Albania Forest Futures: Rethinking Forests as Ecological Infrastructure for Sustainable Industrial Development

Abstract Albania possesses significant forest resources, yet its forestry sector is underdeveloped in terms of industrial capacity, certification, and market integration. As Albania faces major infrastructural and urban development and prepares for deeper alignment with EU environmental law during the accession process, there is an opportunity to reframe forests as ecological infrastructure – multifunctional assets that provide carbon storage, ecosystem services and renewable materials for construction. This comparative study examines Albania’s forestry profile alongside three European cases – Austria, Slovenia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina – chosen for their illustrative governance, certification trajectories, and industrial outcomes. Using harmonized indicators (forest cover, growing stock and sustainable yield, public management share, industry maturity, timber use in public infrastructure, export share, forestry revenues per capita, and CO₂ emissions per capita), the paper identifies transferable lessons and proposes a set of short-, medium- and long-term policy interventions for Albania. The study finds that certification programs, pilot mass-timber investments, and public procurement can be combined to activate Albania’s timber potential while safeguarding ecological functions. Keywords Ecological infrastructure, forest governance, sustainable forestry, territorial planning, urban resilience