Malawi faces mounting challenges in meeting the growing demand for food, water, and energy to satisfy the needs of a rapidly growing population. Relying on secondary data, the paper argues that while the existing policy initiatives have increased food production to a certain extent, the demand for water and energy has also increased, leading to degradation of the resource base, and contributing to an increase in water-related diseases. Despite the inherent interconnections between water, energy and food production, agencies often work in a fragmented and isolated way. Poor sectoral coordination and institutional fragmentation have triggered the unsustainable use of resources and threatened the long-term sustainability of food, water, and energy security in the country, posing challenges to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the country. Consequently, this paper substantiates that a nexus approach can enhance understanding of the interconnectedness of the sectors and strengthen coordination among them. However, it requires but it requires a major shift in the decision-making process towards taking a holistic view, and development of institutional mechanisms to coordinate the actions of diverse actors and strengthen complementarities and synergies among the three sectors. The framework for cross-sectoral coordination and managing the nexus challenges is also suggested. ; https://grassrootsjournals.org/jelp/0102m00234.html#status
Article empirically investigates how intensive is the impact of natural gas prices on production by industries in Slovenian economy. Natural gas price movements can help us in forecasting the movements in electricity, natural gas, steam, hot water supplies, the production of metals, textiles, leather, footwear, leather & fur products, clothes, the production of pulp, paper, cardboard & products from paper & cardboard, the production of products from rubber & plastic materials, processing industry & the production of furniture, the production of intermediary consumption products & recycling. We proved that natural gas prices increase for 1 % point contributes to higher prices of living necessaries for 0,005 % points. Adapted from the source document.
India and Pakistan both are South Asian nuclear states, having a historical animosity that mainly stems from unresolved Kashmir issue. Both states realized the importance of peace therefore went for the negotiations after every battle. However, neither war nor negotiation could lead to the permanent solution. This article presents a critical analysis of the talks and negotiations held from 1998 to 2004 in order to restore peace and to resolve conflicts between both neighbors. The official documents i.e. declarations, agreements and recommendations of the CBMs have provided quite solid material for analytical discussion. Though a great desire of resolving all issues peacefully, including the issue of water and Kashmir through dialogue on both sides have been explored from this analysis, however the resilient elements prevail and deteriorate the peace process on both sides. The role of media has also been found negative in making public opinion. If the international law is implemented and the people of Kashmir are given their right of self-determination under the UNO resolutions both countries can live in peace and address their other issues
V današnjem času se soočamo s številnimi varnostnimi grožnjami, med katerimi se pojavljajo tudi naravne nesreče, (ne)nalezljive bolezni ter lakota in žeja. Vpliv na manifestacijo teh groženj je moč posredno ali neposredno pripisati tudi stanju v našem okolju. V Evropi Zahodni Balkan izstopa s slabšim stanjem okolja in z višjo stopnjo okoljske degradacije v primerjavi s preostalimi regijami na kontinentu. V tem magistrskem delu sem preučeval stanje okolja v državah Zahodnega Balkana ter njegovo povezavo z varnostno paradigmo. Pri tem sem uporabil kombinacijo različnih raziskovalnih metod: analiza primarnih in sekundarnih virov, deskriptivna metoda, metoda primerjalne analize ter analiza statističnih podatkov. Prek analize sem ugotovil povezanost med stanjem okolja in varnostnimi grožnjami. Najvišjo stopnjo ogrožanja zaradi stanja okolja sta po indikatorjih imeli BiH in Črna gora, medtem ko sta najnižjo stopnjo ogrožanja zaradi stanja okolja imeli Severna Makedonija in Albanija. Pozitivni del okoljske varnostne paradigme Zahodnega Balkana, v primerjavi s preteklostjo, so zvišanje kakovosti vodnih virov ; gradnja sanitarne, vodne in okolju prijazne energetske infrastrukture, ter izboljšanje pravnih in regulativnih okvirjev za zaščito in varovanje okolja. Kljub napredku se Zahodni Balkan še vedno sooča z nekaterimi okoljskimi izzivi, kot so slabo stanje ozračja, slabo upravljanje z odpadki, ter slaba implementacija okoljskih strategij in pravnih aktov. Države Zahodnega Balkana bodo tako v prihodnosti morale še veliko postoriti za izboljšanje stanja svojega okolja, s čimer bi se znižala ogroženost ljudi, ki na tem prostoru živijo. ; We are currently facing numerous security threats, including natural disasters, diseases, hunger, and thirst. Some of the influence for the manifestation of these threats can be ascribed, either directly or indirectly, to the condition of our environment. In Europe, the region of the Western Balkans stands out as being in one of the worst environmental conditions and having some of the worst levels of environmental degradation, when compared to other regions. In this Master's thesis I studied the condition of the environment in the states of the Western Balkans and its connection with the security paradigm. I utilised the following research methods: primary and secondary source analysis, descriptive method, comparative analysis, and statistical analysis. Through this analysis I established the connection between the condition of the environment and security threats. According to the indicators, the two states with the highest security risk due to environmental conditions were Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro, while the two states which had the lowest risk were North Macedonia and Albania. The positive parts of the environmental security paradigm of the Western Balkans, when compared to the past, are the increase in the quality of water sources, the construction of sanitation and water treatment infrastructure, the construction of environmentally friendly energy infrastructure, and the improvement of legal and regulatory frameworks for the protection of the environment. Despite this progress, the Western Balkans are still facing problems such as poor air quality, inadequate waste management, and poor implementation of environmental strategies and legal acts. The states of the Western Balkans, therefore, still have a long way to go in order to improve the condition of their environment, which would also lower the security threat to the people who live in the region.
