Meža Skaitļi — 2025. gads
Latvian forest sector in facts & figures
The information is updated by the organization “Zaļās mājas” with the support of the Forest Development Fund. The data is updated in the last quarter of the year.
Source: Latvijas valsts meži3 311 000 ha
Area of Latvian forests in hectares
51.30%
The territory of Latvia is covered by forest
1. Territories
2. Forestry
The forest sector in Latvia is under the supervision of the Ministry of Agriculture. It works with stakeholders to draft forest policies, development strategies for the sector, as well as regulations on forest management, the use of forest resources, environment protection and hunting.
www.zm.gov.lv
The State Forest Service, under the Ministry of Agriculture, is the responsible agency for supervising how the provisions of the laws and regulations are observed in forest management irrespective of the ownership type.
www.zm.gov.lv/valsts-meza-dienests
State-owned forests are managed by Stock Company "Latvian State Forests", which was established in 1999. It implements the state's interests in terms of preserving and increasing the value of the forest and enhancing the contributions of the forest to the national economy.
www.lvm.lv
The interests of private forest owners are represented by the Latvian Forest Owners' Association.
www.mezaipasnieki.lv
3. Contribution to the economy
4. Contribution to the energy sector
5. Timber industry
Latvian timber industry associations
- Association "Latvijas Mēbeles" (Latvian Furniture)
- Latvian Timber Producers and Exporters Association
- Latvian Association of Wood Processing Companies and Exporters
- Association "Latvijas Koks"
- Latvian Union of Timber Harvesting Companies
- Latvian Association of Independent Timber Harvesting Companies
- Latvian Biomass Association LATbio
- Latvian Wood Construction Cluster
6. Foreign trade
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7. Forest sector and society
Territories in which recreation is one of the main areas of forest management takes up 8% of forestland in Latvia. Viewing platforms, educational trails, cultural and historical destinations, areas for picnics – those are just a few of the leisure infrastructure objects that are found in Latvia's forests. They are open to one and all at no cost at all. Special attention to improving such areas has been paid to state-owned forests.
The areas of recreation-based forestland include national parks (except reserves), nature parks, protected landscape areas, protected dendrology plants, protected geological and geomorphologic monuments, nature parks of local importance, the protected zone of dunes along the shores of the Baltic Sea, protected zones around cities, and forests in the administrative territories of cities.
Specially protected natural areas are supervised and managed by the Nature Conservation Agency of the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Regional Development.8. Education
Education in the area of the forest sector can be obtained at 10 professional educational institutions, the Faculty of Forest and Environmental Sciences at Latvia University of Life Sciences and Technologies (LBTU), and the Textile Technology and Design Institute of the Rīga Technical University's Faculty of Material Sciences and Applied Chemistry. The Latvian Chamber of Craftsmanship has offered informal wood processing training sessions taught by experienced craftspeople. Graduates from such programmes receive a craftsman's card or a diploma as an apprentice or master craftsman.
Faculty of Forest and Environmental Sciences
121 new forest sector specialists graduated from the LBTU Faculty of Forest and Environmental Sciences in 2025.In Bachelor's degree programs:
23 Forestry Science
43 Forest Engineering
14 Wood Processing
43 Forest Engineering
14 Wood Processing
In Master's degree programs:
15 Forestry Science
5 Wood Materials and Technology
19 Labour Safety
5 Wood Materials and Technology
19 Labour Safety
In Doctor's degree programs:
0 Forestry Science
2 Wood Materials and Technology
2 Wood Materials and Technology
Vocational education institutions offering forest sector-related specialties
Aizkraukles Profesionālā vidusskola
Smiltenes tehnikuma Alsviķu teritoriālā struktūrvienība
Kandavas Lauksaimniecības tehnikuma Cīravas teritoriālā struktūrvienība
Daugavpils Būvniecības tehnikums
Jelgavas Tehnikums
Kuldīgas Tehnoloģiju un tūrisma tehnikums
Ogres tehnikums
Liepājas Valsts tehnikums
Rīgas Tehniskā koledža
Rīgas Valsts tehnikums
Rēzeknes tehnikums
Rīgas Mākslas un mediju tehnikums
Vidzemes Tehnoloģiju un dizaina tehnikums
Malnavas koledža
9. Science
Latvian State Forest Research Institute "Silava"
www.silava.lv
LSFRI "Silava" is the national forest science center in Latvia, which conducts scientific work in 6 research directions within its autonomous competence, develops scientific support competences, and ensures the implementation of 4 state delegated functions.
RESEARCH DIRECTIONS
Forest Stand Cultivation
Includes scientific competence from forest seeds to forest stands meeting final felling criteria, and promotes the generally accepted forest product users' desire to grow productive, high-quality, and vital forest stands on Latvian land.
Forestry and Environmental Interaction
The knowledge created supports the direction of forest stand cultivation. Forest ecology research is conducted taking into account the human-inhabited environment as an inevitable reality in Latvia.
Forest Non-timber and Ecosystem Services
Includes competences in forest energy and non-timber product development. Carbon sequestration research is becoming increasingly relevant not only in forest ecosystems but in all forest lands.
Woody Plant Plantations Outside Forests
Competence is being developed on the productivity of short-rotation coppice (willows, aspens, grey alders, poplars), introduction and cultivation technologies, and vegetative propagation methods.
