MINSK, 18 September (BelTA) – Belarus is ready to sign a joint declaration on peatlands and to host a high-level conference on this topic, Belarus Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Minister Andrei Khudyk said at the 5th session of the CIS Interstate Environmental Council, BelTA learned from the press service of the Belarusian Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Ministry.
Andrei Khudyk proposed to hold a high-level conference on peatlands in Belarus. The event will bring together representatives of countries which are parties to relevant multilateral conventions and members of international agencies. “The conference will enable the involved countries and agencies to assess the degree of synergy of multilateral international agreements on environmental protection, which to varying degrees apply to peatlands, propose joint activities to implement the declaration, and develop financial mechanisms which would help preserve and restore peatlands and consequently reduce greenhouse gas emissions,” Andrei Khudyk said.
He stressed that Belarus supports the adoption of the joint declaration on peatlands as a platform for cooperation between countries which are parties to multilateral international agreements. “We believe that drawing increased attention to this matter is an appropriate step because peatlands are the most effective means of reducing CO2 emissions. None of other environmental protection measures like reduction of fossil fuel use or reforestation produce a comparable effect. At the same time, restoration of peatlands bears fruit rather quickly, within less than five years,” Andrei Khudyk noted.
The CIS Interstate Environmental Council convened for the 5th session in Yerevan on 17-18 September to discuss environmental protection measures, experience in waste management, harmonization of methods of calculating air pollutant emissions and the implementation of the state environmental policy.
