MINSK, 24 June (BelTA) – The European Union has provided €12 million to facilitate Belarus' transition to a green economy, Belarusian First Deputy Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Minister Iya Malkina said at a press conference on the state environmental policy and the application of green economy mechanisms, BelTA has learned.
“The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection is currently working to implement several projects of international technical assistance financed by the European Union. The projects will help us establish guidelines and concrete steps for transition to a green economy,” Iya Malkina noted. Among the projects, the First Deputy Minister mentioned Technical Assistance to Support the Development of Green Economy in Belarus and Supporting the Transition to a Green Economy in the Republic of Belarus. “As part of the projects, we analyze the EU and national legislation in the field of green public procurement, ecolabeling of products, organic farming, environmental innovations and ecosystem services,” Iya Malkina specified.
“The projects were launched in 2015, and we have already achieved tangible results. For example, we have purchased first electricity-powered sightseeing buses that will service tourist routes in Svityazyansky National Landscape Reserve and the Palace and Park Ensemble of the Radziwill family in Nesvizh. Besides, we have completed the construction of a nursery at Naliboksky Landscape Reserve to breed grouse for distribution to other reserves in Belarus and abroad. Moreover, an innovative project has been launched at the paper mill in Borisov to produce office paper from secondary resources,” Iya Malkina said.
The First Deputy Minister noted that a green initiatives contest for NGOs was held in Belarus in 2015. As many as 16 such initiatives are being implemented in the country today. They are aimed at the promotion of ecotourism, biodiversity conservation, sustainable use of biological resources and land, waste management, utilization of renewable energy sources and energy efficiency. These initiatives will help the Belarusian Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection choose the course of action and define priorities in the transition to a green economy. “Resources spent on the environment are not expenditures, but rather investments in the future,” Iya Malkina emphasized.
