Ministry of Natural Resources holds public discussions on the draft Strategy for Water Resources Management under Climate Change for the period up to 2030

The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection of the Republic of Belarus holds public discussions on the draft Strategy for Water Resources Management in the Context of Climate Change for the period up to 2030 and the report on defining the scope of the Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) of the draft Strategy. The full text of the documents can be found on the website of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection. Comments and proposals can be sent to the Ministry of Natural Resources by 2 April 2020.

The main goal of the Strategy is to achieve long-term water security of the country for present and future generations. The Strategy has been developed in accordance with the Water Code of the Republic of Belarus, the Concept of National Security of the Republic of Belarus, the National Strategy of Sustainable Social and Economic Development of the Republic of Belarus for the period up to 2030 and other normative legal acts in the field of water resources protection and use in Belarus. 

Water resources are one of the key elements of sustainable development that is of great importance for its social, economic and environmental aspects, and targets for their conservation and sustainable use are set out in Sustainable Development Goals 6.

Targets and their indicators for SDG 6 are also the objectives and indicators of the draft strategy. The baseline indicators are those for 2015-2016, among others:

Target 1: Ensure universal and equitable access to safe and affordable drinking water for all by 2030. 

Target 2: Ensure access of the population to adequate and equitable sanitation services by 2030.

Target 3: By 2030, improve the quality of natural water by reducing pollution and minimizing discharges of hazardous chemicals and materials, stopping the discharge of inadequately treated wastewater and increasing reuse (sequential). In solving this problem, a significant positive role can be played by the transition to the payment of environmental tax depending on the mass of pollutants discharged into the wastewater.

Task 4: Raise water use efficiency in all sectors of the economy and ensure sustainable water supply to the population. 

Target 5: Implement integrated water resources management (IWRM) at all levels, including through transboundary cooperation where appropriate. 

Target 6: Ensure the protection and restoration of water ecosystems.

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