Belarus’ Ministry of Natural Resources stated that environmental protection issues should not be politicised
The politicisation of environmental issues is unacceptable; it is important for the international community to join efforts in solving the problems of land desertification – as stated by Belarus’ First Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Aleksandr Korbut, speaking at the 16th session of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), sb.by reports with a link to the Belarusian environmental agency’s website
Aleksandr Korbut noted that Belarus has fulfilled all the requirements of the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and applied for funding for a large-scale project to restore degraded lands, preserve biodiversity and mitigate the effects of climate change, which is planned to be implemented in the Polesie Nature Reserve. Despite this, Belarus was not included in the list of countries applying for funding. Moreover, the state has been excluded from the GEF Small Grants Programme for the second time. This situation may lead to the fact that the issue of international grants for Belarus will not be included in the agenda of the upcoming GEF Council.
The First Deputy Minister called on the Global Environment Facility and donor countries to ‘set aside political bias and abandon the practice of blocking international funding to countries that have been placed on the ‘no-go list’ for purely political reasons’.
The head of the Belarusian delegation regretted that nature is still a victim of political games and that the ambitions of individual countries are being prioritised over drought management, biodiversity conservation and climate change mitigation.
Aleksandr Korbut stressed that Belarus, as before, is open to dialogue and is ready to work constructively with all interested parties.
Within the framework of the ministerial dialogue on drought resilience – From Geneva to Riyadh and Beyond: Enhancing Global and National Policy Instruments for a Proactive Drought Management Approach – the head of the Belarusian delegation informed the participants of the event about the policy on rehabilitation of degraded land pursued in Belarus.
The First Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection noted that Belarus is one of the most important ‘peat’ countries in the world. Considerable attention is being paid in the republic to solving such urgent problems as peat fires, overgrowth of open swamps with low-value woody and shrubby vegetation, etc. Measures are being taken to restore the hydrological regime of wetlands, improve the habitat conditions of wild animals and plants, and reduce carbon dioxide emissions.
The official urged the international community to join efforts in solving the problems of desertification, the consequences of which are transboundary in nature.
The 16th session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification is being held in Riyadh, the capital of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
