Zemgale Planning Region organized the first partner meeting and the second Stakeholder Panel Meeting on landscape and green infrastructure planning and management that took place on 17th April 2019 in Žagarė Regional Park Visitor Centre, Lithuania. The event gathered together project partners and stakeholders from Latvia and Lithuania to strengthen the landscape and green infrastructure planning and management in the cross-border region as well as to share the knowledge on the best practices of the field.

Continuing to implement the project “ENGRAVE” supported by the Latvia-Lithuania Cross-Border Cooperation Program 2014-2020, the project manager of Zemgale Planning Region Evija Ērkšķe presented the progress of the project activities and the work done so far, including the work on the Zemgale Landscape and Green Infrastructure Plan, which will be the first planning document of this kind in Latvia.

All participants had the opportunity to familiarize themselves with the development of the Plan for enhancing the River Svēte catchment during the second panel meeting in Žagarė where the River Svēte is also flowing through. The 65.4-kilometer-long catchment area stretches from the border of Jelgava Municipality to River Lielupe estuary and is studied by various research methods and activities – including identification of flood area with 1% probability and scanning of area using LIDAR for development of floodplain; scanning of river bed using RiverRay and development of 3D model at ArcGIS system for development of river bed 3D model. The development of the plan for the River Svēte Catchment focuses on the different new technical solutions for the lowland rivers. In order to obtain more complete data on river flow, hydrological stations with sensors for water level and flow determination are being developed in Jelgava county, while water samples are collected once a month and coastal erosion is monitored. Summarizing the collected data, it is planned to develop a sustainable green infrastructure plan that will enable future investments in the most critical river areas.

A review of the development of the plan in the area of ​​Biržai district in Lithuania was presented to the parties involved in panel meeting. According the General plan of Biržai district, this territory along the Rivers Apaščia and Agluona in Biržai Town, and the Lake Širvena is ascribable to the forest and greenery conservation zone, therefore it is especially important to develop a Plan for Preservation, Landscaping and Development of Green Infrastructure including management measures for different functional zones of the natural landscapes.
It focuses on effective usage (efficient use) of the environment of the territory for the social, economic and environmental needs that is divided into six zones – from intensively used recreational greenery to extensively used ecological greenery.

In the second part of the event the participants of the meeting discussed cross-border topicalities and development opportunities in the Svēte catchment area, and at the end of the meeting went to Žagarė Cherry garden, where they got acquainted with the territory and planned improvements and development on the territory. During the site visit all partners and stakeholders have an opportunity to plant own cherry tree in the Cherry garden.