The Perccottus glenii is one of the most invasive of European fish species. During August‐September 2019, we examined Chinese sleeper from six waterbodies in Latvia and Ukraine for parasites. Seventeen parasite species were registered, including two ciliate species, one coccidia, one monogenean, one cestode, six trematodes, three nematodes, one acanthocephalan, one parasitic copepod, and one bivalve glochidia. Maximum species richness was registered in Ukraine, with eight species at Vylkove and three species at Lake Kartal. Numbers in Latvia were generally lower with three species at Ilgas and just one at Gailezers. The parasite fauna registered in Latvia was poor overall, the richest site being the University pond. Two non‐native parasite species were registered, the monogenean Gyrodactylus perccotti and the copepod Neoergasilus japonicus. Gyrodactylus perccotti was observed in Lake Kartal and the Danube delta in Ukraine, but not in Latvia, while N. japonicus only occurred in the University Pond in Latvia. This is the first record of this species in Latvia. Low parasite acquisition by the Chinese sleeper in Latvia may be caused by the release of this fish from aquaria, which is commonly registered in the region. It is likely that such low parasite loads have contributed to the formation of stable populations and the subsequent increase in expansion.

Internationalisation is set as a horizontal priority of higher education in the context of the quality assurance by the government of Latvia. However, higher education institutions (hereinafter – HEI) in Latvia find it challenging to attract talented international students and academic staff, especially in the regions, thereby the internationalisation rates in HEI differ. The internationalisation is a complex concept – it is understood not only by the attraction of international students and academic staff, but also by internationalisation of local students and staff as well as by creation of inclusive environment for both – international and local students and staff. Taking into account before mentioned, the aim of the research is to analyse the dimensions of the internationalisation of regional HEI in Latvia. During the research, six regional HEI in Latvia were analysed in the context of diverse aspects of internationalisation. Recommendations to regional HEI were developed based on the analysis of case studies. The analysis showed that the internationalisation in the regional HEI in Latvia are mainly focused on attraction of international students and on student and academic staff mobility. At the same time, some of the regional HEI set the internalisation as a priority while others focus more on local students and regional needs. However, most of regional HEI in Latvia lag behind the average EU and national internationalisation rates.

During 2017, Dutch elm disease was investigated on 67 Ulmus glabra and 29 Ulmus laevis samples from 28 sites in Latvia. The presence of Ophiostoma novo‐ulmi was detected in 61.2% of the samples from U. glabra and in 34.5% of the samples from U. laevis. In 11% of cases, hybrids between subsp. novo‐ulmi and subsp. americana were identified, particularly in the sites in the southern part of Latvia. This study presents the first verified record of Ophiostoma novo‐ulmi and its subspecies in Latvia.

Demographic transformation and increase of older people in Europe have encouraged discussions regarding how economics could help older people to grow old in a dignified way and be active in labour market. In Latvia the term older people is usually applied to pensioners. In this research the author analysed the number of pensioners in Latvia from 2012 till 2018, as well as change of pensioners’ employment level in population aged 45 and over. This research showed that 63.1 % of pensioners (45 years old and over) in Latvia were employed in 2018. Compared to 2012 the amount of employed pensioners in 2018 has increased by 10.2 %. Regression analysis between employed pensioners and average pension in Latvia from 2004 till 2018 shows a statistically significant linear interrelationship (R2 = 0,723) but the data correlation analysis shows a strong positive correlation (r = 0,850).

Chamomilla recutita is a cross-pollinating medicinal plant widely used in traditional medicine both in Latvia and globally. In this study, we evaluated the genetic and morphological diversity as well as the chemical profiles of plants collected from semi-wild populations in Latvia as well as various varieties found in Central Europe. All samples were characterized with high quality, reaching thresholds of European Pharmacopoeia for essential oil content and apeginin-7 glucoside. The samples that were collected in Latvia were characterized by high levels of bisabolol oxide A. The collected samples were characterized by using morphological descriptors and molecular markers (RAPD) and showed large within and among accession diversity thus indicating variability potential for future selection. The hierarchical cluster analysis revealed that samples collected in Latvia are not distinct from foreign clusters, thus they do not form distinct branches as they have overlapping qualities and similar origins.

