Increasingly frequent and intense extreme weather events due to climate change that can lead to industrial accidents and unchecked urban and regional development could together be a recipe for disaster, warn the UN and the governments of Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia.
Developing the capacity of statistical systems to respond to ever-changing demands is a core component of UNECE statistical work, linked directly to several of the targets of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Key tools used for capacity development have traditionally been face-to-face workshops, advisory missions and in-person visits to assess statistical systems.
This study identifies key drivers of forest degradation and the potential for forest landscape restoration in 17 countries of Eastern and South-East Europe. It builds on assessments from national experts and the best available data to support countries in preparing restoration pledges in the run up to the Ministerial Roundtable on Forest Landscape Restoration in Eastern and South-East Europe, scheduled to take place in 2021.
This report summarizes the impacts that the COVID-19 pandemic had, during the first three quarters of 2020, on the forest sector of countries in the Western Balkans (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia), focusing on production, export, import, consumption, prices and employment of the main wood products: roundwood, sawnwood, woodbased panels, wooden furniture, paper and paperboards. It also covers the recovery measures implemented by Western Balkan governments.
Albania and Montenegro have agreed to establish a joint technical working group on “Monitoring & assessment” and to develop and implement an information exchange protocol to operationalize their cooperation on the shared Cijevna/Cem River basin. These are the outcomes of joint consultations with these two countries held by the Implementation Committee under the UNECE Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes (Water Convention) on 5 February 2021.
Economic and social development in Albania crucially depends on the availability and good quality of water, land, forest and environmental resources, which are, however, under increasing pressure, including from climate change. An online consultation on the Water-Energy-Food-Ecosystems Nexus in Albania held on 14 December 2020, provided for broader engagement into a cross-sectoral assessment exercise.