Bridging science, policy and practice for collaborations towards sustainable development in the Carpathian region

Book chapter, 2024

The Carpathian Mountain region, stretching across central and eastern Europe, is of great ecological importance. The region faces socio-economic-ecological challenges, including increasing adverse consequences of climate change, and, since February 2022, the impact of Russian war against Ukraine. The Framework Convention on the Protection and Sustainable Development of the Carpathians (the Carpathian Convention) is a regional policy instrument that facilitates cooperation among the Carpathian countries to address joint challenges of sustainable development. The chapter describes science, policy, and practice collaborations between the Convention and the Science for the Carpathians (S4C) network, which promotes regional research and identifies research priorities, contributing to the implementation of the Convention. The authors provide insights on  how cooperation between a regional treaty and a scientific network resulted in participatory development of scientifically evidence-based policy recommendations to address key socio-economic-ecological challenges in the region. The chapter also makes a case for potential EU accession to the Convention, to strengthen implementation of EU and international regulations and guidelines within the Carpathian region, and to facilitate new perspectives on how asymmetries in socio-economic-ecological development in different parts of the EU and the Carpathian region can be overcome.