Meeting to discuss long-term sustainable development priorities in Belarus

Meeting to discuss long-term sustainable development priorities in Belarus

On 15 October, the United Nations General Assembly adopted resolution «74/4. Political declaration of the high-level political forum on sustainable development convened under the auspices of the General Assembly». This document declares a Decade of Action and achievements for sustainable development. 

On 29 January 2020, a meeting was held in Minsk to discuss long-term sustainable development priorities in Belarus in the context of the Decade of Action and achievements for sustainable development. 

Joanna Kazana-Wisniowiecki, UN Resident Coordinator in the Republic of Belarus, and Marianna Schetkina, National Coordinator for Sustainable Development Goals, addressed the meeting participants with welcoming speeches.

In her welcoming speech, Joanna Kazana-Wisniowiecki drew attention to three areas that the UN has identified at the global level to improve the effectiveness of the Decade of Action. The first is mobilization: it is necessary to bring the understanding of the Sustainable Development Goals and their promotion, especially among young people, media, community leaders, to a new level. The second is to scale up the Sustainable Development Goals, which means to set even more meaningful goals and scale up action. The third is to find new solutions. The UN Resident Coordinator in the Republic of Belarus also noted that Belarus at the highest level has demonstrated its commitment to the concept of sustainable development and is significantly distinguished at the global and regional levels by the nationalization of the Sustainable Development Goals, i.e. the creation of national institutions to coordinate sustainable development policy and the formation of a system for monitoring the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals. Belarus’ investment in human development provides the country with a stable position among countries with a high level of human development, as a result of which Belarus ranks 50th in the Human Development Index. 

Marianna Schetkina noted that it is important to highlight “pain points”, which our country should work on first of all. Now Belarus is on the 23rd place in the ranking for achieving sustainable development goals. It is important not to lose this position, but, on the contrary, to move upwards. For example, a low birth rate was recorded in 2019, but sustainable development is necessary primarily for the population of the country, people – this is the most important value. Therefore, this demographic problem must be solved. According to the UN data, by 2035 the population over 65 will be 13% – this indicates the future load on health care, labor population and pension funds. This shows the importance of the economic component. Belarus has managed to achieve certain economic success, but there is also something to work on, for example circular economy, cyber security, updating of a number of professions. That is why the role of the educational system comes first in order to respond to the market, to ensure high knowledge-intensive GDP and high labor productivity. Another important condition for sustainable development today is the development of the business environment and the involvement of businesses in achieving their own sustainability and sustainable development goals. At the same time, the involvement of the entire population in achieving the SDG is a large-scale work that is just beginning. 
An important part of the meeting was the presentation of the results of the study “Peculiarities of Perception and Promotion of Sustainable Development Goals in Belarus”. 

The study involved 7 focus groups with different levels of education, income and professional affiliation. Evgeniy Krasnyansky, associate partner of CIVITTA Group SATIO, told about them. According to the results of work with focus groups in all regions of Belarus, the understanding of the term “sustainable development” is still superficial, reflects the desire for both growth and stability. FGD participants call the improvement of urban infrastructure, improvement of technologies, development of civil society as indicators. The participants identified economic prosperity growth, health and education as important Sustainable Development Goals (Goals 3, 8 and 4). The least important for the participants were Goals 10 and 5 (reducing inequalities, gender equality). According to the study, it is not enough to focus only on social advertising or information about the SDGs indicators to promote the SDGs. Information is needed on the simplest steps that everyone can take to make the goal a reality – even a global one, such as climate change. This gives an important sense of ownership. And opinion leaders can only support interest in the SDGs if they themselves provide models of desired behaviour.

The meeting continued with a panel discussion with representatives of the Sustainable Development Partnership Group. The participants discussed the implementation of the principle “Leaving no one behind” and the results of the presented research.