The Single Energy Sustainability Index combines three key sustainability indicators: environmental, social and economic. The use of indicators makes it possible to create an overall index that shows not only how green the region is, but also includes the well-being and economic situation of its population. The study uses a universal formula that is adapted to the case study of Latvia. The energy sustainability index formula combines 12 weighted indicators. The multi-criteria analysis method AHP was used to determine criteria weights for this purpose. Latvia’s overall sustainability index was calculated at 0.48 and only the Riga region (0.65) exceeds the index value for Latvia as a whole. Using this sustainability development index, it is also possible to analyse possible future development scenarios for energy sustainability in Latvia and its regions. To assess the potential for future development and sustainability of regions in Latvia and other countries, it is necessary to continue the study.

Integrated coastal management (ICM) is still challenge at any governance level, but, particularly, for the small local governments and scattered coastal communities. The EU BONUS programme, supported BaltCoast project (2015–2018) in the Baltic Sea region to provide related studies with an internationally acknowledged methodology based on social-ecological system (SES) and stakeholder participation approaches – System Approach Framework (SAF), which was also adjusted for a particular local rural coastal governance process case in Latvia. Current study has been based on research-and-development (R and D) framework, conducted in the typical local coastal municipality of Salacgriva as a pilot territory applying case study research (CSR) methodology (complementary stakeholder interviews, document studies, observations etc.). The aim of the study was to explore in to the detail the rural local coastal governance shortcomings, analysing all the triple complementary governance dimensions – governance content, process and stakeholders’ segments – and to recognize the main necessary preconditions for the local coastal governance process functioning and eventual governance system building elements. The findings of the research allow to propose also recommendations: for the local coastal governance process and system design in Latvian municipalities in general. It was also recommended to develop MCG instruments, especially, coastal collaborative communication instruments – information, education, participation and coastal-friendly behaviour.

World population growth will increase the demand for food, while rising incomes are expected to change the eating habits. Agriculture remains a major source of nutrients that may require drastic changes. Accordingly, it is necessary to project the potential future development of various agricultural sectors. Therefore, the overall aim of this study is to identify the development opportunities for dairy farms of various sizes in Latvia until 2050. In the period 2005−2018, Latvia experienced significant structural changes in dairy farming, as the production of cow’s milk and the sales of it for processing increased, while the numbers of dairy cows and dairy farms decreased significantly owing to the disappearance of small dairy farms (up to 5 cows). For this reason, it is required to project the future development of dairy farming. To generate projections for agricultural production in Latvia until 2050, the Latvian Agricultural Sector Analysis Model (LASAM) was developed at the Latvia University of Life Sciences and Technologies in 2016. Within this research project, the LASAM model was extended by a module for the distribution of farms by size. According to the projection generated by the LASAM model, the milk production in Latvia is expected to gradually increase to 1196.1 thou. t by 2050, while the number of dairy cows is expected to gradually decrease to 119.6 thou. (−17 % compared with 2018), which is determined by production intensification in dairy farming and expansion of large farms with more than 300 cows.

During the last decade, moral education issues are widely discussed in Latvia and worldwide by practitioners, researchers and policy makers. Different understandings of character and virtue education are present in this debate, and this could blur the quality of communication between school leaders, teachers and parents in this relevant aspect of pupils’ education. The aim of this study was to investigate the diverse understandings of character and virtue education in Riga city, the capital of Latvia. For answering this question, an online mixed-method survey was conducted from March to May 2018 involving 759 respondents (school pupils and their parents, pre-service and in-service teachers, school leading staff and educational authorities). The results showed that in Latvia prevails the belief that character education and virtue education have different goals, even if they are interrelated, whereas the main stream in international virtue ethics literature is to consider them as equivalents. The possible explanations of this discordance are discussed and some recommendations for reaching a unified understanding of character and virtue education in Latvian educational system are put forward.

Considering the proposed new administrative territorial reform in Latvia, regional demographic implications of such municipal restructuring should be evaluated and placed in line with the advancements of the two neighbouring Baltic countries. This study aims to develop an indicative demographic outline of Latvian municipalities proposed under the 39-municipality model and identify main regional demographic peculiarities in Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia for the next two decades. Literature review, statistical and geospatial methods, as well as recalculation, estimation and forecasting of the regional demographic data are used as research tools within this study. Study results indicate that despite expected structural changes proposed by the reform, Latvia could expect continuation of the two-speed demographic development pattern and core-periphery divide in regional development. However, judging upon experience in regional demographic developments of the two neighbouring countries, the new structure may prove to be more robust and manageable, linking rural municipalities and their respective regional development centres under “one roof”, thus allowing for easier control and implementation of the corrective policy measures.