PROJECT OF THE GOVERNMENT OF BELARUS
Proposal for GEF funding
National Capacity Self-Assessment for Global Environment Management
Country name: Republic Belarus
Project Title: National Capacity Self-Assessment for Global Environmental Management
PIMS NO: 2455
GEF Implementing Agency: United Nations Development Program, UNDP
GEF Operational Focal Point: V. Podoliako, First Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection of the Republic of Belarus
National Executing Agency: Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection of the Republic of Belarus
Country Eligibility: Belarus is fully eligible for GEF assistance, certified by the notification of participation in the re-structured GEF on 30 March 1994
Convention participation:
Convention
/ Date of Ratification /Accession /National Focal Point
Convention on Biological Diversity / Ratified 8 September 1993 / Mr. Vasili Podoliako, First Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environmental ProtectionUNFCCC / Ratified 9 August 2000 / Mr. A.Apatsky, Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection
UN Convention to Combat Desertification / Acceded by President’s Decree #393 dated 17 July 2001 / Mr. Vasili Podoliako, First Deputy Minister of Natural Resources Environmental Protection
GEF Financing: $ 179,100
Government Contribution: $ 9,000 (staff time, room rent, car rent)
Estimated Total Budget: $ 188,100
Estimated Starting Date: September 2002
Duration: 18 months
BACKGROUND, CONTEXT, AND RELATED WORK
Sustainable Development Context
At independence in 1991, Belarus inherited one of the highest standards of living in the former Soviet Union (FSU). It occupies 57th place in the Human Development Index and has one of the lowest levels of poverty amongst FSU countries. Despite the consequences of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant accident, the transition process and more recently the 1998 Russian financial crisis, the economy continues to grow but remains vulnerable due to its dependence on Russia for fuel and raw materials. In contrast to other FSU countries, GDP growth has been associated with State owned enterprises rather than private sector development. In 2001, a new Programme for the social and economic development of Belarus (2001 – 2005) was adopted by the 2nd All-Belarusian Assembly,a congress of key governmental, business, and civil society organizations). The realization of this Socio-Economic Programme by the Government of Belarus should lead to stabilization, sustainable economic growth, and ultimately, to improvements in living standards.
The basic principles and recommendations of Agenda-21 have received widespread recognition in Belarus. In 1997 the Government drafted and approved a National Strategy for Sustainable Development, which laid out a vision of the county’s development and defined the type of state, society and economy to be built in the future. The strategy reflects the current trends in global, social and economic advancement. It recognizes the world’s movement towards a post-industrial society, based on new technological patterns and the need to provide opportunities for the consistent development and growth of every individual. To implement the country’s strategy for sustainable development, a governmental Commission for Sustainable Development was created. The Commission consists of the deputy ministers of all relevant ministries with the Deputy Prime Minister as the head of it (Please see the composition of the Commission in Annex 6).
Belarus is currently reviewing its National Strategy for Sustainable Development (1997 – 2002) with UNDP support. The assessment will inform the preparation of its next sustainable development strategy due to be submitted to the Government in 2003. During the preparation of this proposal it was agreed with the Government that the outputs of the NCSA would contribute to the National Strategy for Sustainable Development.
Environmental Management Context
Legislative and Policy Framework
The regulatory framework for environmental protection and rational use of natural resources as well as the protection of health of the population as elements to achieve the sustainable development of the country is formed by:
· Constitution of the Republic of Belarus;
· Laws, adopted by Parliament;
· Decrees and Orders, issued by President and other executive bodies
The National Assembly determines major aspects of state environmental policy, adopts the environmental legislation and declares, when necessary, territories as zones of ecological catastrophe. The President of the Republic of Belarus issues decrees and orders for the implementation of laws, including those relevant to environment and natural resources. The President directly or through specially created bodies maintains control over compliance of local governments or other subordinated bodies within the provisions of environmental legislation.
The Council of Ministers is the central body of control and has executive powers to implement state environmental policy, coordinate activities of Ministries and of other national bodies of state control in the field of rational use of natural resources and environmental protection and international cooperation.