Irina Alkhovka, Chairwoman of the Board of the international public association “Gender Perspectives”, Coordinator of the Sustainable Development Partnership Group on social issues, noted that the research is a good opportunity to talk about the challenges we face. When gender equality falls into the last categories of priorities, it is an alarming situation, because the state gender policy was adopted 25 years ago, and now many people call gender equality issues alien to Belarus. At the same time, gender equality is one of the accelerators, contributing to progress in achieving other goals. Therefore, a large-scale state campaign is needed, which will talk about the benefits of gender equality and integrate gender policy into social, demographic and other policies. 

Sofia Savelova, Deputy Head of the Coordination Center “Education for Sustainable Development” of the Belarusian State Pedagogical University, Co-Coordinator of the Sustainable Development Partnership Group on education, explained that the Association of Education for Sustainable Development has been working with sustainable development issues for a long time and understands that the key problem is that the word combination itself is poorly perceived and understood by people. Sustainable development is a reflection of a new stage in civilization where the source of development is peace, not war. For example, the Earth Charter gives the answer to the question of what sustainable development is, describes a new ethics with universal responsibility for all life. This is the basis of the principle “Leaving no one behind”. All work for sustainable development must be accompanied by educational practices. As a concrete example, Sofia cited a project combining efforts in the university, school and kindergarten in Grodno. Everyone benefits as a result: adults start learning about sustainable development from their children, who talk about it in simple and understandable language. We need to understand that young people are the main agents of change, and we need to let them show their initiatives, let them come out with their initiative and get support. 

Yevgeny Shevko, chairman of the NGO “Republican organization of the disabled – wheelchair users” said that the problems of people with disabilities are not always clear to people who do not have disabilities. People with disabilities are the largest minority. In Belarus, 571,000 people with disabilities are every 17 residents, while every five years they are 35,000 more. It is like a small district center. It is important to make officials and the society understand where these people are, how they live and what to do to make them feel comfortable and worthy and be active members of society. An important point for solving this problem is employment, which allows the socialization and realization of a person. Unfortunately, statistics do not yet allow us to understand how many people with disabilities are employed. Such statistics will help to understand what to do with each group, where there are problems. Another important problem is the absence of a law on discrimination of people with disabilities and a mechanism that would allow to fight against such discrimination. 

Darya Chumakova, Deputy Director for Program Activities at the Center for Environmental Solutions, noted that the study is fully consistent with CER’s experience. Environmental block of Sustainable Development Goals is in demand and understandable, as people encounter them every time they try to learn how to sort garbage. Many efforts are made in Belarus to achieve these goals and it is important not to reduce ambition. At the same time, the goals of the environmental block are unique as they allow promoting other goals that some focus group participants did not consider relevant. For example, urban infrastructure is linked to transport and mobility, and healthy ecosystems affect the health and well-being of people. Alarmingly, Goal 13 (Combat Climate Change) does not seem to be relevant, but it is understandable: people do not understand that their daily decisions and choices (such as choices about transport or equipment) affect climate change. 

During the discussion, the meeting participants once again stressed the need for a new level of information, intergenerational exchange, international cooperation and inclusion of all groups of people in actions to achieve Sustainable Development Goals. 

On 15 October, the United Nations General Assembly adopted resolution «74/4. Political declaration of the high-level political forum on sustainable development convened under the auspices of the General Assembly». This document declares a Decade of Action and achievements for sustainable development. 

On 29 January 2020, a meeting was held in Minsk to discuss long-term sustainable development priorities in Belarus in the context of the Decade of Action and achievements for sustainable development. 

Joanna Kazana-Wisniowiecki, UN Resident Coordinator in the Republic of Belarus, and Marianna Schetkina, National Coordinator for Sustainable Development Goals, addressed the meeting participants with welcoming speeches.

In her welcoming speech, Joanna Kazana-Wisniowiecki drew attention to three areas that the UN has identified at the global level to improve the effectiveness of the Decade of Action. The first is mobilization: it is necessary to bring the understanding of the Sustainable Development Goals and their promotion, especially among young people, media, community leaders, to a new level. The second is to scale up the Sustainable Development Goals, which means to set even more meaningful goals and scale up action. The third is to find new solutions. The UN Resident Coordinator in the Republic of Belarus also noted that Belarus at the highest level has demonstrated its commitment to the concept of sustainable development and is significantly distinguished at the global and regional levels by the nationalization of the Sustainable Development Goals, i.e. the creation of national institutions to coordinate sustainable development policy and the formation of a system for monitoring the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals. Belarus’ investment in human development provides the country with a stable position among countries with a high level of human development, as a result of which Belarus ranks 50th in the Human Development Index. 

