Country Comments

With a population twice the size of what is sustainable, demand for limited natural resources in Albania has caused significant damage: air pollution is a major concern in cities, greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise, while waste management is poor and the protection of soil, forests, freshwater and marine resources is weak. A new environmental protection law was established in 2012. Its objective was to raise the level of environment protection by establishing a consolidated network of environmental institutions at national and regional level. Questions remain if the law's implementation has been lacking or had much affect (1). Albania does have below replacement fertility of 1.62 children per woman and net migration loss of 14,000 in 2020, and as a result population levels are declining and the country is trending toward sustainability. (1) https://www.researchgate.net/publication/335607875_The_Development_of_Environmental_Law_in_Albania_Historical_Overview_of_Efforts_toward_Full_Approximation_with_the_Acquis_Communautaire