Balkans



Publications

Zoï Books are produced for the United Nations, the European Union, regions, countries and a growing community of readers world-wide. We closely cooperate with GRID-Arendal in providing environmental information for decision-making.

Our digital library is available here.

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Access2mountain Sustainable Mobility and Tourism in Sensitive Areas of the Alps and the Carpathians: Study on traffic flows and possible solutions in Eastern Serbia (Timok region), 2013

In the framework of the "Access2Mountain" project on Sustainable Mobility and Tourism in Sensitive Areas of the Alps and the Carpathians, Zoi has prepared a study on traffic flows and possible solutions in Eastern Serbia (Timok region) for the European Academy Bolzano (EURAC). The study describes the overall geographic, environmental, transport and tourism setting of the region, based on policy documents and data collected from national, district and local level sources in Serbia. The study analyses existing and potential capacities and deficiencies of transport related to tourism in the Timok region, and proposes alternatives for the future.

A short introduction to environmental remediation for mining legacies: case studies from ENVSEC work in South East Europe, 2013

In close cooperation with UNEP and the ENVSEC initiative, Zoï has compiled a highly visual report summarizing the innovative work the Environment and Security (ENVSEC) initiative has conducted in the Balkans during the last 5 years. Understanding the health and environmental risks arising from mining legacies is crucial for future decision-making, but simply knowing that the risks exist is not sufficient: providing solutions on how to reduce risks and enhance cooperation is also important. Therefore, ENVSEC wanted to create regional examples that provide realistic options on how these risks can be minimized with cost-efficient interventions that can be replicated across the region. These example sites are now being used as educational tools where experts, students and others can get in touch and acquire an understanding of what has been done, and can then apply their knowledge in similar projects in other locations.

Climate Change Adaptation in South Eastern Europe, 2012

While mitigation seeks to limit climate change by reducing the emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs) and by enhancing opportunities for carbon sequestration, adaptation aims at reducing the vulnerability of natural and human systems against actual or expected climate change effects. Adaptation entails an adjustment in natural or human systems in response to actual or expected climatic stimuli or their effects. The goal of adaptation is to moderate harm or exploit beneficial opportunities. From the sustainable development perspective, the response to climate change requires both mitigation and adaptation. The purpose of this report is to consider the adaptation challenges in the South Eastern Europe (SEE) region.

Climate Change in the West Balkans, 2012

This report forms part of an awareness-raising campaign by the United Nations Environment Programme and the Environment and Security initiative on the effects of climate change. Representatives of governments, international organizations, civil society organizations and research institutions and other experts from the region have compiled this booklet with the objective of revealing and explaining the linkages between people and the environment in the Balkans. We hope that this report will be of some assistance to those who develop climate change policies and programmes in the region and that it will stimulate concrete actions that eventually can be reported back to the world at one of the future global meetings on climate change.

West Balkan Environmental Core Set of Indicators, 2012

Behind this brief pocket book there is an impressive process of change in the Western Balkans: On a regular basis, environmental data are being collected and compiled by the authorities as well as by civil society and the private sector. Information is being passed on to those who want to know what the environmental situation is, so as to be able to compare against targets and thresholds and take action. More than 100 professionals from the region have contributed to this unique compilation of data and indicators, thus helping build the indispensable foundations of democracy in a region, which is step by step becoming an integrated part of Europe.

e-book English  e-book Albanian  e-book Bosnian  e-book Croatian

e-book Macedonian  e-book Montenegrin  e-book Serbian

Mining and Environment in the Western Balkans, 2010

Over the last few years UNEP and its ENVSEC partners have been working to identify and reduce transboundary environmental risks from hazardous mining operations in South Eastern Europe, with the focus on Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo, Montenegro and Serbia. This document seeks to provide an overview of the results and experience created over this period to facilitate related work in the future and ensure broad dissemination of the lessons learned to guarantee that the efforts made so far can be sustained.

Interactive map

Vital Balkan Graphics, 2007

Environmental protection is one of the areas where the Balkan countries still face a big challenge to catch up with their western neighbours. After the 1990s conflicts and the breakup of Yugoslavia, six new Balkan states emerged. Apart from integrating environmental concerns into the new policies, a major challenge is environmental management across new borders.