Marianna Schetkina noted that it is important to highlight “pain points”, which our country should work on first of all. Now Belarus is on the 23rd place in the ranking for achieving sustainable development goals. It is important not to lose this position, but, on the contrary, to move upwards. For example, a low birth rate was recorded in 2019, but sustainable development is necessary primarily for the population of the country, people – this is the most important value. Therefore, this demographic problem must be solved. According to the UN data, by 2035 the population over 65 will be 13% – this indicates the future load on health care, labor population and pension funds. This shows the importance of the economic component. Belarus has managed to achieve certain economic success, but there is also something to work on, for example circular economy, cyber security, updating of a number of professions. That is why the role of the educational system comes first in order to respond to the market, to ensure high knowledge-intensive GDP and high labor productivity. Another important condition for sustainable development today is the development of the business environment and the involvement of businesses in achieving their own sustainability and sustainable development goals. At the same time, the involvement of the entire population in achieving the SDG is a large-scale work that is just beginning. 
An important part of the meeting was the presentation of the results of the study “Peculiarities of Perception and Promotion of Sustainable Development Goals in Belarus”. 

The study involved 7 focus groups with different levels of education, income and professional affiliation. Evgeniy Krasnyansky, associate partner of CIVITTA Group SATIO, told about them. According to the results of work with focus groups in all regions of Belarus, the understanding of the term “sustainable development” is still superficial, reflects the desire for both growth and stability. FGD participants call the improvement of urban infrastructure, improvement of technologies, development of civil society as indicators. The participants identified economic prosperity growth, health and education as important Sustainable Development Goals (Goals 3, 8 and 4). The least important for the participants were Goals 10 and 5 (reducing inequalities, gender equality). According to the study, it is not enough to focus only on social advertising or information about the SDGs indicators to promote the SDGs. Information is needed on the simplest steps that everyone can take to make the goal a reality – even a global one, such as climate change. This gives an important sense of ownership. And opinion leaders can only support interest in the SDGs if they themselves provide models of desired behaviour.

The meeting continued with a panel discussion with representatives of the Sustainable Development Partnership Group. The participants discussed the implementation of the principle “Leaving no one behind” and the results of the presented research.

Irina Alkhovka, Chairwoman of the Board of the international public association “Gender Perspectives”, Coordinator of the Sustainable Development Partnership Group on social issues, noted that the research is a good opportunity to talk about the challenges we face. When gender equality falls into the last categories of priorities, it is an alarming situation, because the state gender policy was adopted 25 years ago, and now many people call gender equality issues alien to Belarus. At the same time, gender equality is one of the accelerators, contributing to progress in achieving other goals. Therefore, a large-scale state campaign is needed, which will talk about the benefits of gender equality and integrate gender policy into social, demographic and other policies. 

Sofia Savelova, Deputy Head of the Coordination Center “Education for Sustainable Development” of the Belarusian State Pedagogical University, Co-Coordinator of the Sustainable Development Partnership Group on education, explained that the Association of Education for Sustainable Development has been working with sustainable development issues for a long time and understands that the key problem is that the word combination itself is poorly perceived and understood by people. Sustainable development is a reflection of a new stage in civilization where the source of development is peace, not war. For example, the Earth Charter gives the answer to the question of what sustainable development is, describes a new ethics with universal responsibility for all life. This is the basis of the principle “Leaving no one behind”. All work for sustainable development must be accompanied by educational practices. As a concrete example, Sofia cited a project combining efforts in the university, school and kindergarten in Grodno. Everyone benefits as a result: adults start learning about sustainable development from their children, who talk about it in simple and understandable language. We need to understand that young people are the main agents of change, and we need to let them show their initiatives, let them come out with their initiative and get support. 

