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Belarusian government preparing to adopt long-term environmental protection strategy

The Belarusian government is expected to adopt an environmental protection strategy for a period until 2025, BelaPAN reports.

This will be the first strategy of the kind. Previously, the government only adopted national five-year action plans.

Uladzimir Sawchanka, a departmental head at the environmental protection ministry, told BelaPAN on Tuesday that the purpose of the strategy is to bring environmental protection to a new level and devise protection measures in the context of the country’s economic growth.

The strategy’s key priorities include reducing a negative impact on the environment, scaling down the production of waste and increasing its recycling. The strategy suggests introducing economic incentives to encourage importers and producers to use non-waste or low-waste technologies. The recycling rate is projected to reach at least 80 percent for waste produced by the manufacturing industry. Separate waste collection systems are to be introduced across the country and improper dumpsites of used pesticides are to be removed.

The document will promote landscape-adaptive farming and environmentally safe industrial practices.

It also suggests offering economic incentives to spur companies to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions, which are projected to drop to at least 110,000 million tons a year before 2010.

According to Mr. Sawchanka, the draft will be sent to governmental agencies concerned next week following its consideration by the environmental protection ministry’s public coordination council. It is to be submitted to the Council of Ministers until September 30.