EU to earmark €5m for green economy project in Belarus

The European Union will allocate €5 million to assist Belarus in its efforts to green the economy, the head of the European Union in Belarus Maira Mora said during the presentation of the project to support the development of the green economy in Belarus, BelTA has learned.

"I hope that Belarusian companies and the society as a whole will benefit from the project. In the green economy the policy and innovations help communities improve their well-being and keep the environment healthy,” said Maira Mora.

The head of the EU delegation in Belarus expressed confidence that government bodies and public associations will join the project. "It is important to think over rational management of land resources, reduction of emissions of hydrocarbons, and waste management. Every country should develop its own approaches to these issues. There is no universal recipe,” she added.

The project is aimed at implementing the ideas of green economic growth and environmentally sustainable patterns of production and consumption with the help of local initiatives and information campaigns. The project activities are aimed at developing and testing the principles of green economy in Belarus.
As expected, successful economic and ecological initiatives will demonstrate the benefits of the green economy to the society and business.

One of the activities of the project will be the production of office paper from recycled resources. This project will be implemented at the Paper Factory Goznak in Borisov. Every year it will make 2,000 tonnes of paper. The Naliboki wildlife reserve will create a nursery for artificial breeding of grouse species and will arrange an environmental facility for hosting seminars and conferences. Zhitkovichi District, Gomel Oblast, will arrange a waste-free production of organic fertilizers from sapropel.

A complex to process wood waste into biofuel (wood chips) will be set up in Brest. This will allow increasing the use of wood waste without harming the environment, and reaping additional environmental benefits through the use of renewable energy. The local wood waste disposal site will be eliminated as a result.

The project provides for at least 16 grants for projects of public associations in waste management, eco-tourism, conservation of biodiversity, increased use of renewable energy.

The project deadline is December 2017.

The project to support the development of the green economy in Belarus is financed by the European Union and implemented by the UNDP in partnership with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment Protection of Belarus.