Yevgeny Shevko, chairman of the NGO “Republican organization of the disabled – wheelchair users” said that the problems of people with disabilities are not always clear to people who do not have disabilities. People with disabilities are the largest minority. In Belarus, 571,000 people with disabilities are every 17 residents, while every five years they are 35,000 more. It is like a small district center. It is important to make officials and the society understand where these people are, how they live and what to do to make them feel comfortable and worthy and be active members of society. An important point for solving this problem is employment, which allows the socialization and realization of a person. Unfortunately, statistics do not yet allow us to understand how many people with disabilities are employed. Such statistics will help to understand what to do with each group, where there are problems. Another important problem is the absence of a law on discrimination of people with disabilities and a mechanism that would allow to fight against such discrimination. 

Darya Chumakova, Deputy Director for Program Activities at the Center for Environmental Solutions, noted that the study is fully consistent with CER’s experience. Environmental block of Sustainable Development Goals is in demand and understandable, as people encounter them every time they try to learn how to sort garbage. Many efforts are made in Belarus to achieve these goals and it is important not to reduce ambition. At the same time, the goals of the environmental block are unique as they allow promoting other goals that some focus group participants did not consider relevant. For example, urban infrastructure is linked to transport and mobility, and healthy ecosystems affect the health and well-being of people. Alarmingly, Goal 13 (Combat Climate Change) does not seem to be relevant, but it is understandable: people do not understand that their daily decisions and choices (such as choices about transport or equipment) affect climate change. 

During the discussion, the meeting participants once again stressed the need for a new level of information, intergenerational exchange, international cooperation and inclusion of all groups of people in actions to achieve Sustainable Development Goals. 

January 23, 2020, the BelTA press center hosted a press conference “Global Agenda-2030: Cities of Belarus on the path of sustainable development”. It was dedicated to green urban planning in small and medium-sized Belarusian cities and the contribution to Sustainable Development Goals 3 (good health and well-being), 7 (low-cost and clean energy), 8 (decent work and economic growth), 9 (industrialization, innovation and infrastructure), 11 (sustainable cities and towns), 13 (combating climate change), 17 (partnership for sustainable development).

In her speech Tatyana Kononchuk, Head of the Main Department of Environmental Policy, International Cooperation and Science of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection of the Republic of Belarus, stressed the importance of green economy and green urban development for achieving Sustainable Development Goals. A green economy is a model that stimulates income growth and job creation without risk to the environment. At the same time, it ensures efficient use of resources and inclusion of different groups of the population. The principles of green economy have a positive impact on rural development, increase incomes and attract investment. Tatiana Kononchuk also noted the success of Belarus in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals: the share of electrification of public transport in Minsk amounted to 40% of all land passenger transport, organic agriculture, Green Cities movement, investments in green enterprises are developing, voluntary commitments to reduce carbon dioxide emissions have been made. Pilot projects on green urban development and developing replication mechanisms of green urban development experience in other cities of Belarus are another important step in this direction. 

Irina Usova, project manager of the Green Cities project, spoke in more detail about the project implementation in Belarus. The project has developed new documents for three pilot cities of Belarus – Polotsk, Novopolotsk and Novogrudok: Green urban planning plans. A Unified Plan of Sustainable Urban Mobility for Polotsk and Novopolotsk was also developed. The main goal is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Vera Sysoeva, architect, expert on green urban planning of the Green Cities project, told more about what the green urban development plan is. 

The green urban development plan provides clear answers to the questions why, where, how and what to do to make the city sustainable. It combines a strategy of socio-economic development with spatial development of the territory. In this way, all tasks have their specific location within the city. The strategy itself is a list of priorities and projects that the city would like to implement in the next 2-5 years, and the vector of development it sets for the future until 2040. An important task is to introduce the green urban development plan into the Belarusian practice as a methodological document contributing to the implementation of sustainable development goals. Experts have developed a list of specific activities in cities based on the vision of the future. It was determined with the participation of the stakeholders and city residents and is based on a survey on what urban problems they are concerned about now. In total, about 7000 citizens took part in the survey.

