In terms of having water resources, Afghanistan has a considerable advantage in comparison to its neighbors. However, war and other various factors have limited the country’s ability to make use of these resources. Water infrastructure—including dams, water storage tanks, irrigation and water supply networks, hydrometric stations and metrology systems, and sewage and sanitation systems—is limited and inefficient.

Without civic engagement and participation, democratization cannot succeed. This publication sheds light on the complex mechanisms of shrinking spaces in the Western Balkans, provides analyses, and develops adequate countermeasures.

In recent years, the role and position of civil society organizations in dealing with local and regional crises are seen considering a new approach that requires finding common grounds, exchange of ideas and cooperation among civil society organizations functional in that specific region. Afghanistan and Pakistan have had complex and at times fragile political and security relations and in the meanwhile the two countries are tied in an unavoidable and undeniable trade and economic interdependency.

This brochure presents an overview of the project Sustainable Mobility and Collectors of Secondary Raw Materials conducted in Belgrade during 2014 and 2015.  

Species are vanishing at such high speed that researchers are talking in terms of a sixth major mass extinction happening within human history. This introductory publication clarifies the vital development-policy significance of the discussion over biodiversity.

Imagine that by releasing a single fly into the wild you could genetically alter all the flies on the planet. This is the terrifyingly powerful premise behind gene drives: a new and controversial genetic engineering technology that can permanently alter an entire species by releasing one bioengineered individual. Civil society groups are alarmed by this newfound ability to reshape the natural world.

Any international intervention has crucial limits: It can change the rules of the game, but it cannot empower local players. The articles collected in this issue of Perspectives Southeast Europe tell stories about the current challenges of international intervention in Albania,  Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia and Serbia.

More and more individuals, communities, organisations and countries are considering climate litigation as 21 years of talks within UNFCCC have resulted in inadequate climate action. Climate litigation has seen tremendous progress worldwide as recent successful cases against different governments show. This report assesses current and pending climate litigation in the light of the Paris Agreement.

The UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) will hold its 13th Conference of the Parties (COP) in Mexico in December 2016. This briefing explains why synthetic biology is threatening all objectives of the CBD unless the parties act on five key issues.

As a country very vulnerable to climate change impacts, Morocco, the host of COP22, has very high climate ambitions and has taken on a global leadership role in committing to a renewable energy future. This study explores what role climate finance has played to allow Morocco to act as a trendsetter and how its climate finance governance can be further improved.