Forest Technologies
Technical solutions and methods are created and adapted for forestry activity planning and monitoring, increasing forest work productivity, reducing negative environmental impact, and improving workers' working conditions.
Forest Fauna and Game Management
Includes research on both legally huntable and currently non-huntable mammal species. Scientific activities also address forest ornithofauna and its necessary environmental factors.
FOREST SCIENCE SUPPORT COMPETENCES
- Forest economics
- Forest remote sensing and GIS
- Unmanned aerial vehicle technologies in forestry
- Genetic analysis method competences
- Forest ecosystem services assessment methodology
- Plant physiology
- Forest wood resource forecasting and modeling
- Forest (forestry) and climate interaction
- National Forest Monitoring Program
- Genetic Resources Centre
- LULUCF sector GHG emissions and CO2 sequestration accounting and forecasts
- Evaluation of suitability of reproductive material produced in other countries for use in Latvia
Latvia University of Life Sciences and Technologies
www.lbtu.lv WOOD UTILIZATION RESEARCH DIRECTION- Development of fire protection agent with sustainable and low environmental impact
- Industrially manufactured facades (shield systems)
- Development of wood composite materials and their application possibilities
- Technical-economic research of wood bonding technologies
- Research of wood cutting processes
- Research of wood hydrothermal treatment processes
- Furniture construction and conformity assessment
- Wood properties prediction
- Use of lignocellulose-based materials in insulation material production
- Rare and protected species, their changes, adaptation and risk factors in the context of climate change
- Anthropogenic impact on forest biodiversity and green infrastructure planning solutions
- Innovative solutions for increasing forest ecosystem diversity and promoting resilience
- Impact of economic activities on forest bird species
- Opportunities to provide microhabitats and other biodiversity elements
- Social research on forest and human interaction and its use in forest policy decisions
- Impact of conifer and deciduous tree mixtures on carbon stock and GHG dynamics
- Effectiveness of climate change mitigation in continuous cover forestry
- Afforestation solutions with the greatest climate change mitigation effect
Forest Research Station
www.agenturamps.lv
The Forest Research Station is a public agency established by LSFRI "Silava" and LBTU. Its purpose is to manage state scientific research forests for conducting research, establishing and maintaining long-term scientific research, environmental and forest monitoring sites, as well as supporting training internships and further education in forest sector education.
Latvian State Institute of Wood Chemistry (WCI)
www.kki.lv
The Latvian State Institute of Wood Chemistry (LSIWC) is one of the leading research centers for wood and other biomass in the Baltic region. The institute was founded in 1946 and combines decades of scientific tradition with a dynamic perspective on the latest trends in wood chemistry, green synthesis, and materials science.
Laboratories:
- Wood Degradation and Protection Laboratory
- Biorefining Laboratory
- Cellulose Laboratory
- Lignin Chemistry Laboratory
- Polymer Laboratory
- Bioengineering Laboratory
Forest and Wood Products Research and Development Institute
www.e-koks.lv Fields of activity:- Materials and technologies
- Fire safety
- Energy
- Economics
University of Latvia
www.lu.lv
Scientific activity at the University of Latvia (LU) takes place not only in faculties but also in research institutes. LU is developing as a modern academic institution that provides an environment and infrastructure for excellent achievements in research, studies, and innovation.
Priority research directions potentially related to the forest sector:
- Innovative information technologies
- Climate change and sustainable use of natural resources
- Ecology and biodiversity
- Public health, quality of life, and national sustainability
- Human and technologies, quality of education
- Faculty of Exact Sciences and Technologies (EZTF)
- Faculty of Medicine and Life Sciences (MDZF) – Institute of Biology
Vidzeme University of Applied Sciences
www.va.lv
The New Building School, a structural unit of Vidzeme University of Applied Sciences, is a place where sustainable construction education, research, entrepreneurship, and management meet. The school's foundation is built on three pillars – circular construction, wood construction, and digital construction. Through various formal and informal education forms, it provides opportunities to gain knowledge about sustainable construction approaches, focusing on how to build less, use existing resources through proper maintenance, adapting or transforming, how to build new with growing materials that can become CO2 storage, and how to optimize processes through construction digitalization.
Riga Technical University
www.rtu.lv
At Riga Technical University (RTU) Faculty of Natural Sciences and Technology, Environmental Engineering studies prepare engineers with broad competences in environmental protection – regarding the use of natural resources in energy production, energy efficiency, causes of natural resource pollution, and land resource use.
The mission of RTU Architecture and Design Institute is to promote the development of Latvia's architecture, design, and textile technology sectors and ensure growth for professionals in these fields at any career stage.
Daugavpils University
www.du.lv
The Institute of Life Sciences and Technology (ILTS) at Daugavpils University (DU) is an interdisciplinary research institute that combines fundamental and applied research. It conducts research in various fields, such as biology, ecology, chemistry, physics, and mathematics.
The forest research station, which is an agency founded by Latvian state forest research institute "Silava" and Latvia University of Life Sciences and Technologies forest faculty, conducts scholarly research in the area of forest management, ensuring long-term and uninterrupted research in this area.
www.agenturamps.lv