For each of the three pilot cities (Polotsk, Novopolotsk, Novogrudok) a series of open cartographic materials was prepared, which include data on the condition of housing stock, quality of development, distribution of population density, green areas, availability of public transport stops and other urban infrastructure (a total of 20 electronic maps for each pilot city, which are planned to be placed in the public domain). The green urban plan focuses on emission reduction and a favourable urban environment. The document was developed based on the analysis of existing programs and internationally recognized indicators. It was approved by the local council of deputies as a local development program and was posted on the websites of city administrations.

What were green urban development plans in the pilot cities?

• “Polotsk. Let’s build bridges.” The purpose of the plan is to renew the bridges in the literal sense, to establish links between different parts of the city, to ensure continuity. Three topics of the plan: diverse city, cozy environment, harmony with nature. Strategy: strengthening of the center and development of self-sufficient districts on the basis of transit-oriented development model, formation of district connectivity and mobility without extra cars.
• “Novopolotsk is new again. Version 2.0“. The purpose of the plan is to increase the attractiveness of the city as a place for life and work, to ensure sustainable economic growth and improve the quality of the environment. Priorities of the plan: sustainable city, smart city, comfortable city. Strategies: formation of a single water-park system, development of a closed-cycle economy, improvement of living comfort with the help of smart technologies, transit-oriented development.
• “Novogrudok. Let’s save the future“. The aim of the plan is sustainable development to improve the quality of life. Priorities: comfortable urban environment, use of historical and natural potential of the area and development of circular economy. Strategy: transformation of existing areas in accordance with the principle of green urban development and rational use of available resources. This provides for a reduction in the number of storeys and comfortable courtyards. The budget of such projects for the district is one and a half or two annual budgets, but taking into account the implementation period until 2050, these amounts can be planned and investors can be attracted.

All three projects increase the social value of territories and energy efficiency of development, provide equal access to basic urban structures.

What exactly has been done in the pilot projects?

• In Novogrudok there was a grand opening of streets equipped with smart LED lighting system. 400 LED lighting fixtures, 25 control cabinets and an intelligent control system were installed. Energy savings can reach up to 30-40%, and reduction of greenhouse gas emissions over 10 years will be 13,3 thousand tons of CO2.
• A feasibility study is being prepared for seven Belarusian cities to modernize street lighting.
• Recommendations on introduncing green procurement principles into practice at city and district level are developed.
• A methodological guide to organizing and conducting procurement of goods and services using green procurement principles has been issued.
• Smart sustainable development strategy for Brest was developed and approved as a long-term sustainable development strategy.
• A special public transport lane was introduced in Polotsk.
• Bicycle lanes in Polotsk and Novopolotsk are being renewed.
• Construction of a special pedestrian and bicycle lane in Novopolotsk has started. 
• The algorithm of “green wave” in Polotsk and Novopolotsk is being implemented with the help of smart traffic lights, synchronization of traffic lights and remote control of the algorithm. This will increase the speed of transport communication, reduce the number of accelerations and brakings, which ultimately reduces CO2 emissions.
• Modern public transport stops with new information boards in Polotsk and Novopolotsk will be installed.
• Indoor bicycle parking will be installed in Novopolotsk.

Which other Belarusian cities will become green?

As a result of the competition 5 cities were selected to be provided expert support in the development of Action Plans for Sustainable Energy Development and Climate: Baranovichi, Pruzhany, Liozno, Mstislavl, Slavgorod. In June 2019, the development of the Green Urban Development Plans was started in the towns of Zelva, Korma and Krichev.

The Green Cities project is implemented by the United Nations Development Programme in partnership with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection of the Republic of Belarus and financed by the Global Environment Facility from 2016 to 2021, and is aimed at developing green urban plans.

The State Committee for Standardization of the Republic of Belarus approved the Prospective Plan for 2020-2030 to develop state and interstate standards for the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals.

