State Programme of Innovative Development of the Republic of Belarus for 2007- 2010
I. General information
What is the type of the document?:
Programme
Country:
Title of the programme/strategy:
State Programme of Innovative Development of the Republic of Belarus for 2007- 2010
Title of the programme/strategy:
Государственная Программа инновационного развития Республики Беларусь на 2007-2010 годы
Keywords:
Overview:
Strategic goal of the State Programme of Innovative Development of the Republic of Belarus for 2007- 2010 is to build up the economy of Belarus has to be innovative, competitive in the world market, science-intensive, resource-saving, eco-friendly and socially-oriented. The Programme is aimed at promoting sustainable socio-economic development and improving the quality of life of the Belarusian nation.
The national policy in management of natural resources is focused on decreasing harmful anthropogenic impact on an environment, rational use and saving the natural resources on the base of intensive development methods, application of resource-saving and low-waste technologies, as well as use of recycled resources and wastes. The main priorities are the maximal provision of the industry with domestic mineral, fuel and energy resources, complex use of the country subsurface with natural environment preservation. Belarus possesses sufficient reserves of non-metallic mineral resources which are capable to satisfy the internal demands of the country.
National policy in environment management and implementation of innovative eco-friendly technologies is developed in conformity with the National Sustainable Development Strategy by 2020, National Action Plan for Rational Use of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection for 2006-2010, National Programme of Measures to Mitigate the Consequences of Climate Change for 2008-2012 (elaborated in order to fulfill commitments of the Republic of Belarus under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change) and also other concerned target strategies.
The Programme includes a system of legal, financial, economic and organizational measures which are aimed at building up an innovative economy in wide spectrum of economy branches, including environment protection and mitigation of the negative impact on climate and environment.
Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection is a public body of special competence, which reports to the Council of Ministers on realization of the part of the Programme which deals with environment protection, climate change and development of innovative eco-friendly technologies in this sphere, and also conducts the national policy in the field.
Official Project customers of the State Programme of Innovative Development are listed at http://www.government.by/public/shared/rus/innovations_p/en/03.html .
Background and rationale:
State Programme of Innovative Development of the Republic of Belarus for 2007- 2010 partly touches upon the issues of environmental protection and envisages development of innovative strategy in this area via implementation of novel eco-friendly technologies.
Taking into account the fact that climatic characteristics of the country have resulted in an abundance of forests and wetland ecosystems, the efforts of the Government in rational use and protection of natural resources are reflected in several state programmes and strategies. The overall goal of the activities in this direction is to protect natural habitat of the country and restore damaged territories by implementation of innovative eco-friendly technologies in nature conservation.
Belarus is a party to UN Convention to Combat Desertification in Countries Experiencing Serious Drought and/or Desertification (1994); UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (1992); Convention on Biological Diversity (1993) and Convention on Protection and Wise Use of Wetlands of International Importance (Ramsar Convention, 1971). Ecological rehabilitation of degraded ecosystems has been highlighted as a priority in the National Strategy for Sustainable Development of Belarus adopted by the Council of Ministers of Belarus in March 1997. The following legal documents reflect the tendency to terminate mire drainage and reconvert extracted peatlands to their natural state with the aim of enhancing their role in carbon sequestration and assisting the country to fulfill its obligations under the UNFCCC:
National Climatic Program (1999)
Law of the Republic of Belarus “On Protection of the Atmosphere” (1997).
