Due to
their transnational character, ecology and environmental protection are
important priority areas of cooperation between the European Union and
Belarus. One of the most obvious examples
of cross-border effects was the accident involving the oil pipeline in the
Beshankovitsy region of
Vitebsk oblast on
23 March 2007. The integrity of the pipeline
belonging to the Russian company "Zapad – Transnefteprodukt" was damaged
in the area between Unecha and Ventspils, leading to contamination of the river
Ula with around 100 tonnes of diesel fuel. This occurred 14 kilometres away
from the inflow to the river Zapadnaya Dvina (the
Daugava
River on Latvian territory) resulting in several tonnes of oil contaminating
the Latvian waterway.
Belarus,
Latvia and
Russia were all negatively affected by the
accident and
Russia was supposed to provide compensation for the damage caused.
Clean water
Three out of the five river
basins in Belarus (Zapadnaya Dvina, Zapadny Bug and
Nieman) are have shared boundaries with the European Union Member States
(Lithuania, Latvia, Poland) who have water policies is defined under the EU
Water Framework Directive.
Belarus has joined the Helsinki Convention on the Protection and Use of
Transboundary Watercourses and
International
Lakes and there are many joint projects
for implementation concerning water issues.
The Ministry of Natural
Resources and Environmental Protection in conjunction with the TACIS Programme
of the European Commission are currently implementing a project entitled:
"Network of International Basin Regions of the Eastern Part of the
Baltic Sea – TRABANT". Another project "System of Information and
Infrastructure Management for transboundary basins of the rivers
Daugava/Zapadnaya Dvina and Niemunas/Neman" is being funded by the Swedish
Environmental Protection Agency. The UN Development Programme supports the
projects: "Implementation of First Step Actions of the Strategic Programme
of Action for the basin of the River Dnepr: Reduction of the Industrial
Chemical Contamination and Setting up Common Institutional Mechanism",
"Creating Conditions for Sustainable Functioning of Peat-lands in
Belarusian Polessie".
A project entitled:
"Management of the Transboundary River Basins – Phase II (The Svisloch
River)" was successfully implemented recently. Funded by the TACIS
Programme and the European Commission, the total budget for this project in
Belarus and
Ukraine was 1,333,410 Euro. The EC TACIS
Programme also funded the project: "Reduction of Agricultural and
Industrial Contamination of Rivers: Improvement of the Water Quality of the
River Neman". As a result of this project, a set of recommendations were
developed regarding principles for the implementation of river basin management
and water resources in
Belarus. Currently the most significant
progress is being achieved in the
Dniepr
River basin: a Strategic Programme and
implementational mechanisms for three countries (
Russia,
Ukraine and
Belarus) have been developed and an
International Management Committee and International Dnepr River Network
created.
Dangerous wastes under
secure protection
Another important area for
cooperation is the secure disposal of hazardous wastes. With the financial
assistance of the World bank a programme: "First Step Actions for
implementation of the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants in
the
Republic of
Belarus" was successfully implemented.
As a result of this project, a National Coordinating Council for implementation
of Stockholm Convention was created under the auspices of the Ministry of
Environment, an inventory was created, registers of persistent organic
pollutants were made, contaminated territories assessed, and soil, water and
air samples taken for analysis. Not far from Vekhnedvinsk, 8 kilometres from
the border with
Latvia, there is a large burial of
dangerous pesticides (around 450 tonnes). In 1998 experts of the Danish Agency
DANCEE assessed the condition of this buried waste as critical (pesticides
could reach underground waters and then via Zapadnaya Dvina to the
Baltic Sea). So far this issue has only been
rasied by civil society representatives. A technical project: "Secure
treatment of non-persistent pesticides in Vitebsk Obalst" is currently
seeking international financial assistance to further assess this matter. The
EU TACIS Programme has also financed the project: "Technical assistance to
Ukraine and
Belarus in fulfilling their obligations concerning Issues for Prevention of
Global Climate Change". A National Office for the monitoring of Greenhouse
gases was set up and a National Registry is being created. Research into
possible reductions in greenhouse gases emissions is also being conducted.