The development of state and interstate standards will be based on the standards of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), the European Committee for Standardization (CEN) and the European Committee for Standardization in Electrical Engineering (CENELEC). A total of 362 standards (285 STB and 77 GOST) were included in the Plan, including for the implementation of sustainable development goals: 

№2. Eradicating hunger – 47 standards;
№6. Clean water and sanitation – 68 standards;
№7. Low-cost and clean energy – 66 standards;
№8. Decent work and economic growth – 17 standards;
№9. Industrialization, innovation and infrastructure – 44 standards;
№11. Sustainable cities and settlements – 61 standards;
№12. Responsible consumption and production – 31 standards;
№13. Combating climate change – 28 standards.

Development of standards will help to create an enabling environment for the implementation of sustainable development goals in Belarus. The plan will be regularly reviewed and updated in accordance with new international and regional standards.

Plan can be viewed on the State Standard website.

The International Award World Summit Awards (UN World Summit Awards competition) has been awarded since 2003. Participants from any country in the world can present their innovative digital project: applications, web pages and other IT developments that will positively affect the development of society, promote social change and achieve Sustainable Development Goals.

This year two projects from the Republic of Belarus became winners and received an award. These are IT projects OneSoil and VOKA.IO.

OneSoil won the Environment and Green Energy category for helping to make reliable agricultural decisions using online tools, satellite images and artificial intelligence.

VOKA.IO won the Health and Welfare category as a breakthrough in applied medicine and medical education. It is a digital solution that provides the surgeon with a 3D model of a damaged organ, provides a tool for sharing experience in surgery and telemedicine development, and provides medical students with a 3D catalog of damaged bones or organs.  

Other winners include the Austrian Gesture Language Project for Inclusion, the Israeli Women’s Safety in Cities Project and the Pakistani Cultural and Natural Heritage Project. Information on the winning projects can be found on the World Summit Awards website.

On December 18, 2019 the Law of the Republic of Belarus “On Protection and Use of Peatlands” was adopted. The text of the law is available at pravo.by.

The Law of the Republic of Belarus “On the Protection and Use of Peatlands” establishes the legal basis for the protection of peatlands, rational (sustainable) use of their resources and is aimed at the conservation of peatlands, conservation, restoration of the biosphere functions of peatlands, satisfaction of economic and other needs in these resources of the present and future generations, as well as for the implementation of the rights of citizens to a favorable environment and natural resource management, international treaties of the Republic of Belarus in this area.

The adoption of the Law is aimed at achieving sustainable development goals, in particular, sustainable development goal 13 and 15.

December 17, 2019, Minsk hosted the first enlarged meeting of the media coordination group for the promotion of Sustainable Development Goals. The group was established in 2019 by the decision of the Ministry of Information to widely inform the public about the need and mechanisms for achieving sustainable development indicators at the local and national levels.

Alexander Karliukevich, Minister of Information of the Republic of Belarus, in his speech noted the importance attached in Belarus to the implementation of the program to achieve Sustainable Development Goals. “It is difficult to overestimate the role of media in the successful implementation of Agenda 2030. It is not only an information channel. We educate citizens about the possibility to make balanced and responsible decisions and influence the decisions of authorities on the implementation of Sustainable Development Goals,” said Alexander Karliukevich.

Marianna Schetkina, National Coordinator for Sustainable Development Goals, thanked the Minister and the working group for the initiative and its implementation. “The worldview is formed by mass media, which gives us an idea of the processes that take place in society. All states are working to achieve the SDGs, and we have reached such a stage that others also want to learn about our experience. For example, Sweden invited representatives of Belarus to discuss the promotion of Sustainable Development Goals,” said the National Coordinator of Belarus. 

The panel discussion “Contribution of Mass Media to the Promotion of Sustainable Development Goals in the Republic of Belarus” was attended by Aleksei Adashkin, Editor-in-Chief of the Radio Studio of the Representative Office of the MGTRK “Mir”, Aleksandr Bulai, Head of the Department for Main Directions of the information agency “Mogilevskiye Vedomosti”, Veronika Kolosova, Editor-in-Chief of the magazine “Rodnaya Prryroda”, Svetlana Knutova, Deputy Director of the Information Broadcasting Directorate of the Second National Channel, Vitalina Petrusievich, student of the Belarusian State University, and Vadim Scheglov, First Deputy of General Director of “Stolichnoe Televidenie”, who moderated the discussion.

