LATVIA

The Latvian timber sector is fundamental to the recent growth of its economy.

According to economists the industry represent nearly one-third of exports and earned the country almost one billion euros last year, when output grew by 8.5 percent. It is now comparable with Sweden and Austria in size and value. A recent emphasis on exporting treated and processed products such as kiln-dried timber or window frames and doors rather than raw timber has been one factor in this success. For example furniture manufacturing currently represents around 36 percent of the entire industry, of which the vast majority is reportedly exported.

Eighty percent of timber exports go to other EU member states, with Britain the most significant market. Germany, the Netherlands and Denmark are also important trade partners. Domestic timber sales have also helped fuel growth, driven by a construction boom in Latvia, which joined the EU in May last year.

Latvia also imports round and sawn timber from Russia, Lithuania, Belarus and the Ukraine for domestic processing.

DOCUMENTS

DATE	TITLE	AUTHOR
30/04/2007	WWF Illegal Logging Government Barometer 2007 (No. IV) The Barometer assesses the efforts of European governments to implement the EU's Action Plan on ...	WWF
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22/11/2005	Failing the Forests: Europe's Illegal Timber Trade Based on trade data for six key timber-producing regions – the Amazon Basin, the Baltic States, ...	WWF
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01/10/2005	Impacts of reduction of illegal logging in European Russia on the EU and European Russia forest sector and trade A report examining the potential impacts of implementing trade controls, such as the licensing scheme ...	European Forest Institute
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01/01/2005	WBCSD and WWF pilot project: Developing best wood tracking practices to verify legality of wood origin in Latvia Under its Collaborative Framework Agreement, the WBCSD and WWF undertook a joint pilot project on wood ...	WBCSD
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30/10/2003	The features of illegal trade and logging in the Baltic Sea region During the last years an increased focus has been put on the illegal logging as a major constraint towards ...	WWF Latvia
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22/10/2003	Logging and Trade of Acquired Timber: Legal regulation procedures and ways to evade them The aim of this researchis to determine all possible stages in the chain 'pre-logging stage – ...	WWF Latvia
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NEWS

DATE	TITLE	AUTHOR
23/01/2012	Economic slowdown leads to the pulping of Latvia's forests The economic crisis has pushed many nations to scramble for revenue and jobs in tight times, and the ...	Mongabay.com
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16/08/2011	Could Madagascar stance benefit European forestry? Timber and forestry investors in Europe could potentially benefit from a new hard-line approach to illegal ...	KMS Baltics
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24/03/2011	PEFC endorses Latvian forest certification scheme The revised Latvian Forest Certification System has been endorsed by PEFC International. ...	TTJ, The Timber Industry Magazine, UK
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04/02/2011	''Al Jazeera'' reports on Latvia's rapid deforestation The London based Qatari news channel ''Al Jazeera English'' has aired an investigative ...	The Baltic Course
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30/04/2007	EU governments failing the forests Brussels, Belgium European governments are dragging their heels on a key EU initiative designed to tackle ...	WWF
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13/10/2005	WBCSD/ICFPA joint position paper calls on governments to combat illegal logging Geneva, Switzerland - "Preventing illegal logging in forest areas where timber harvesting is strictly ...	WBCSD (Switzerland)
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30/01/2004	Anti-illegal logging project in Latvia wins World Bank prize Danish NGO NEPCon was one of the winners of the recent World Bank's Development Marketplace (DM) ...
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LINKS

TITLE	DESCRIPTION	REPORT
Ministerial Conference for the Protection of Forests in Europe (MCPFE)	The MCPFE is a political initiative working towards the protection and sustainable management of forests in Europe. It involves 44 European countries, the EC, and cooperates with countries outside of Europe and international organizations that participate as observers.	Broken link
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