Oil and gas as the non-renewable resources are considered very valuable for the countries with petroleum economics. These resources are not only diffused equally around the world, but also they are common in some places which their neighbors often come into conflicts. Consequently, it is vital for those countries to manage their resource utilization. Lately, game theory was applied in conflict resolution of common resources, such as water, which is a proof of its efficacy and capability. This paper models the conflicts between Iran and its neighbors namely Qatar and Iraq between their oil and gas common resources using game theory approach. In other words, the future of these countries will be introduced and analyzed by some well-known 2 × 2 games to achieve a better perspective of their conflicts. Because of information inadequacy of the players, in addition to Nash Stability, various solution concepts are used based on the foresight, disimprovements, and knowledge of preferences. The results of mathematical models show how the countries could take a reasonable strategy to exploit their common resources. ; This paper models the conflicts between Iran and its neighbors namely Qatar and Iraq between their oil and gas common resources using game theory approach. In other words, the future of these countries will be introduced and analyzed by some well-known 2 9 2 games to achieve a better perspective of their conflicts. Because of information inadequacy of the players, in addition to Nash Stability, various solution concepts are used based on the foresight, disimprovements, and knowledge of preferences. The results of mathematical models show how the countries could take a reasonable strategy to exploit their common resources.
Raziskovalno delo se ukvarja z analizo financiranja lokalnih samouprav v Sloveniji in Makedoniji ter njihovo primerjavo. Sistem financiranja lokalnih samouprav je ključni stabilizacijski dejavnik, ki je bistvenega pomena za zagotavljanje učinkovitega sodelovanja državnega in zasebnega sektorja v zvezi z zagotavljanjem nujno potrebnih sredstev državljanom. Bistvenega pomena so lokalne javne dobrine in javne storitve. Sodobna lokalna samouprava bi morala zagotavljati javne službe, kot so oskrba z vodo, elektriko, plinom, telekomunikacijami, zdravstvom, šolstvom, javni prevozi, odvoz smeti ter zagotavljati nadzor in vpliv na te javne službe. Zagotavljala naj bi tudi zdravstvene prostore, stanovanja, predšolske ustanove, osnovne šole, domove za starostnike itd. Da bi lokalne oblasti zadovoljile povpraševanje in želje njihovih občanov, iščejo nove vire financiranja. V raziskovalnem delu smo analizirali lokalne samouprave, njihove prihodke in odhodke, strukturo in vire. Lokalne samouprave v Sloveniji in Makedoniji smo primerjali tudi z ostalimi članicami Evropske unije in na podlagi analize in smo ugotovili, da je Slovenija na področju sistema financiranja lokalne samouprave primerljivejša z članicami Evropske unije kot Makedonija. Na podlagi analize smo ugotovili tudi, ali so lokalne samouprave v obeh državah ustrezno in zadostno financirane. V skladu s predvidenimi pričakovanji je bilo ugotovljeno, da je v obeh državah zelo pomemben vir financiranja obveznih lokalnih nalog občine proračun države. To pomeni, da imajo lokalne samouprave premalo sredstev oziroma, da niso finančno samostojne, saj obseg primerne porabe občin ni skladen z njihovimi lastnimi prihodki. Posledično so potrebne finančne izravnave, ki jih lokalne samouprave prejemajo iz proračuna države. ; The research work deals with the analysis of the financing of local self-governments in Slovenia and Macedonia and their comparison. The system of financing local self-governments is a key stabilizing factor, which is essential for ensuring effective cooperation between the state and the private sector in terms of providing essential resources to citizens. Local public goods and public services are of paramount importance. Modern local self-government should provide public services such as water supply, electricity, public transport, garbage collection, gas, telecommunications, health, education and others, and to ensure control and influence on these public services. It should also provide health facilities, housing, pre-school institutions, primary schools, homes for the elderly, etc. In order for local authorities to meet the demand and wishes of their citizens, they are looking for new sources of financing. In the research paper we analyzed local governments, their revenues and expenditures, their structure and resources. We also compared the local self-governments in Slovenia and Macedonia with other members of the European Union and on the basis of our analysis, and found that Slovenia is more comparable with the members of the European Union, such as Macedonia, in the field of local government funding. Based on the analysis, we also found out whether local governments are adequately and sufficiently financed in both countries. In accordance with the anticipated expectations, it was found that a very important source of financing of mandatory tasks of local municipalities was the state budget, in both countries, which means that the local self-government are not financially independent. The extent of adequate spending by municipalities is not in line with their own revenues, which requires financial balancing that municipalities receive from the state budget.