Society may influence
the decision-making process
Interesting and useful
projects are being implemented by European partners and donors jointly with
environmental NGOs. A TACIS-funded project: "Implementation of the
European Union Experience in Preserving Natural Reserves" was implemented
over the course of two years by the NGO "Ahova Ptushak Batkaushchiny"
in partnership with local authorities and population and the “Royal Society for
the Protection of Birds (RSPB) from the
UK”. Ms. Natalia Porechina, the
Project coordinator, said that 107 school environmental clubs from 37 regions
of
Belarus took part in the project. A number of training-seminars were held using
'
Wild Square' methodology: each club chose 'wild squares' (i.e. a
piece of land 100x100 metres from three different biotypes) and studied its
flora and fauna. All clubs were supplied with special equipment for carrying
out the project: plant and bird identification books, field binoculars, cameras
and audio recordings of bird songs. Autumn bird watching and winter bird
counting were organized and a Bird Festival was held, for the first time
Belarusian children took part in the international campaign: 'Living Spring'.
With the support of the
RSPB and the UN Development Programme a project: "Management of Key
Lowland Marshes of Polessie to Preserve Biodiversity" was implemented. As
a result, management bodies for the reserves "Sporovsky",
"Zvanets", "Dikoye" were created, water quality control was
implemented and support barriers on channels were built.
Recently the NGO
"Ahova Ptushak Belarusi", with the support of the Ameka company,
MATPA Programme and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the
Netherlands, issued a practical assistance
guide for environmentalists: "Participation and Influence of Society on
Water Resource Management Based on the Experience of Basins of the River
Zapadnaya Dvina". This guide contains lots of pictures and is very
interesting and substantial.
Belavezhskaya Pushcha is
watched closely by Europe
The UN Development
Programme financed a project "Ecologically Sustainable Development of the
region of "Belavezhskaya Pushcha": combining environmental protection
with sustainable development" (2004 – 2006). This project was very
productive: recommendations were developed with regard to legislative
improvement in the areas of agro and eco tourism; a practical guide for
agro-tourism service suppliers was issued and a database of potential and
existing agro-tourism services suppliers, hand craft manufacturers, and local
traditional celebrations was created. Ethnographic and environmental
expositions were organized in the area and a website about the opportunities of
rural holidays in the region of Belavezhskaya Pushcha was launched.
Consequently another
significant consideration for joint environmental projects is tourism
development. Many transboundary regions are located away from major population
centres where the general level of business activity is not high. Tourism is
one of means of reviving the economy in these predominantly rural areas and
this is why the European Commission is financing projects of this kind (joint
projects of
Belarus and
Poland on Belavezhskaya Pushcha, reconstruction of Avgustovsky Channel). The
cost of the reconstruction of Avgustovsky Channel was some 9 billion Belarusian
rubles which financed the renovation of three locks and one dam (destroyed in
Soviet times), reinforcement of the channel itself and construction of new
access roads.
The transboundary project:
"Pushcha without borders" was implemented from the both sides of the
border and was financed by the Danish Environmental Protection Agency (DANCEE)
and managed on the Belarusian side by the NGO "Ahova Ptushak
Belarusi". This project was aimed at initiating, supporting and improving
joint activities between local organisations on both sides of the border with
the overall objective of securing balanced development of the Belavezhskaya
Pushcha region. The four primary fields of activity within the programme were:
bringing together and supporting civic and local organisations; preserving
natural and cultural ancestry; environmental education; and tourism
development.
On 17 March in
Strasbourg in the course of a meeting of the group of experts responsible for
awarding natural reserves with diplomas, the issue of an extension of the
Belavezhskaya Pushcha Diploma of the Council of Europe was discussed.
Representatives of Belarusian civil society addressed the Committee of the
Council of Europe, requesting that the 'Diploma' not be prolonged without prior
close research on the environmental protection activities in Belavezhskaya
Pushcha. As a consequence the 'Diploma' has not, for the moment, been extended.
The Council of Europe is still awaiting relevant documents from the heads of
the Pushcha.
Ludmila Korsak
