News

On Wednesday, May 14, the second BioRegion Forum will take place at the “Cēsis” Concert Hall under the main theme “Local Economy, Circularity, and Organic Food.” The event will bring together representatives from national, municipal, non-governmental, and private sectors to collaboratively define the next steps in the development of an environmentally friendly and cooperation-based bioregion.

We invite you to register for the forum by May 9here.

The full program of the forum is availablehere.

In the first part of the forum, participants will review the progress made since the establishment of the Gauja National Park BioRegion in 2023. During this time, the municipalities of Cēsis, Sigulda, and Valmiera, in cooperation with regional and national partners, have developed the visual identity of the BioRegion, improved green public procurement practices—promoting the consumption of organic food in schools and kindergartens—and expanded public participation opportunities in the BioRegion’s development. The forum will also outline the next steps to strengthen an environmentally friendly and circular economy.

The second part of the forum will feature two parallel sessions, allowing attendees to choose the discussions that interest them most.

Cooperation, Challenges, and Solutions for Promoting Local Food Consumption in the BioRegion

This session is dedicated to enhancing cooperation among local food producers and processors to strengthen short food supply chains and the competitiveness of local producers. The Cēsis District Rural Partnership, the Vidzeme Rural Partnership “Brasla,” and the association “From Salaca to Rūja” will highlight key challenges and solutions for future cooperation initiatives within the BioRegion, reflecting on their work within the inter-territorial cooperation project “Towards a Green Region.” The session will also include a workshop open to anyone interested in developing joint projects for short food supply chains and product promotion in the BioRegion.

Thoughtful Resource Use in Daily Life and Management

This session will showcase practical tools and examples of circular economy implementation—from roadmaps for municipalities and businesses to digital resources like lietovelreiz.lv and sinergia.lv. Entrepreneurs will share their experiences in zero-waste management, while education representatives will discuss training opportunities in circular construction.

The forum will also host “speed dating” sessions between local organic food producers and public catering companies to encourage new collaborations and increase the availability of organic food.

The Gauja National Park BioRegion was established on October 25, 2023, during an international forum held in Sigulda, where a memorandum of goodwill was signed. The memorandum represents a commitment at all levels to create an environmentally and climate-friendly, resource-efficient, inclusive, and economically prosperous environment. It was signed by municipalities, national institutions, educational and research organizations, businesses, NGOs, and citizens.

Participation in the forum is free of charge.

The first session is supported by the European Union’s European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development under Latvia’s Rural Development Programme 2014–2020, sub-measure “Inter-territorial and Transnational Cooperation,” project No. 23-00-A019.332-000007 “Towards a Green Region.”

The second session is supported by the LIFE Integrated Project Waste To Resources Latvia - boosting regional sustainability and circularity”(LIFE Waste To Resources IP, LIFE20 IPE/LV/000014), co-financed by the EU LIFE Programme and the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Regional Development.

The information reflects the views and opinions of the authors only and does not necessarily represent the views of the European Union or the European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA). Neither the European Union nor the funding authority can be held responsible for the content.