Reform after reform: ministry reverses course on Botanical Garden's status
Within less than a year, the ministry responsible has made two opposite decisions on the National Botanical Garden's institutional setup — after merging it into the Nature Conservation Agency, a new split is now being planned.
An unusual pattern has emerged in Latvia's public administration: the same ministry has, within less than a year, made two directly opposing decisions about how the National Botanical Garden (NBD) should be organized.
From merger to separation
In January this year, the NBD was merged into the Nature Conservation Agency (DAP). At the time, the decision was justified with promises of reduced bureaucracy and more efficient management by bringing the two institutions under one structure.
Now, the new minister responsible for the sector, Edgars Tavars of the "Apvienotais saraksts" (United List) party, wants to reverse that decision and split the NBD off from the DAP once again. The minister is basing this position on the very same arguments used back in January — cutting bureaucracy and improving management efficiency.
A repeated reorganization
The situation shows that the same underlying argument — reducing bureaucracy — has been used by the ministry to justify two completely opposite organizational solutions within less than a year. First it served as grounds for merging the NBD into the DAP; now it is being used to justify separating the same two institutions again.
Such a shifting approach raises questions about the consistency and long-term planning of public administration reforms in the field of environmental and nature protection, where institutional stability is generally considered a precondition for effective management.
