourses (including the Baltic Sea), air and food; introduction of soil liming and a system of environmentally friendly melioration activities; remediation and recultivation of soils heavily polluted with agricultural chemical residues; design and installation of riparian protection belts along rivers and water basins; provision of equipment with low pollution emissions to enterprises using intensive agricultural practices; final disposal of stockpiled unused or outdated agricultural chemicals; protection of species in situ and ex situ; protection of habitats; protection and restoration of migratory paths; improvement of the network of protected territories; establishment of a resource management system; transition to the use of groundwater for centralised water supplies, while at the same time ensuring its sustainable and efficient use; protection of drinking water abstraction sites; protection of drinking water abstraction sites; improvement of individual and local water supply systems and the protection of upper layers of groundwater against pollution; reduction of transmission of pollution from other countries into the territory of Latvia, thus protecting internal waters of the country and the Baltic Sea; reduction of pollution leakage from the territory of Latvia into the Baltic Sea; improvement of household wastewater treatment/ management technologies and the technical condition and operation of sewerage networks; construction of new wastewater treatment facilities and expansion of sewerage systems; water resource saving and reduction of consumption in the production, services and domestic sectors; restoring the natural course of straightened rivers; removal of heavily polluted sludge and sediment from the beds of watercourses; rehabilitation of overgrown lakes; and maintenance of watercourses and their riparian zones.
In order to increase the resilience of livelihoods to disasters, the Plan provides for elaboration and implementation of a system of scientifically substantiated anti-erosion measures; improvement of elaboration and implementation of appropriate fertilising and crop protection systems; implementation of suitable technologies and soil cultivation equipment; mitigation of erosion and reclamation of eroded soils: elaboration of a system of measures to increase the productivity and buffer capacity of eroded soils; improvement and control of melioration and hydrotechnical activities; planning and arrangement of rural landscapes; establishment and improvement of early warning systems, as well as the introduction of automatic security systems for hazardous installations; establishment of a civil rescue service and the introduction of protection devices for individuals; establishment of a system for the minimisation or elimination of consequences arising from chemical emergencies; establishment of a special service for the minimisation or elimination of consequences arising from chemical accidents (on a national scale); establishment of special on-site brigades and the performance of preventative activities at hazardous sites for the avoidance of accidents or the minimisation/elimination of their consequences in an enterprise; and increasing the safety of the population of Latvia in case of accidents in neighboring countries that substantially increase pollution of Latvian waters.