One of the novel directions is connected with degraded peatlands. It’s aimed at achieving global benefits in the areas of sustainable land management, global climate and biodiversity with the respect for the socio-economic needs of local communities. Peatlands have been globally recognized as one of the most valuable and at the same time the most threatened types of natural habitats. Belarus is a country with a substantial share of peat- and non-peat wetlands (6.4% of the country is covered by peatlands, compared average ~3.4% in the world). The overall area of natural peatlands in Belarus before drainage (1950) was 2,939,000 ha. As a result of large-scale drainage between 1950- 1990, more than 54% of peatlands have been drained for peat extraction and agriculture. Currently, series of national and international projects are carried out to introduce wetland renaturalisation on degraded peatlands
Peatlands, once degraded, contribute to progressive loss of productivity and declining harvests, disruptions to the carbon cycle, shrinking habitats for globally important species, and increased risk of a fire that might spread radioactive contamination in the Chernobyl zone. With about 432,500 ha of degraded peatlands (209,500 ha exhausted peatlands and 223,000 ha of ineffectively used agricultural peatland areas) potentially suitable for rehabilitation, Belarus considers renaturalization of peatlands to be its top environmental priority. Reconversion of extracted peatlands to their natural state is aimed also at enhancing their role in carbon sequestration. Further expansion of peat extraction is environmentally damaging and, therefore, the national policy in the use of traditional fuels does not envisage expansion of peat extraction. Replacement of fossil fuels with biomass is envisaged through wide scale application of wood and woodwaste, expansion of biogas, and wind energy, with peat resources expected to continue to deliver only about 2% of the primary fuel consumption mix of the country.
National Development Strategy projects for creating a system of specially protected natural areas (SPNA) covering the period until 2015 and State Development Programme projects, aiming at the creation of a system of SPNA for 2008-2014 are connected with the State Programme of Innovative Development of the Republic of Belarus for 2007- 2010 in field of environment rational conservation and use. Within these projects the activities on protection and sustainable use of wetlands are funded.
II. Detailed information
Start date:
26/03/2007
Expected end date:
31/12/2010
Research policy priorities targeted:
Additional remarks:
Applied industrial and environment research
•building up national innovation system
•cultivating the economic, legal and socio-cultural environment, including innovations in utilization of secondary energy resources
•economy and energy security
•developing eco-friendly technologies (penetration of biogas technologies, rational use of biomass, restoration of worked out peatlands and mires et al.)
Relation to other programmes/strategies:
The State Programme of Innovative Development of the Republic of Belarus for 2007- 2010 (approved by Decree of the President of the Republic of Belarus of 26.03.2007, №136) is related to the following national programmes and strategies:
•National Plan of Actions for Environmental Protection in the Republic of Belarus for 2006-2010 (approved by the Decree of the President of the Republic of Belarus, 05.05.2006, №302);
•The State Program of Protection and Rational Use of the Land (approved by the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Belarus, 17.11.1994)
•The State Program for Geological Survey Works to Develop the Mineral and Raw Materials Base for 2006-2010 and for the period till 2020 (approved by the Decree of the President of the Republic of Belarus, 28.03.2006, №184);
•The State Program for the National Environment Monitoring System Development in the Republic of Belarus for 2006-2010 (approved by the Decree of the President of the Republic of Belarus, 18.04.2006, №251);
•National Programme of Measures to Mitigate the Consequences of Climate Change (Decision of the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Belarus, 04.08.2008, №1117)
•2007-2012 Strategy for Reducing Emissions and Enhancing Removals by Sinks of Greenhouse Gases in the Republic of Belarus (Decision of the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Belarus, 07.09.2006, №1155,)
•Target Programme on Energy Supply in the Republic by means of Using Local Kinds of Fuels and Alternative Sources of Energy in Amount not less than 25% of Total Energy Production for the period until 2012 (Decision of the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Belarus, 30.12.2004, №1680)
•The Programme for Forestry Development for 2007-2011(Decision of the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Belarus, 29.12.2006, № 1760)
•The Long-Term Industry Plan of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection of the Republic of Belarus for 2006-2010.
•The State Programme for the Multifunctional Use of Forests until 2015
•The State Programme on Energy Saving for 2006 – 2010 (Decision of the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Belarus, 02.02.2006, №137)
•The State Complex Programme of Belarusian Energy System’ Hardware Upgrade, Energy Saving until 2011 (approved by the Decree of the President of the Republic of Belarus, 15.11.2007, №575).
R&D in the target field of the Programme are implemented in the frame of the state scientific&technical programmes, programmes for basic and applied research, separate R&D projects. For example, the State Scientific &Technical Programme “Exploitation and Development of New, Socially Significant and Environment-Compatible Technologies for Natural Resources Use and Processing, and also for Environment Protection” (SSTP “Environmental Safety”), approved by the Resolution of the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Belarus of January 4, 2006 №5.
