Over the last month, there has been a significant increase in public interest in the Nature Conservation Agency's (the Agency) website www.invazivs.lv, which provides information on dangerous invasive plant and animal species found in Latvia and how to control them, while also offering the opportunity to report invasive species observed in the wild to experts.

“Modern nature conservation is based on science and cooperation – on everyone's practical involvement. Thank you to the public for your activity – both in taking an interest in invasive species and for doing your part in controlling them and reporting their locations,” says Andris Širovs, Acting Director General of the Agency.

Over the last month, while the Agency's LatViaNature project campaign “Let's catch the aliens in Latvia's nature!” was underway, the number of reports received from the public regarding invasive species observed in the wild increased sixfold. While an average of 79 reports per month were received on the Invasive Species Manager website www.invazivs.lv last year, 463 reports were received over the past month. Regarding invasive plants, people most frequently reported the distribution sites of the Canadian goldenrod, boxelder maple, and Sosnowsky's hogweed, and regarding invasive animals – the Spanish slug, American mink, and raccoon dog.

Overall, public activity in reporting invasive species has also increased this year. In 2023, 2,130 reports have already been received, which is more than double the total number of reports received during the whole of last year.

Furthermore, the increase in public interest in learning more about species dangerous to Latvia's nature is evidenced by the rise in visits to the www.invazivs.lv website, which has exceeded 4.5 thousand. This is 45 times more than the monthly average from last year.

As reported, between 19 May and 19 June, the Agency's LIFE-IP LatViaNature project carried out the campaign “Let's catch the aliens in Latvia's nature!”. The aim of the campaign was to raise public awareness about dangerous invasive species, the threats they pose to Latvia's nature, and to inform about the need to report observations of these species in the wild on the www.invazivs.lv website.

During the campaign, attention was focused not only on the hogweed, Spanish slug, or lupine, which the public is mostly well-informed about and recognises as invasive species, but at the same time to show that a number of plants whose threat to our nature we do not consider are also invasive species: Canadian goldenrod, Himalayan balsam, rugosa rose, snowy mespilus, and boxelder maple. All of them have a scientifically proven negative impact on biodiversity.

The Agency's LIFE-IP LatViaNature project invites people to continue familiarising themselves with information about invasive species and their control, as well as to report observations of these species in the wild – this allows for the early detection and identification of the spread of invasive species and for planning control measures.

Reports can be submitted on the Agency's website www.invazivs.lv by filling out a short form, attaching a photograph of the invasive species, and marking the location on a map. Each submitted report is verified by scientists and nature experts who work daily at the Agency, Daugavpils University, and the Institute of Food Safety, Animal Health and Environment (BIOR).