Nature management plan for Svēte’s floodplains confirmed

On April 26, this year the Minister of Environment approved of the nature management plan for the nature park “Svēte’s floodplains”. The plan was worked out by Latvian Ornithological Society within the framework of the LIFE-Nature project “Restoration of Floodplain Meadows”.

Nature management plan for Svēte’s floodplains confirmed

On April 26, this year the Minister of Environment, Mr. Raimonds Vējonis, approved of the nature management plan for the nature park “Svēte’s floodplains”. The plan was worked out by Mr. Rolands Lebuss (Latvian Ornithological Society) within the framework of the LIFE-Nature project “Restoration of Floodplain Meadows”, which is implemented by Latvian Fund for Nature. The plan is envisaged for the next ten years.

The planned measures are mainly connected to the management of Svētes floodplains’ meadows. These meadows are an important rest area and feeding ground for crossing migrating water birds in spring and a significant nesting place of corn crakes. Svētes floodplains are the most western place where in the last years the world widely endangered great snipe could still be found.

As the elaboration manager of the plan, Mr. Rolands Lebuss, pointed out, it is of high importance that the plan already during its elaboration was coordinated with the Rural Support Service. This secures that the place with the most significant concentration of crossing migrating waterfowls –

Flooded polders are very

important for migrating

water birds

Vārpa’s summer polder – in spring during the migration time is flooded. In the summer of 2005 the polder’s embankment was strengthened, so that in the spring of 2006 the meadows were not flooded, which diminished their importance as rest area and feeding ground for birds. The achieved agreement envisages, that from now on the Rural Support Service secures the flooding of the polder every spring. In accordance with the course of birds’ migration and the recommendations of the Latvian Ornithological Society the end of the flooding period will be determined individually from year to year.

In April of 2007 Svētes floodplains were coevally visited by 16,000 geese (mainly white-fronted geese, but also bean geese, barnacle geese and others) and other waterfowls. That is the second biggest known number in one place – following Latvia’s biggest known system of floodplain meadows – Dviete’s floodplains – where coevally even 30,000 geese were registered.

Svētes floodplains are located in Jelgava’s district in the municipalities of Līvbērze and Valgunde. The nature park was established in 2004 and is accredited as Natura 2000 site and as internationally important bird area.

Within the framework of the floodplain meadows’ restoration project two information stands and a leaflet were prepared, which educate the visitors of the territory about the nature values of Svētes floodplains. In the next time it is also planned to publish a summary of the nature management plan, which, supplemented with coloured pictures, will be used to inform land owners and users about the nature park, its values and recommendable ways of land use.

The nature management plan can be inspected here (in Latvian only).

Watch Svēte’s floodplains in pictures.

Written by Andris Klepers after information given by Ilze Ķuze (Latvian Ornithological Society). Translated by Richard Kaatz.