Measures
LEGISLATION
It is possible to implement the Environmental
Strategy only by improving and organising national legislation.
Legal acts and binding regulations are not harmonised in respect of
environmental issues. The environmental legislation still lacks a
clearly defined distribution of functions, rights and
responsibilities among municipal and state institutions operating in
various sectors that are related to the environment.
Since
Latvia
regained independent, the foreign policy of the Latvian Government
has been focussing upon establishing closer relations with the EU.
Integration processes in the environmental sector call for the
harmonisation of legislation and introduction of a supervisory
system according to EU requirements and norms not only on the
national level but also locally.
Taking
into consideration the problems disclosed in the Environmental
Strategy, the Riga City Council and its executive institutions must
act as follows:
-
When
solving environment-related problems, it is necessary to follow
consistently the legislative and administrative acts approved by
the Cabinet of Ministers of the
Republic
of Latvia
(Household Waste Management Strategy, National Biodiversity
Strategy, Environmental Education and Communication Strategy among
others)
-
They
should act as initiators in proposing the drafting of new
legislative acts or supplementing or amending the existing
legislation (e.g. the Law on Natural Resources Tax, and the Law on
Environment Protection )
-
According
to the goals set forth in the Environmental Strategy, new
regulations, and conceptual documents must be
developed
-
The
strategic policy of the Official Plan must be evaluated and
support must be provided for research aimed at the creation of a
database that will be used to develop a new Riga City Official
Plan
-
The
observation of legislation and of Riga City Council decisions must
be monitored consistently by separating decision-making functions
from executive functions