 Participants of the discussion and the extended session discussed how to bring information effectively to involve the public in achieving the SDGs, as well as the impossibility of separating the Sustainable Development Goals from economic issues. Economy is a tool, not a goal, and knowledge of the SDGs allows the development of indicators for strategies and plans. “The Sustainable Development Goals are not pompous words or beautiful wrapping, but specific content. It is impossible to separate the economy from the SDGs,” said Alexander Skrabovsky, Coordinator of the Sustainable Development Partnership Group on interaction with business.

The extended meeting of the group ended with the award ceremony of the winners of the national contest for journalists “From Global Goals to Local Action”, organized in 2019 by the Ministry of Information.

Agenda 2030, which set out 17 Sustainable Development Goals, was adopted in 2015. This formalized the new concept of a global order based on harmonious development. In 2017, Belarus signed Presidential Decree No 181, which established the post of the National Coordinator for Sustainable Development Goals. The architecture for managing the sustainable development process was formed, and in 2019, by decision of the Ministry of Information, a group was established to coordinate media work to promote the sustainable development goals. The group’s work consists in raising public awareness of the need for and mechanisms for achieving sustainable development indicators at the local and national levels. On December 17, 2019, the first extended meeting of the group was held in Minsk. 

Alexander Karliukevich, Minister of Information of the Republic of Belarus, in his speech noted the importance attached in Belarus to the implementation of the program to achieve Sustainable Development Goals. “It is difficult to overestimate the role of media in the successful implementation of Agenda 2030. It is not only an information channel. We educate citizens about the possibility to make balanced and responsible decisions and influence the decisions of authorities on the implementation of Sustainable Development Goals,” said Alexander Karliukevich.

Marianna Schetkina, National Coordinator for Sustainable Development Goals, thanked the Minister and the working group for the initiative and its implementation. “The worldview is formed by mass media, which gives us an idea of the processes that take place in society. All states are working to achieve the SDGs, and we have reached such a stage that others also want to learn about our experience. For example, Sweden invited representatives of Belarus to discuss the promotion of Sustainable Development Goals,” said the National Coordinator of Belarus. 

The panel discussion “Contribution of Mass Media to the Promotion of Sustainable Development Goals in the Republic of Belarus” was attended by Aleksei Adashkin, Editor-in-Chief of the Radio Studio of the Representative Office of the MGTRK “Mir”, Aleksandr Bulai, Head of the Department for Main Directions of the information agency “Mogilevskiye Vedomosti”, Veronika Kolosova, Editor-in-Chief of the magazine “Rodnaya Prryroda”, Svetlana Knutova, Deputy Director of the Information Broadcasting Directorate of the Second National Channel, Vitalina Petrusievich, student of the Belarusian State University, and Vadim Scheglov, First Deputy of General Director of “Stolichnoe Televidenie”, who moderated the discussion.

Alexei Adashkin noted the importance of all SDGs, even those that at first glance do not seem to belong to Belarus, in particular, Goal 14, Conservation of marine ecosystems. Although Belarus is a country far from seas and oceans, the problem of using disposable plastic, which has been actively discussed in the media this year, is topical. Plastic products break down into microplastics which contaminates our water systems and, eventually, gets into the world’s ocean. Vitalina Petrusevich noted the need to post information about the SDGs on regional media sites to inform all regions, and also drew attention to the importance of not using hate speech. Svetlana Knutova suggested more coverage of specific actions: for example, opening of new medical centers, development of renewable energy, stories about specific initiatives and specific people who implement them. Veronika Kolosova added that such concrete stories help highlight how people change lives around them through their activism. 

