The countries of central and eastern Europe, that have become members of the Council of Europe, have infrastructure deficits that cannot be overcome with public funds. This study shows that public -private partnerships (PPP) can be a suitable tool for carrying our spatial development measures. They are not however as substitute for efficient administration at local and regional levels. The purpose of this study is to underpin the Guiding Principles for Sustainable Spatial Development of the European Continent, which were adopted at the 12th session of the European Conference of Ministers responsible for Regional Planning of the Council of Europe member States (CEMAT), held in Hanover in September 2000.
"The Council of Europe European Conference of Ministers responsible for Regional/Spatial Planning (CEMAT) brings together representatives of the 47 member states of the Council of Europe, united in their pursuit of a common objective: sustainable spatial development of the European continent. This compendium presents the texts adopted by CEMAT between 1970 and 2010 and the most important texts adopted by the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe regarding CEMAT."--P. [4] of cover.
The publication contains the proceedings of the 13th European Conference of Ministers, held in Slovenia in September 2003, which sought to review measures taken to implement key principles for sustainable spatial development in Europe (in relation to Recommendation Rec (2002) no. 1) and to promote transnational and inter-regional co-operation through development projects.
"The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic marks the most significant, singular global disruption since World War II, with health, economic, political, and security implications that will ripple for years to come." -Global Trends 2040 (2021) Global Trends 2040-A More Contested World (2021), released by the US National Intelligence Council, is the latest report in its series of reports starting in 1997 about megatrends and the world's future. This report, strongly influenced by the COVID-19 pandemic, paints a bleak picture of the future and describes a contested, fragmented and turbulent world. It specifically discusses the four main trends that will shape tomorrow's world: - Demographics-by 2040, 1.4 billion people will be added mostly in Africa and South Asia. - Economics-increased government debt and concentrated economic power will escalate problems for the poor and middleclass. - Climate-a hotter world will increase water, food, and health insecurity. - Technology-the emergence of new technologies could both solve and cause problems for human life. Students of trends, policymakers, entrepreneurs, academics, journalists and anyone eager for a glimpse into the next decades, will find this report, with colored graphs, essential reading.
Sustainable infrastructure development is vital for Africa s prosperity. And now is the time to begin the transformation. This volume is the culmination of an unprecedented effort to document, analyze, and interpret the full extent of the challenge in developing Sub-Saharan Africa s infrastructure sectors. As a result, it represents the most comprehensive reference currently available on infrastructure in the region. The book covers the five main economic infrastructure sectors information and communication technology, irrigation, power, transport, and water and sanitation. 'Africa s Infrastructure: A Time for Transformation' reflects the collaboration of a wide array of African regional institutions and development partners under the auspices of the Infrastructure Consortium for Africa. It presents the findings of the Africa Infrastructure Country Diagnostic (AICD), a project launched following a commitment in 2005 by the international community (after the G8 summit at Gleneagles, Scotland) to scale up financial support for infrastructure development in Africa. The lack of reliable information in this area made it difficult to evaluate the success of past interventions, prioritize current allocations, and provide benchmarks for measuring future progress, hence the need for the AICD. Africa s infrastructure sectors lag well behind those of the rest of the world, and the gap is widening. Some of the main policy-relevant findings highlighted in the book include the following: infrastructure in the region is exceptionally expensive, with tariffs being many times higher than those found elsewhere. Inadequate and expensive infrastructure is retarding growth by 2 percentage points each year. Solving the problem will cost over US$90 billion per year, which is more than twice what is being spent in Africa today. However, money alone is not the answer. Prudent policies, wise management, and sound maintenance can improve efficiency, thereby stretching the infrastructure dollar. There is the potential to recover an additional US$17 billion a year from within the existing infrastructure resource envelope simply by improving efficiency. For example, improved revenue collection and utility management could generate US$3.3 billion per year. Regional power trade could reduce annual costs by US$2 billion. And deregulating the trucking industry could reduce freight costs by one-half. So, raising more funds without also tackling inefficiencies would be like pouring water into a leaking bucket. Finally, the power sector and fragile states represent particular challenges. Even if every efficiency in every infrastructure sector could be captured, a substantial funding gap of $31 billion a year would remain. Nevertheless, the African people and economies cannot wait any longer. Now is the time to begin the transformation to sustainable development.
The aim of this annual forum is to promote the development of local democracy in the South-East Europe region and the partnership and exchange of experiences with other European partners. This publication contains information on the debates and contributions to the 5th Forum, held in October 2004 in Budva, Serbia and Montenegro.
