Municipal environmental governance in Latvia: Governance instruments’ framing practice

There is a certain positive development in Latvia, especially in particular cases, but, in general, not all environmental governance issues are regularly and sufficiently integrated into Latvian municipal development governance/planning system, since being neither substantially supported by national governance level nor everywhere taking place at the municipal planning and management self-designed practice, particularly, as instant public pressure and requirements are often limited. After governance landscape changing administrative-territorial reform (2021) in the country, researchers now were aiming to study governance dimensions’ framework in municipal practice – studying governance triple dimensions as content, stakeholders, and governance instruments. Research-and-development framework has been applied, using case study research methodology, based on the analysis of documents, general municipal practice structural overview, additional expert interviews/consultations, and, three chosen detailed municipal best practice case studies in Ventspils, Kekava and Valmiera municipalities with complementary governance approaches. Based on these studies, as well as on national previous studies and international best practice comparisons, there are emphasised the two core preconditions for the improvement of municipal environmental governance in Latvia. Since there is to be seen, that municipal environmental governance comprehensive integration approach, being theoretically well thought, but is having only limited success in current pragmatic municipal practice, there is to be secured municipal task-related vertical institutional environmental governance system, covering all four inner municipal administration levels. In parallel with statutory organized ground level environmental sector municipal companies, so-called communal services (drinking/sewage water, energy/heating, sanitary etc. basic environmental sub-sectors), other and newly growing environmental governance content issues are to be also institutionalised, but at the higher local government administration and decision-making levels. Next core precondition - municipal environmental communication complementary instrumentalisation and structural development, including environmental information, education/training, involvement/participation, and pro-environmental behaviour. These improvements would provide the necessary systemic overview and co-management of the whole complexity of environmental governance processes and procedures.