Bāra, G. and Tuherm, H. 2008. Improvement Possibilities of Forest Land Transformation in Latvia. Baltic Forestry 14(2): 195-203

Due to the natural and artificial afforestation of non-used agriculture land, the growth of forest areas in Latvia is much higher than their reduction in connection with land transformation. The process of change of forest land use type in Latvia is complicated, bureaucratic, time-consuming and expensive, if it is not performed with the state investment funds, state or municipal co-funding. The forest land transformation process does not threaten the increase in forest land area in future, because it is a socially economic process related to the aspiration of people to improve the quality of their living environment and not to illegal acquisition of timber. The goal of this study is to identify the main problems in process of transformation of forest land in the Republic of Latvia and gaps in legislative instruments regulating the process of change of land use type, to prepare recommendations for their elimination, to develop a methodology for calculation of compensation for the losses caused to the state as a result of destruction of natural forest environment.

Key words: forest land transformation, methodology of compensation