Status of environment and climate in the Western Balkans

This report provides an up-to-date overview of environment and climate in the Western Balkans (WB) highlighting existing gaps with respect to the European Union (EU) acquis. The aim is to provide accurate and complete environmental information to monitor the progress in the accession process, as well as to support the implementation of the Green Agenda for the WB with particular reference to depollution and decarbonisation pillars and more general to support environmental management. In this edition, particular emphasis is made on the impacts of climate change on hydrological aspects (rainfall, droughts, surface and groundwater), forest fires and heat waves.

Major threats such as soil erosion, pollution, sealing, nutrient mismanagement led to widespread soil degradation across the WB region. However, the complexity and diversity of soil types, along with a lack of most recent data, made it difficult to provide a comprehensive assessment within this report. Efforts were made to improve the status of water through investments in wastewater infrastructure, regulatory improvements aligned with EU standards, and monitoring systems. However, key stressors such as untreated wastewaters, agricultural runoff, and the combined effects of climate change and hydromorphological degradation, strongly affect the water management across the Western Balkans region.