Iryna Sukhij: Ecologists want to enter the “Dialog on modernization of Belarus”

Among the negative results she noticed that the public didn’t manage to rescue the Park of the 40th anniversary of the October Revolution from destruction: Frunzenski District Court of Minsk resolved to terminate the proceeding in relation to the deforestation in this park.

The threat which represents the resolution passed by the Council of Ministers “On some issues of peat production and special nature reserves” hasn’t been yet eliminated. As a part of this agreement, they want to drain marshes and produce peat in the special nature reserves. Nuclear power plant in Astravets is still being built without the project. Ecological activists were arrested in a frame-up for the first time…

But there are positive results as well. We managed to amend the Water code and defended water protection zones and coastal strips from the economic activity. Ecological organization “Green network” started working more intensively with people, with local initiatives. The representative of the ecological association “Green network” Jaraslau Bekish was elected Belarusan National Coordinator of the Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum from Belarus.

So the ecologists do not lose heart and have specific plans for the next year. “Green network” strategy for 2013 includes broader regional work, i.e. helping and supporting local ecological initiatives, so that the people would be able to defend their right to a favourable environment, recalled Iryna Sukhij.

She also noticed that Belarus will probably reject the participation in a second commitment period under the Kyoto Protocol due to the objective reasons: according to the new rules, the participants of the Kyoto Protocol practically won’t be able to extend emissions, which is unacceptable for Belarus. Nevertheless, despite the growing amounts of emissions by 2 per cent on an average, we should start modernization and switch our economy onto the low carbon rails, highlighted the chairperson of “Eco House”.

The activity of ecologists will be also continued on the national level while working with legislation. First, the fight to abolish the Resolution of the Council of Ministers as part of a campaign in defence of marshes is going on. Secondly, a number of organizations made a statement against public discussion in the sphere of architectural and town planning activity without public discussion of projects with the public interested. Local community should have an opportunity to effect decision-making on socially and ecologically important questions directly, assume the initiators of legislation regulation. That is why it is suggested, for instance, to bind local executive bodies to hold meetings of interested citizens with the representatives of developer and district administration.

- Ecologists want some ecological group to appear in the “European Dialog on Modernization of Belarus” as well as problems of sustainable development to be discussed, - said Iryna Sukhij about the plans of international work. – We will come out with the initiative to create a group of ecologists and will suggest our experts to be present in it.This opinion shared to the EuroBelarus Information Service Iryna Sukhij, the chairperson of the board of Public Association “Eco House”.

Among the negative results she noticed that the public didn’t manage to rescue the Park of the 40th anniversary of the October Revolution from destruction: Frunzenski District Court of Minsk resolved to terminate the proceeding in relation to the deforestation in this park.

The threat which represents the resolution passed by the Council of Ministers “On some issues of peat production and special nature reserves” hasn’t been yet eliminated. As a part of this agreement, they want to drain marshes and produce peat in the special nature reserves. Nuclear power plant in Astravets is still being built without the project. Ecological activists were arrested in a frame-up for the first time…

But there are positive results as well. We managed to amend the Water code and defended water protection zones and coastal strips from the economic activity. Ecological organization “Green network” started working more intensively with people, with local initiatives. The representative of the ecological association “Green network” Jaraslau Bekish was elected Belarusan National Coordinator of the Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum from Belarus.

So the ecologists do not lose heart and have specific plans for the next year. “Green network” strategy for 2013 includes broader regional work, i.e. helping and supporting local ecological initiatives, so that the people would be able to defend their right to a favourable environment, recalled Iryna Sukhij.

She also noticed that Belarus will probably reject the participation in a second commitment period under the Kyoto Protocol due to the objective reasons: according to the new rules, the participants of the Kyoto Protocol practically won’t be able to extend emissions, which is unacceptable for Belarus. Nevertheless, despite the growing amounts of emissions by 2 per cent on an average, we should start modernization and switch our economy onto the low carbon rails, highlighted the chairperson of “Eco House”.

The activity of ecologists will be also continued on the national level while working with legislation. First, the fight to abolish the Resolution of the Council of Ministers as part of a campaign in defence of marshes is going on. Secondly, a number of organizations made a statement against public discussion in the sphere of architectural and town planning activity without public discussion of projects with the public interested. Local community should have an opportunity to effect decision-making on socially and ecologically important questions directly, assume the initiators of legislation regulation. That is why it is suggested, for instance, to bind local executive bodies to hold meetings of interested citizens with the representatives of developer and district administration.

- Ecologists want some ecological group to appear in the “European Dialog on Modernization of Belarus” as well as problems of sustainable development to be discussed, - said Iryna Sukhij about the plans of international work. – We will come out with the initiative to create a group of ecologists and will suggest our experts to be present in it.