Background: As Albanian agriculture began returning to the private sector in the late 1990s, it was evident that the infrastructure was weak, resulting in low production standards and inefficient use of resources. Despite efforts in the last two decades to restructure and strengthen the agriculture sector, it still remains underdeveloped, characterised by inadequate research, development, transfer of knowledge and modernisation. Farmers still rely on outdated, inefficient pesticide application equipment and often use highly toxic pesticides that are banned in the rest of Europe. Within the agricultural schools and universities, there is a weak capacity for agricultural research and knowledge transfer stemming from several infrastructure-related shortcomings, such as lack of resources and contact with the global scientific community. This constrains the international competitiveness of researchers as well as the training of students in modern pest management approaches. The limited capacity for technology transfer hinders the generation of science-based solutions for local agricultural problems and an ineffective advisory service means that farmers remain disconnected from agricultural research and technology development. Aim: This project aims to build the capacity of relevant institutions in research and knowledge transfer in integrated pest management (IPM); a sustainable pest management approach that reduces overreliance on chemical pesticides and alleviates the negative impacts of agriculture on human health and the environment. The project also aims to strengthen the infrastructure required to improve the quality of agricultural production and enable self-reliance in developing and implementing sustainable IPM solutions. Significance: Through the integration of effective theoretical and practical IPM training into higher education, this project will better prepare students for future employment in an agricultural profession and increase the overall IPM knowledge base within the agricultural sector. The provision of relevant resources and training will enhance capacity for conducting IPM-related research as well as foster integration into the international scientific community. Finally, strengthening the link between research and farmers will provide an effective channel through which to disseminate practical IPM solutions to farmers. In taking an institutional partnership approach, this project will consolidate the linkages between all key IPM stakeholders and create the infrastructure required to promote awareness, communication and institutionalisation of IPM along the whole chain of agricultural research, education, policy and practice.
This report analyses the taxation of energy use in 41 countries, covering 80% of global energy use. It appears at a juncture when many countries struggle to sustain orreconnect with economic growth and face formidable fiscal consolidation challenges. At the same time, concerns over the very highhuman costs of air pollution are mounting and the urgency of acting to limit greenhouse gases isnow abundantly clear.Energy use is an important source of greenhouse gas emissions and of air pollution. It also is acritical input into production and consumption in modern economies. If deployed effectively, taxes onenergy use are a powerful tool to balance the benefits and costs of energy use. Energy use taxes canalso play a useful role in fiscal consolidation. What this report tells us, however, is that with currentpolicies energy taxes fail to live up to their potential.Taxes on energy use influence the price and use of energy. Ideally, end-user energy prices wouldreflect their environmental impacts to ensure that resources are used most productively and that thenegative side-effects of energy use are contained. Taxes can help to achieve this, while also providingincentives to seek alternative, cleaner technologies.To employ energy taxes more effectively, it is necessary to understand the signals they providein respect of energy use. This report systematically analyses the structure and level of energy taxesacross 41 countries: the OECD countries and seven selected partner economies (Argentina, Brazil,China, India, Indonesia, Russia and South Africa). Effective tax rates, expressed per unit of carbonand per unit of energy, are situated within the energy market structures and other pricing policies ineach country, allowing the price signals they send to be better understood.Our analysis highlights vastly different levels of energy use and taxation among these41 countries, but also some common patterns. Transport energy is typically taxed at higher ratesthan other forms of energy use whereas fuels for heating and process use or electricity generationare more likely to be untaxed or taxed at lower rates. Fuels used for similar purposes are often taxeddifferently, with low rates applying to some of the fuels most harmful for human health and theenvironment. Tax rates on coal are particularly low.The picture is not, however, entirely bleak. The awareness about the need to curb negative sideeffectsof energy use is rising on governments political agendas, with many, including the selectedpartner economies, reconsidering price signals and taxes on harmful forms of energy use andinvesting in renewable sources of energy. This report can serve as a reference for policy makers andanalysts to identify reform options to ensure that energy taxes are best adapted to their economic,social and environmental goals - that is, to develop better tax policies for better lives.
Objective: The BRITA proposal on Eco-buildings aims to increase the market penetration of innovative and effective retrofit solutions to improve energy and implement renewables, with moderate additional costs. In the first place, this will be realised by the exemplary retrofit of 9 demonstration public buildings in the four participating European region (North, Central, South, East). By choosing public buildings of different types such as colleges, cultural centres, nursery homes, student houses, churches etc. for implementing the measures it will awareness and sensitise society on energy conservation. Secondly, the research work packages will include the socio-economic research such as the identification of real project-planning needs and financing strategies, the assessment of design guidelines, the development of an internet-based knowledge tool on retrofit measures and case studies and a quality control-tool box to secure a good long-term performance of the building and the systems.
INTERCROP aims at developing the European level of the scientific and operational understanding of intercropping (IC). INTERCROP takes an uniquely multidisciplinary and integrated European approach to evaluate the potential and to be able to make recommendations for using intercropping as an environmental-friendly plant production management method in organic farming systems for different regional conditions. Intercropping can increase organic cereal and grain legume protein production in Europe and will safeguard the organic farmers earnings and intercropping contributes to a substantial increase of biodiversity in European farming systems. Mains aims are: Identify benefits and obstacles for the far more extensive and flexible use of intercropping of arable crops in the EU in order to resolve both the technical and socio-economic aspects. Increase the knowledge on the multifunctional role of intercropping: production level and stability, resource use, environmental impacts, and product quality of intercrops. Design and test new methods for intercropping. To carry out on-farm demonstration activities. Scientific and technological objectives: To increase the knowledge and awareness of the multifunctional role of intercropping systems in organic farming with special emphasis on arable cropping systems. To quantify yield advantage and stability of selected intercrops compared to sole crops in organic farming systems under different agro-ecological conditions in Europe. To determine the effect of intercropping on weed suppression, pest and diseases in organic arable crops. To determine crop nitrogen dynamics in intercrops compared to sole crops and the potential of intercrops for minimizing the risk of N-leaching in organic farming systems. To determine the effects of and potential for manipulating grain quality parameters by intercropping. To develop and test new methods of intercropping for multifunctional purposes.