 Participants of the discussion and the extended session discussed how to bring information effectively to involve the public in achieving the SDGs, as well as the impossibility of separating the Sustainable Development Goals from economic issues. Economy is a tool, not a goal, and knowledge of the SDGs allows the development of indicators for strategies and plans. “The Sustainable Development Goals are not pompous words or beautiful wrapping, but specific content. It is impossible to separate the economy from the SDGs,” said Alexander Skrabovsky, Coordinator of the Sustainable Development Partnership Group on interaction with business.

The extended meeting of the group ended with the award ceremony of the winners of the national contest for journalists “From Global Goals to Local Action”, organized in 2019 by the Ministry of Information.

Emissions of greenhouse gas associated with human activities reached a historical maximum. Climate change, fuelled by economic growth and population growth, is having a broad impact on people and natural systems in every country on every continent.

As air and ocean temperatures rise, the amount of snow and ice has decreased and sea level has risen. Surface temperatures are projected to continue to rise during the twenty first century. As climate change has significant impacts on economic development, natural resources and poverty reduction, overcoming this problem has become an integral part of achieving sustainable development, as reflected in Sustainable Development Goal 13. Providing affordable and scalable solutions to climate change will avoid destabilizing the gains of recent decades as a result of this phenomenon and enable countries to make future transitions to low-carbon economies.

The climate change instrument is the Paris Agreement, which was adopted by all 196 parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) at the 21st Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC, held in Paris on 12 December 2015. In the agreement, all countries commit to work towards a global temperature rise well below 2 degrees Celsius and, given the seriousness of the risks involved, to work towards limiting the temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius. 

25 The Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change was held in Madrid from 2 to 13 December 2019. This was a key event aimed at developing and adopting a full and meaningful set of decisions that will enable the Paris Agreement mechanisms to be launched.  

The high-level segment of the 25th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change was attended by a delegation from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection of the Republic of Belarus headed by Minister Andrey Pavlovich Khudyk. 

The Minister noted the commitment of the Republic of Belarus to sustainable development, which is impossible without solving the problem of climate change and which is singled out in a separate agenda. “Understanding the undoubted importance of climate change actions, the Republic of Belarus has responded responsibly to the call to strengthen ambitions in this direction and intends to increase its national commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 35 per cent by 2030 compared to 1990, exclusively at the expense of its own resources,” he said in his report. 

The Republic of Belarus is taking measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and measures to adapt and increase absorption of greenhouse gases in accordance with the national plan of action to implement the Paris Agreement. Such measures include transition to a circular economy, introduction of energy-efficient technologies, development of sustainable urban mobility, for example, electric transport, preservation of wetlands and development of a system of specially protected natural areas. All this makes it possible to reduce risks associated with climate change.

Green Schools is an environmental movement that aims to help children learn environmental information and engage their friends and family in an environmentally friendly way of life. Pupils of Green Schools receive knowledge and experience in biodiversity and clean nature conservation, waste management, water and energy saving, and are actively involved in organizing and conducting public environmental actions.

The movement is popular all over the world. In Belarus the project includes six (five for pre-school institutions) directions with a set of tasks developed taking into account environmental problems and issues being addressed in the country. By completing these tasks, an educational institution can obtain a “green” diploma. 

Functioning of such an initiative as Green Schools contributes not only to the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 4 (Quality Education), but also to the achievement of 6, 7, 11, 12, 13-15 Sustainable Development Goals.

On December 13, 2019, the Green Schools Network Forum was held at the Republican Center for Ecology and Local Studies. The Forum was attended by over 150 participants. At the same time, 40 educational institutions were awarded diplomas of the Green School status. Some institutions raised their status by a step up from the previous certification, while others received the certificate for the first time. Pupils and teachers were also awarded, who became winners of the national competition of environmental projects.

During the Forum scientific and experimental laboratories for monitoring of atmospheric air and study of environmental technologies were opened on the basis of the Republican Center of Ecology and Local Studies under the Ecomonitoring project. The National Resource Center presented its experience in implementing the Green Schools educational project. There were scientific and practical sites for teachers and laboratory workshops for children.

The Forum was organized jointly with the National Centre for Ecology within the framework of the “Ecomonitoring” project funded by the EU and implemented by UNDP in Belarus in partnership with the Ministry of Natural Resources.