During 1992-2001, 18 fundamental laws were adopted by Parliament and 10 of them were adopted in Belarus for the first time. During the same period of time about 100 by-laws were initiated and approved by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection and other relevant bodies (Annex 1). The strategic aim of the state is to create a system of ecological legislation not only by adopting environmental laws but also by mainstreaming environmental considerations in the various sectoral laws regulating all spheres of state activity.
Institutions
The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection (MNREP) is the major governmental body ensuring the implementation of the state policy of environmental protection and rational use of natural resources in the Republic of Belarus. It fulfills its activities through its central organization as well as through specialized inspections of state control, regional committees and district inspections. The State Committee on Forestry, State Committee on Energy Efficiency, the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Supply, and the Ministry of Emergencies play a decisive role in the management and conservation of the natural resources within the respective sector of economy. The Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Education and other ministries have specific functions in implementing environmental activities as well.
To enforce environmental legislation, the Government passed a series of specialized normative and methodological documents. The administrative management of environmental protection is based on bans and permits issued by environmental protection agencies. At the local level MNREP works through its regional (oblast) branches and district (rayon) inspections of natural resources and environmental protection. Central and local branches of MNREP are authorized to impose restrictions on the use of selected natural resources and to issue licenses and quotas on emissions, pollution and waste disposal. The MNREP officials are entitled to suspend enterprise operations when environmental standards are not met and impose administrative sanctions for the violation of environmental regulations. The state environmental expertise is based on the same principles.
Research into environmental issues is undertaken by specialized agencies of MNREP (Belarusian Scientific Center Ecology, Ecologiainvest), as well as by a number of research institutes of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, such as the Institute of Zoology, the Institute of Experimental Botany, the Institute of Ecology, the Institute of Heat and Mass Exchange. Practical studies to devise technical plans for implementation of specific nature-conservation activities are carried out by Project Institutes and enterprises, such as Belgiprovodkhoz, Benlitszem, Polesiegiprovodkhoz, etc. The leading higher educational establishments, such as the Belarusian State University, the Belarusian State Polytechnic Academy have special laboratories carrying out research in specific areas of study, such as geology, biosafety, mapping, etc.
The State Ecological Monitoring Network is being maintained by the Academy of Sciences. New sites, identified as important for ecological monitoring, are studied by various institute of the Academy of Sciences and are then proposed for inclusion into the State Ecological Monitoring Network.
There are approximately 50 non-governmental organizations and associations registered and operating in Belarus whose activities are linked, to some extent, to ecological problems and in particular, to issues related to biological diversity, climate change and land degradation. In July 2001, after preliminary consultations with NGOs, a Public Coordination Council was established under the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection as a step towards implementation of the Aarhus Convention and improved coordination between the Ministry and the NGO sector. The Council includes representatives of 16 non-government organizations, including Ecoline, BirdLife Belarus, Ecoprovo, Ecodom, Belarusian Nature Conservation Society, Belarusian Association of Children and Youth, Belarusian Social-Ecological Union Chernobyl, Belarusian Ecological Green Party, etc.
NGOs have been involved in the implementation of a number of international projects, including those of UNDP-Government Cooperation. BirdLife Belarus, for example, was an executing agency of the project Management Planning for Conservation of Fen Mire Biodiversity, which resulted in the preparation and implementation of management plans for key biodiversity sites in the Polesie region. A number of local NGOs (from Gomel Oblast) have been actively involved in the small-projects realized under the UNDP-GEF Dnieper Strategic Action Program project. Recently, the first set of seminars on preparation of the National Action Program to Combat Land Degradation in Belarus was conducted with wide participation of NGOs. An NGO was subcontracted by MNREP for management of the workshop. Mechanisms to enhance the participation of NGOs in current and planned actions under the UNCCD in Belarus were discussed.
International cooperation in the area of environmental management is developing, but is limited due to political reasons. The key international initiatives in the thematic areas of Biodiversity, Climate Change and Land Degradation are discussed further under the respective subsections.
