Chapter 3: Latvia
(continued)
3.2 Methodology
Sources of Information Used in the Survey
The survey is based on formal interviews conducted with 95 people: environmental technology and service providers, representatives of major polluting industries and municipalities, selected government institutions, and professional associations and universities. Additional sources included information gathered from existing projects, such as the Latvian Environment Programs "800+ Water and Wastewater Management," "Hazardous Waste Management" and "National Municipal Solid Waste Management Strategy for Latvia," and the Danish Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Projects "Capacity Building for Cleaner Technology in Latvia," "Environmental Improvements of Industry in Latvia" and "Waste Minimization from Industry in Latvia." News reports, trade journals, professional literature, informal telephone interviews, personal contacts and the researcher's experience in the field further served as information resources.
Sources of information are referenced throughout the text with numbers (e.g. /17/) referring to the list of publications included in Section 3.11.
Profile of Respondents
The experts interviewed for this survey were chosen so as to ensure:
- coverage of all environmental fields of activities (air, energy, water, waste, etc.);
- balance between environmental technology manufacturers, suppliers and service providers;
- representative cross-section of the most polluting and successfully operating industries (the criteria for industry selection was the following: number of plants related to industrial sectors, production volume from 1994 to 1996, productivity, environmental impact potential, regional relevance, implementation of cleaner technologies and waste minimization projects);
- representative cross-section of local governments (i.e. municipalities);
- representative sample in terms of geographic distribution (greater number of respondents from Riga and other large cities, but also several from rural areas);
- the major environmental technology centers and universities;
- a range of different perspectives on the subject of the environment (interviews with businesses, municipalities, MoE representatives, the Environmental Protection Fund, State Projects Agency "Vides projekti" ("Environmental Projects") and several regional environmental bodies);
- nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and professional associations.
A complete list of interviewees and a list of other significant information sources are included in Section 3.9 of this report.
Problems Encountered
Interviews were based on a questionnaire (see Appendixes) distributed after an introductory telephone call and prior to the interview. Since the questionnaire is long and detailed, some time was required before the interview to prepare the specific information requested or a follow-up call was required.
One of the main problems encountered were the different interpretations of the term "environmental technologies." To make the interviews more fruitful, an explanation was prepared, supplementing the questionnaire as follows:
"Environmental technologies are processes and/or equipment, which can be used for any of the following issues:
- pollution prevention at the source (e.g. reduction of raw materials, energy or water consumption, as well as waste reduction per product unit, substitution of toxic materials, etc.);
- treatment of emissions and water (wastewater, drinking water), waste treatment, recycling and disposal;
- remediation of polluted territories, reduction of pollution risks (e.g. soil treatment, waste dump clean-up, eco-efficient technologies, containment, etc.);
- pollution control (e.g. environmental pollution and quality parameters control, and equipment).
A second problem was the need for official state support for the survey before respondents would agree to participate. Therefore, a support letter from the MoE and signed by the vice-secretary of state was prepared. A second letter was prepared by the Center for Environmental Science and Management Studies of the University of Latvia, who undertook the survey, explaining the projects aims, expected results and interview procedure. Both the letters and the questionnaire were mailed to selected companies after their participation was agreed.
A further problem arose with companies who failed to see the benefit of the survey. Many were discouraged by the size of the questionnaire and by the use of terms such as EMAS and ISO 14000. The resulting success of the survey was in part due to the support offered by the MoE, the sound reputation of the Center for Environmental Science and Management Studies at the University of Latvia, and initial contact made between the interviewers and respondents.
Interviews were easier to conduct with environmental technology and service providers because the interview and their participation in the survey was seen as an opportunity to advertise products, with the opportunity to be included in the business directory, besides showing good competence in their professional area. Some environmental technology and service providers were less eager to complete certain areas of the questionnaire if it referred to their own private business interests (e.g. turnover in USD per year).
Finally, since the Environmental Protection Fund was only founded in 1996, not all of the required data was available. Furthermore, current publications listing key statistics for Latvia did not always contain all the required information and, when available, varied between different publications by up to 30 percent.
REC * PUBLICATIONS * ENVIRONMENTAL TECHNOLOGY MARKET - BALTICS * LATVIA
