Enviromental performance of agriculture in the western Balkan countries

Abstract

Unsustainable agricultural practices cause significant ecological harm, contributing to climate change and biodiversity loss. This paper aims to monitor progress the environmental performance of agriculture in five Western Balkan countries, identifying similarities and differences among them. The analysis is based on values from the Environmental Performance Index, published by the Yale Center for Environmental Law and Policy, using data for 2020, 2022, and 2024. Across the three years analyzed, Serbia consistently ranked highest in environmental performance of agriculture, while Montenegro (2020; 2024) and Bosnia and Herzegovina (2022) ranked lowest. Overall, across the analyzed countries, achieving greater sustainability in agriculture requires agroecological and climate measures to be prioritized within agricultural policies, underpinned by fundamental alignment with the European Union Common Agricultural Policy 2023-2027.