In April 2002 a draft World Bank report “Building Blocks for a Sustainable Future. A Selected Review of Environmental and Natural Resources Management in Belarus” was discussed at a National workshop and approved by the Government of Belarus. The purpose of the review of environmental and natural resource management was to identify how environmental management could contribute to the sustainable development of Belarus. It includes recommendations for action and identification of priorities. This report was a result of a cooperative effort between the Government of Belarus, The World Bank and the International Atomic Energy Authority (IAEA). The report draws on many documents but has particularly benefited from the earlier Bank Environmental Strategy prepared in 1993, and the OESD Environmental Performance Review, published in 1997.
Global Environmental Management
The Republic of Belarus is actively involved with international environmental issues and is a party to 12 international conventions and protocols (see Annex 5). The legislation of Belarus (para 56 of the Law “On Protection of Environment”, 1992 ) provides that under conflicting or unclear situations, the norms of international conventions or protocols should preside over those ones in national legislative acts.
In terms of Convention implementation and institutional arrangements the situation is complicated since although Belarus signed up to the Convention on Biodiversity in 1993 it is a relative newcomer to the Conventions on Climate Change (2000) and Desertification (2001). This has implications for the NCSA process as there is a wealth of experience to be drawn upon in the area of biodiversity, while further in-depth analysis may be required for Climate Change and Desertification.
Biodiversity
The state of the environment in rural areas is a matter of particular concern, due to the long-term effects of pollution by large animal farms, excessive use of chemicals and heavy agricultural machinery, allocation of fertile land to none-agricultural uses, anthropogenic land erosion, drying out of forests and careless drainage of wetland areas.
Extensive drainage of wetlands has transformed river basins and undermined the water balance in many rivers. As a result, wetland areas have shrunk by 40% and many small rivers and brooks have disappeared. Since ecological and nature conservation requirements were not taken into account there has been a substantial decline in the biodiversity and the population of many plants and animal species, especially water-birds. The 1993 edition of the National Red Data Book contains 28 wetland plants, while the edition under preparation at the moment will contain at least 66.
One-fifth of the territory of Belarus has been contaminated by radioactive fallout. Radioactive contamination has affected 22% of Belarus agricultural land , 21% of its forests and 2.2 million people who live in over 3600 settlements (including 27 cities).The efforts to eliminate the after effects of the Chernobyl catastrophe have been extremely costly. A considerable portion of radioactive polluted areas have been removed from agricultural use and made part of the so-called exclusion zone. A large volume of research performed by Belarusian scientists has shed light on the patterns of radioactive contamination, the impact of radioactive fallout on the soil, water, atmosphere, flora and fauna.
At present specially protected areas play a major role in the preservation of biological and landscape diversity in Belarus and cover some 1,5 million ha (7 percent of national territory). The Government envisages to expand the protected territories to include some 8,5 percent of total Belarus territory by 2005. At the same time the budgetary allocations have not increased in proportion. Compared to 1990, the allocation has fallen in real terms by 38 percent and does not allow for many of the interventions necessary to protect or enhance ecosystems or protect individual species. Hence much important conservation work is supported by the international community.
During the last decade the Republic of Belarus has become a party to all the main conventions related to the protection of biological diversity: Washington (1973), Ramsar (1971), Paris (1972) and has become a party to the Pan-European Strategy on Biological and Landscape Diversity designed to implement the treaty by creating a uniform ecological network in Europe.
In 1993, the Republic of Belarus became a party to the Convention of Biological Diversity. UNEP has assisted MNREP with the biodiversity enabling activities. A National Strategy and Action Plan was developed for the sustainable use of biological diversity and approved by the Government in June 1997. The main objectives of the National Strategy and Action Plan included:
Ø Formulation of state policy and improvement of legislation in the field of conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity;
Ø Improvement of state management and control over conservation and use of biological diversity;
Ø Development of fundamental and applied sciences;
Ø Development of the system of specially protected territories and measures for the protection of rare and endangered species;