AGRICULTURE BETWEEN SUSTAINABILITY AND ENVIRONMENTAL PRESSURE: AN EMPIRICAL ANALYSIS IN WESTERN BALKAN COUNTRIES

The purpose of this paper is to empirically examine the impact of agriculture and selected sectoral and macroeconomic factors on the ecological footprint of the Western Balkan countries using panel data from 2001 to 2023. The research assumes that the structural characteristics of the economies of the countries of the region, especially the agriculture, industry and energy sectors, play a key role in shaping the model of ecological sustainability. The empirical model, based on the panel regression approach (fixed effects model), enabled the examination of both short-term and long-term effects of the determinants of the ecological footprint. The results indicate that the growth of industrial activity and intensive food production significantly contribute to increasing the ecological footprint, while greater consumption of renewable energy has the opposite effect, reducing the pressure on natural resources. Agriculture has a statistically significant negative impact on the ecological footprint, which confirms that the sustainable development of the agricultural sector can contribute to reducing the pressure on natural resources. The findings of the research provide an empirical basis for the formulation of sustainable development policies in the field of agriculture, energy and urban planning, with the aim of reducing the ecological footprint and improving the economic resilience of the region.

KEYWORDS / КЉУЧНЕ РЕЧИ: 

Ecological footprint, agriculture, sustainable development, Western Balkans

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT / ПРОЈЕКАТ:

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