LIFE IS SALACA experience presented at an international landscape architecture conference

On 3 and 4 September, the conference of the European Federation of Landscape Architects (IFLA Europe) “Landscape in Transition” took place at the “Splendid Palace” cinema in Riga, bringing together specialists in landscape architecture, environmental protection and spatial planning from many countries around the world.

The conference focused on landscape change, the preservation of natural values, the challenges posed by climate change and solutions for sustainable land management.

The LIFE IS SALACA experience was presented at the conference by Mārcis Saklaurs, representative of the Latvian State Forest Research Institute “Silava”, who gave the presentation “From buffer zones to living landscapes: integrating ecosystem services into riparian forest management in Latvia”.

The presentation was part of the thematic session “Governance of Change”, which addressed landscape governance, the sustainable use of natural resources and the balancing of different interests.

Within the LIFE IS SALACA project, activities are carried out to improve the quality of ecosystems in the Salaca River basin, to restore natural habitats and to promote sustainable management. One of the project’s areas of work is the assessment of ecosystem services, in order to better understand the benefits that natural areas provide and to use this knowledge in decision-making.

Taking part in the international conference was an opportunity to introduce European professionals in the field to the issues addressed in the LIFE IS SALACA project and to Latvia’s experience in managing riparian forests.