The Ministry of Environmental Protection and Regional Development of the Republic of Latvia (VARAM) is responsible for implementing policy in three areas – environment protection, regional development as well as digital transformation.
In the area of environmental protection, the Latvian Ministry deals with the establishment of prerequisites and conditions for nature conservation, clean environment and ensures that natural resources are used effectively and in a sustainable manner.
In the area of regional development, the Latvian Ministry implements and evaluates regional policy at the state level, provides methodological guidelines, and supervises the territorial development planning process, as well as ensures the development and supervision of local governments with the overall goal to achieve well-balanced and sustainable development of the country.
Implementation and coordination of the e-Governance is another broad policy area of the Latvian Ministry. It includes the establishment of a one-stop principle for the provision of state and local government services and the implementation of modern and effective information and communication technologies in the public sector.
