Opinions & Interviews

MINSK, 23 September (BelTA) – Belarus is considered among the leaders in the management of natural resources in the post-Soviet space, UNDP Deputy Permanent Representative in Belarus Yekaterina Paniklova told media at the Expanded Constituency Workshop of the Global Environment Facility (GEF) in Minsk on 23 September, BelTA informs.

“The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment and the government of Belarus demonstrate their strong commitment to the implementation of the sustainable development goals. All the programs and projects we implement together get high assessment. In the management of natural resources Belarus is one of the leaders in the post-Soviet space. It is good that today’s workshop in Minsk is attended by representatives of other countries who can see everything with their own eyes,” Yekaterina Paniklova said.

According to representative of the GEF Secretariat William Ehlers, Belarus has been making an efficient use of the allocated funds. “Over the 20 years of cooperation we have allocated about $45 million on different projects, including the use of renewable energy resources and chemical waste treatment. All of them have been successfully implemented,” he said.

First Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environment of Belarus Iya Malkina stressed that Belarus has been consistently developing the corresponding institutional and organizational framework for sustainable development. “We are implementing the National Sustainable Development Strategy based on the Agenda 21 and the main forecast documents. The main objective of the strategy is a comprehensive integration of economic, social and environmental components. At the same time environment is the goal-directed component in economic development,” she stressed.

According to the First Deputy Minister, over 10 nature protection strategies and programs have been developed at the legislative level. Their main goal is to secure a comprehensive and sustainable management of natural resources and ecosystems alongside with the development of the economic, social and environmental sustainability of the country.

Minsk is hosting the GEF Extended Constituency Workshop which is attended by representatives of Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Armenia, Switzerland and Russia. Attending the event are also representatives of the GEF Secretariat, international organizations, including UNDP, UNIDO, UNEP, FAO and WB, secretariats of the GEF conventions. The workshop aims at keeping the GEF national focal points, convention focal points and other key stakeholders, including civil society, abreast of GEF strategies, policies and procedures and to encourage coordination. One of the main issues of the agenda is new areas of GEF activity through 2020.

Founded in 1991, the Global Environment Facility (GEF) is the biggest source of financing projects aimed to address global environmental issues.