President of Latvia Egils Levits urged everyone to think about the value of nature in his opening speech: ‘In past, I would say until 19th century, we had to more or less live by the laws of nature. We had to subdue nature to survive. For example, Latvians cleared woodland for tillage, cutting down trees and making fields. Until the 19th century everyone believed that we need to subdue nature, whereas in 20th century, after conquering nature, we came to a striking realisation that we are nothing without nature. We are in the 21st century and we need to protect the nature now: man is now more powerful than nature. Since we are stronger now, we have to take care of the environment. It is our duty to protect it. Moreover, protection of nature and environment is each citizen’s duty according to Constitution of the Republic of Latvia’.
Modern lifestyle and economy are not in balance with nature and care for climate, as was pointed out during the discussion, thus President specifically emphasised that ‘our current priority should be economic transformation, we should stop causing harm to the environment’.
‘I believe that the best way to structure the greening of the economy is by reconciling economic and greening interests. Greening is not only about colours in the nature, it is about healthier environment and better living standards. It is not an easy task. No doubt, we will have to work hard to come to the right balance between protection of nature and all relevant economic interests. That is what our society needs, and everyone should voice their interests during such debate. Environment and greening are among the priorities of my presidency. We are ready for the European Green Deal,’ said Egils Levits.
In conclusion discussion turned to steps that need to be taken next to leave future generations a clean and green environment in Latvia and around the world. President Levits said: ‘In our region greening is all about nature, all forms of natural life, and we need to do whatever we can to be as green as possible, become greener, so that we and future generations can live a better life. Latvia is one of the world’s greenest countries, and to reach our goal of becoming the greenest country on the planet we need to make a serious effort. One of the steps is to make environmental policy more meaningful and efficient. It is the responsibility of the government. Care for environment and climate, however, is a concern of the whole society and not only governments or politicians. We as a society and individuals should try to minimise our impact on environment and pollution we cause. Human beings are part of the biological system. We cannot survive if we push all other species out, world is not meant to go that way. We belong to nature. We must treat other elements of nature with equal respect. Thank you all for your concern for the nature that you have demonstrated by coming here – there are so many of you here today! World Cleanup Day is a very important initiative, bringing together many people here in Latvia and around the world.’
Other panellists who joined President Levits included Juris Pūce, Minister for Environmental Protection and Regional Development, Jānis Zitāns, Head of Forest Management Planning, JSC Latvia's State Forests, Ilze Aizsilniece, President of Latvian Medical Association, Ieva Jākobsone-Bellomi, Professor, John Cabot University (Italy, Rome), and Vita Jaunzeme, Head of the Big Cleanup Day
This year, on 19 September 2020, Latvia will participate in the World Cleanup Day for the third year running. Latvia will celebrate World Cleanup Day by cleaning surrounding areas and traditional planting of ‘Trees of Happiness’. Campaign urges everyone to plant seeds for trees that symbolise Latvia’s contribution to restoring global ecological balance. World Cleanup Day activities in Latvia are coordinated by organizers of the Big Cleanup Day.
