Forest expert in no rush to criticise tree felling needed for power line safety
Jānis Rozītis of the World Wide Fund for Nature in Latvia says widening protection zones around 110 kV power lines is a less contentious issue than other forest-related cases. The Saeima decided on the change in October.
Widening the protection zones around high-voltage power lines is a less heated issue than other cases involving Latvia's forests. This was said by Jānis Rozītis, chairman of the board of the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and head of its Forest Programme, during a discussion on the Latvian Radio programme "Kā labāk dzīvot" ("How to Live Better").
In October, the Saeima, Latvia's parliament, decided to widen the protection zones around power lines with a nominal voltage of 110 kilovolts (kV). Such zones are strips of land along power lines where economic activity, including growing trees, is restricted. Wider zones mean more trees have to be cut for the sake of power line safety.
Rozītis said in the discussion that he is in no hurry to criticise the felling of trees justified by power line safety. In his view, this topic is not as contentious as other forest-related disputes.
The source gives no detailed figures on how wide the zones will become or how many trees may need to be felled.
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