Without a valid forest inventory you cannot fell, cannot apply for support, and cannot reliably value the forest. It lasts 20 years, but in practice the data ages faster. Here is when an inventory must be renewed, what it costs, and why its year is the first thing to check before a deal.
What a forest inventory is, and why nothing happens without it
A forest inventory — often called a taxation survey (*taksācija*) in Latvian — is a body of data about the forest, held both as a document and as a record in the State Forest Register (MVR). It answers a simple question: what exactly grows in your forest, and what condition is it in.
An inventory shows the forest type, the division into compartments and their area, the dominant species, age and height, the timber resources at compartment level, protection belts around biologically significant forest elements, and forest infrastructure — natural tracks, rides, and water-access points.
Without this document a forest holding is legally "blind". To obtain a felling permit from the State Forest Service (VMD), you need a valid inventory. The same applies to land-use change away from forest and to applying for Latvian or EU support in the forestry sector.
Validity: 20 years — but "20 years" does not mean "reliable for 20"
Article 29 of the Forest Law requires the owner to carry out a first-time inventory and then renew it at least once every 20 years. For inventories completed after 17 March 2000, the validity period is exactly 20 years; it used to be 10 years, and the 2012 amendments to the Forest Law extended it.
One important detail: validity ends at the close of the calendar year, regardless of the date on which the inventory file was registered in the MVR. So the final year of validity is always a whole year, not a date.
But the formal term is only an upper bound. Over 20 years a forest can be hit by a storm, fire or pests, a new stand may be planted or a felling carried out — and the real picture diverges from what was recorded years ago. VMD says it plainly: look not only at the statutory term, but also at the actual state of the forest. The law does not forbid renewing an inventory earlier, and Mežabirža recommends doing it every 10 years.
What a valid inventory unlocks
A valid inventory is not a formality — it is the key to everything else. Specifically, you need it to:
In other words: if the inventory has expired, the owner cannot legally fell and cannot apply for money they are entitled to. Before any serious step with a forest, the inventory is the first thing to put in order.
- obtain a permit for planned felling;
- carry out land-use change away from forest;
- apply for Latvian and EU funding or co-financing for forestry support measures;
- claim real-estate-tax relief for young stands and for restrictions on economic activity.
Who carries it out and what it costs
An inventory — the taxation survey — may only be carried out by certified forest surveyors. You are free to choose the surveyor; just check the region of their professional activity. VMD publishes a list of registered surveyors on its website.
The price is set by the surveyor and depends mainly on the size of the forest. As a rough guide, an inventory of up to 5 ha costs around EUR 70–200, with roughly EUR 15 per hectare added on average for each hectare beyond that.
Mežabirža gives a warning: if someone offers a "free" inventory, the cost is most likely buried in the commission on a later deal. To avoid overpaying, it is worth approaching a surveyor yourself and having the inventory done independently of any sale.
Why it matters before you buy or sell forest
For a seller the logic is direct. If the 20-year term is close or already past, a buyer will notice, and felling is blocked anyway until the data is renewed. A fresh inventory before sale removes that obstacle and gives a credible basis for the price discussion.
For a buyer it is a due-diligence question. The inventory year tells you how old the data is that the age, height and timber volume rest on. If the survey was done 18 years ago, the stand is actually 18 years older, part of the timber may already be cut, and a value calculated "on paper" can be wrong in either direction. Before you pay, it is worth knowing the year the forest was last genuinely surveyed.
How to check how fresh the data is (and where MezaData fits)
The inventory year is one of the fields in the VMD data for a compartment (the *gtf* field). It is exactly what tells you the year the forest was last surveyed — and every other value, the age, height and volume, is a snapshot from that year.
MezaData shows compartment data drawn from the State Forest Register, so it is only as fresh as the last inventory. A practical rule: before you trust an age or volume figure — on MezaData or anywhere else — look at the inventory year. If it is approaching the 20-year mark, treat the numbers as indicative and assume a new inventory will be needed before any felling or deal.
Sources
- State Forest Service — A current forest inventory matters to the forest owner (17 Sep 2021, LV) — the 20-year validity period, what an inventory is needed for, why to look at the forest's real condition.
- Mežabirža — Forest inventory: when to do it and what it costs (20 Sep 2023, LV) — Article 29 of the Forest Law, costs, who may carry out the survey, what the data shows.
- Forest Law (likumi.lv, LV) — the obligation to inventory the forest and the rules on validity.