“…Along the Danube between Vienna and Bratislava the force of water is still capable of creating previously non-existent habitats: floods create new bluffs; nes gravel banks and islands grow out of the current; forests are washed away and created from scrat…”
Ver más información

“…As we learn more about how the forest functions, we are gaining greater respect for it's intricate web of life…”
Ver más información

“…Because of this expansion and fine structure growth, researchers may lose themselves in the deep forest of the ever-increasing frontiers and sub-fields being created. …”

Tabla de Contenidos: “…Intro -- Foreword -- Acknowledgements -- Editorial -- Abbreviations and acronyms -- Facts and figures of the Western Balkans -- Executive summary -- Amid a COVID-19 pandemic, learning from and with each other in order to tackle challenges and find innovative and timely solutions is more necessary than ever -- Nine shared strategic priorities for the region -- Education and competences -- Social cohesion -- Green recovery energy and air pollution -- Digitalisation -- Migration, brain drain and diaspora engagement -- Creating opportunities for women -- Land management and property rights -- Local governments -- In the end, progress comes down to implementation and reliability -- Part I Assessing opportunities and constraints in the Western Balkans: Regional overview -- Assessing opportunities and constraints in the Western Balkans: Regional overview -- 1 Overview: Identifying strategic opportunities for the Western Balkans -- Vision and opportunities -- Key trends shaping development of the Western Balkans -- Rapid population ageing -- Climate change -- Democratisation process -- Digital transformation -- Assessing well-being performance and constraints to sustainable development in the Western Balkans -- Well-being -- Major constraints to sustainable development -- People -- Prosperity -- Partnerships and financing -- Peace and institutions -- Planet -- COVID-19 in the Western Balkans -- Shared strategic opportunities and challenges as avenues for peer learning -- References -- Note -- 2 Multi-dimensional analysis of development in the Western Balkans -- People -- Social cohesion is limited, and many people are left behind -- Employment opportunities are inadequate, especially for women and the young -- Attending education in the Western Balkans does not yield the skills needed to succeed -- Health systems are ineffective and understaffed, resulting in poor health outcomes -- Social protection needs a more sustainable financing model and does not always reach those most in need -- Prosperity -- GDP growth is weaker but more balanced -- Domestic enterprises, particularly SMEs, face a challenging institutional and business environment -- The lack of a skilled workforce impedes the growth of investment, job creation, innovation and technology adoption -- Infrastructure gaps impede trade and global value chain integration, and unreliable access to electricity and other utilities deter investment -- Partnerships and financing -- Western Balkan economies rely heavily on external financing for growth -- Fiscal performance varies, but the fiscal space in most Western Balkan economies is limited or has narrowed considerably in the post-crisis period -- Weak public-sector revenue performance limits the scope for improvement of public services -- High and rising current expenditures crowd out public investment -- SMEs face considerable difficulties accessing financing -- Peace and institutions -- Western Balkan economies have not yet struck the right balance of power between levels of government -- Imperfectly defined land rights undermine the functioning of land markets -- The judiciary in the Western Balkans is often biased and inefficient -- SOE governance is a source of large inefficiencies -- The EU integration process and the role of informal institutions -- Planet -- Air pollution: high levels of pollution pose a threat to biodiversity, human health and the economy across the Western Balkans -- Levels of air pollution are high across regional economies -- Poor waste management and inadequate wastewater treatment are major sources of ambient and water pollution across Western Balkan economies -- Biodiversity: the region's rich biodiversity and abundant forest coverage is threatened by pollution and not sufficiently protected -- Energy sector: energy efficiency levels are low across Western Balkan economies, and most economies rely heavily on coal for electricity generation -- Governance inefficiencies: tariffs set below operational costs threaten the financial sustainability of public utilities -- Water: water management, access to drinking water and water scarcity are challenges in some Western Balkan economies -- Natural hazards: most Western Balkan economies are vulnerable to natural hazards -- References -- Part II Assessing opportunities and constraints in Albania -- Assessing opportunities and constraints in Albania -- 3 Overview: Identifying strategic opportunities for Albania -- Towards a vision for Albania in 2030: an attractive society with high quality of life and strong human capital, built on reliable, resilient and efficient institutions, a dynamic economy and integration into Europe and the region -- Assessing Albania's development performance -- Sustainable development: summary of Albania's performance and major constraints -- Suggestions for strategic priorities for Albania -- References -- Note -- 4 Impact of COVID-19 in Albania -- Evolution of the pandemic -- Policy responses and economic impact -- Dimensions of vulnerability to further socio-economic impact from COVID-19 -- Material well-being and social protection -- Health and non-material well-being -- References -- 5 Multi-dimensional analysis of development in Albania -- People towards better lives for all -- Improving well-being for all, everywhere -- Strengthening the productive potential and equal participation of all citizens -- Many women and youth are excluded from the labour market and wider society -- Labour market institutions do not address job quality and demand-supply imbalances -- Boosting education quality to increase well-being and quality employment -- Improving health and social protection coverage -- Health outcomes are comparatively good, but the healthcare sector places a high cost burden on patients and suffers from lack of access and resources -- Social protection benefits are too modest and need to be integrated with care services -- Prosperity boosting productivity -- Albania's growth model requires new drivers to accelerate structural transformation and boost productivity -- Albania's tradable sector needs more investment, diversification and upgrading -- The contribution of exports to GDP has improved but leaves room for progress -- Albania has attracted significant amounts of FDI, mostly for energy, extractives and non-tradeable services and less for manufacturing and ICT -- The skills gaps and skills mismatches affect productivity and growth -- The institutional and administrative constraints limit domestic and foreign investment -- Corruption increases the cost of doing business in Albania -- Contract enforcement is lengthy and political, and regulatory instability is relatively high -- Obtaining construction permits is lengthy and expensive -- The large infrastructure gap limits investment, particularly manufacturing FDI -- Partnerships and financing financing sustainable development -- Remittances are an important source of finance in Albania -- The fiscal space is limited -- Revenue performance is lagging behind, and expenditures need to increase in key areas -- Improved tax collection and a broader tax base are needed to improve revenue performance -- Access to financing is constrained by weak property rights and informality -- Peace and institutions strengthening governance -- The fragmented structure of the public administration can stand in the way of implementation -- Albania has numerous and sometimes overlapping strategic documents -- The fragmentation of agencies poses a challenge to implementation capacity -- The courts are short of capacity and still exposed to unlawful external influence -- Property rights are still insecure, affecting land productivity and sustainability -- Land rights in Albania remain insecure -- Path-dependent and incomplete legislative frameworks leave land-related issues unresolved -- Corruption remains a challenge -- Albania has taken steps to fight corruption, but more coherence and co-ordination is required -- Vote buying, obscure party financing and patronage in the public administration are other forms of corruption -- The limited local fiscal and administrative capacity and the unclear regional development framework may exacerbate regional inequalities -- The decentralisation process is ongoing, but local fiscal and administrative capacities remain limited -- The regional development framework has been separated from the decentralisation process -- The…”