Environmental performance reviews: Belarus

The present publication contains the third Environmental Performance Review of Belarus. The report takes stock of progress made by Belarus in the management of its environment since the country was reviewed for the second time in 2005. It assesses the implementation of the recommendations made in the second review. This third EPR also covers issues of specific importance to the country related to legal and policy frameworks, the financing of environmental policies, greening the economy, and integrating environmental concerns into air protection, water management, waste management, biodiversity, forests and protected areas, and into selected sectors, such as energy, agriculture, transport, forestry, tourism, environmental education and education for sustainable development, human settlements and health. The review makes suggestions for strengthening efforts towards a comprehensive and systemic response to sustainable development challenges. The EPR report reflects the successes and challenges of the country in the achievement of most of the Millennium Development Goals. This analysis, together with respective recommendations, should assist all national stakeholders in developing an aspirational national agenda for achievement of the new global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). ECE would also like to express its appreciation to the German Federal Ministry for Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety and the German Federal Environment Agency for their support by providing funds through the Advisory Assistance Programme, and to Norway and Switzerland for their financial contribution. Sincere thanks are also due to France and the United Nations Environment Programme for having provided their experts, and to the United Nations Development Programme for their support for this review. ECE also takes the opportunity to thank Austria and the Netherlands for their general financial support to the EPR Programme and expresses its deep appreciation to Georgia, Estonia, Germany, Hungary, Sweden and Switzerland for having provided their experts for the ECE Expert Group on Environmental Performance Reviews, which undertook the expert review of this report.