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Belarusian, Polish governments sign agreement on environmental protection cooperation

The Belarusian and Polish governments signed an agreement on cooperation in the sphere of environmental protection earlier this month.

The accord was inked during a visit by Uladzimir Tsalko, Belarus’ minister of natural resources and environmental protection, to Poland on September 12.

As Alyaksandr Rachewski, a departmental chief at the Belarusian ministry, told BelaPAN, the level of cooperation in environmental protection between the two countries fell dramatically after the expiry of the previous bilateral agreement in the sphere in 2002.

The new agreement extends cooperation to the spheres of geology and deposit exploration, the establishment of nature reserves, in particular in areas close to the shared border, and research. It also will allow the countries to step up cooperation in environmental impact assessment studies conducted during construction projects that may harm the environment.

Belarus is interested to study Poland’s experience of standardization and certification in the sphere of environmental protection, as well as its waste disposal practices and alternative energy projects, Mr. Rachewski said.

Minsk attaches a big importance to agreements on environmental protection cooperation with neighboring countries, the official stressed.