On 12 June 2025 at 17:00, a public consultation meeting was held at the Grobiņa Parish Culture House (Liepu Street 1A, “Robežnieki”, Grobiņa Parish, South Kurzeme Municipality) to discuss the nature protection plan for the “Lake Liepāja” nature reserve.

The “Lake Liepāja” nature reserve is part of the European Natura 2000 network of protected areas. Nearly the entire area of Lake Liepāja corresponds to habitat type 3140 – Hard oligo-mesotrophic waters with benthic vegetation of Chara species. By surface area, it is the largest habitat of its kind among all Natura 2000 sites in Latvia, comprising 30% of all known occurrences of this habitat in the country.

At the national level, the area is also a priority for the protection of grassland habitats 6410 – Molinia meadows on calcareous, peaty or clayey-silt-laden soils (the second largest by proportion of total Natura 2000 coverage in Latvia), and 1630* – Boreal Baltic coastal meadows (fourth most significant). The site is included in the list of Important Bird Areas (IBA) and supports over 100 breeding, migratory, and wintering bird species.

The nature protection plan has been developed for the period 2025–2036. Its aim is to align nature conservation goals with the use of natural resources, regional development, and the interests of local residents in order to preserve the site’s natural values.

During the public consultation meeting, attendees were introduced to the objectives of the reserve, its most significant natural values, influencing factors, planned management measures, and proposed changes to the individual protection and use regulations of the “Lake Liepāja” nature reserve.

The nature protection plan was developed by Daugavpils University on behalf of the Liepāja City Municipality. The plan is part of the project “Development of a Nature Protection Plan for the ‘Lake Liepāja’ Nature Reserve” (project No. 1-08/45/2023), implemented by the Liepāja City Municipality with funding from the Latvian Environmental Protection Fund.

Following the completion of the public consultation process, the developed plan will be submitted to the municipalities of Liepāja and South Kurzeme for official feedback.

Head of the Nature Conservation Plan Development
Lead Researcher at Daugavpils University – Uldis Valainis
Phone: +371 26113065
E-mail: uldis.valainis@biology.lv