Invasive species are plant and animal species that are not native to Latvia, threaten native species and their habitats, cause economic loss or are harmful to human health and the environment. What makes invasive species undesirable and dangerous is that they most often have no natural competitors or enemies to control their spread, resulting in invasive species becoming dominant in the environment, suppressing native species and spreading unhindered over ever wider areas.
To ensure coordinated control of invasive species across the European Union (EU), in 2014 the European Parliament and the Council adopted Regulation 1143/2014 on the prevention and management of the introduction and spread of invasive non-native species, binding for all Member States.