Latvia to separate Botanic Garden from Nature Conservation Agency less than a year after merging them
Less than a year after Latvia's National Botanic Garden was merged into the Nature Conservation Agency, the new responsible minister, Edgars Tavars, wants to reverse the decision and make the garden independent again.
In January of this year, Latvia's National Botanic Garden (NBD) was merged into the Nature Conservation Agency (DAP). At the time, officials justified the move by pointing to reduced bureaucracy and more efficient management of both institutions.
Now, in less than a year, the ministry responsible for the sector is preparing to reverse that decision. The new minister, Edgars Tavars of the Apvienotais saraksts (United List) party, wants to separate the NBD from the DAP once again. His justification relies on the same arguments used to support the original merger — less bureaucracy and more efficient management.
Two opposite decisions
As a result, the same ministry has, within less than a year, made two organizational decisions pointing in opposite directions regarding the same institution. First came the merger with the DAP; now a renewed separation is being prepared, with similar efficiency-related arguments cited both times.
The situation suggests that the NBD's institutional status remains unsettled and depends on the stance of whoever leads the ministry at a given moment. No detailed public information is currently available on exactly how the NBD's operations would change after a renewed separation from the DAP, or what timeline is planned for such changes.