The programme/strategy was inspired by:
Additional remarks:
Term of duration: 2007-2010, prolongation is foreseen
Geographic coverage:
Republic of Belarus
Target group(s):
Additional remarks:
All executors of R&D and innovative projects of the Programme including those in the sphere of climate and environment are selected by competition.
Research themes and disciplines of research targeted:
Climate and environment: R&D on impact of anthropogenic greenhouse gases' emissions on climate, environmental and economic impact assessment of climate change, as well as measures aimed at mitigation of this impact. R&D on increasing the efficiency of forestry and its’ development, including rational use of biomass, as well as restoration of degraded peatlands and bogs.
Target fields:
Additional remarks:
Forestry, Restoration of Degraded Peatlands
Management structure:
The State Committee for Science and Technology, National Academy of Sciences of Belarus and other government bodies (innovation development departments of branch ministries) are in entrusted with the management and control over the Programme execution. The main positions of the management structure are available at the web-page:
http://www.government.by/public/shared/rus/innovations_p/en/02-1.html .
Management structure of the National Innovation System of Belarus at the branch level has vertical and horizontal links between the Council of Ministers and state-run organisations subordinate to the Government: http://www.government.by/public/shared/rus/innovations_p/en/02-2.html
Ministry of National Resources and Environment Protection of Belarus is in charge of management and control over execution of the State Programme of Innovative Development in the area of Ecology and rational nature management (http://minpriroda.by). It’s responsible also for measures to combat land degradation. This Ministry is the focal point for all Rio conventions and is the lead agency for elaboration of the UNCCD NAP. Maintenance of the system of protected areas is the responsibility of this Ministry.
The function of the Programme coordination (in the area of ecology and rational nature management, environment and climate) is realized by the Ministry in cooperation with the target State Interdepartmental Commissions.
Selection of projects:
Competition-based within the Programme, and also within state targeted programmes and state R&D programmes thematically connected with the Programme. Procedures of submission, review and monitoring of joint projects are defined by several resolutions of the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Belarus, e.g. Resolution №1144 “On Approval of the Procedure of Submitting, Reviewing and Monitoring Joint Projects” of 05.09.2006. In accordance with this legal act, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment Protection keeps track of all such project proposals.
Openness to other countries:
The Programme foresees a broad cooperation with international organizations and other foreign partners, including the EU ones. There are also a number of companies and foundations, which have already invested and/or expressed an intention to invest their money in some projects (World Bank, UNDP, GEF, Japanese Initiative, Carbon Capital Market, Wetlands International, BirdLife International, etc.).
There is a fruitful cooperation of the Government of the Republic of Belarus and UN Development Programme in Belarus during last decade in the following directions: frameworks and strategies for sustainable development; access to sustainable energy services; effective water governance; sustainable land management to combat desertification and land degradation; conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity – about 30 projects are carried out during last decade (http://undp.by). Several international projects are currently implemented in Belarus:
•The Project of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), Global Environment Facility (GEF), and the Ministry of Forestry of Belarus «Renaturalization and Sustainable Management of Peatlands in Belarus to Combat Land Degradation, Ensure Conservation of Globally Valuable Biodiversity and Mitigate Climate Change» aims to restore wetland ecosystem of 17 drained and degraded peatlands with a total area of over 40 000 ha, to reduce the incidence of peatlands fires, to create conditions for flora and fauna restoration (2005-2010). The Project develops a strategy for restoration and sustainable management of degraded peatlands, sets up an integrated monitoring system for renaturalized peatlands which will enable sound decision making on peatland utilization in future. Project implementation will assist Belarus in meeting its international commitments under three environmental conventions — on biodiversity, on climate change and on combating desertification and land degradation. Furthermore, the Project will provide hands-on data to assess peatlands contribution to climate change mitigation, as well as analyze opportunities for using emission reductions under the Kyoto Protocol that Belarus became a party to in 2005, http://www.peatlands.by/index.php?section=3;
•UNDP-GEF Project “Catalyzing sustainability of the wetland protected area system in Belarusian Polesie through increased management efficiency and realigned land use practices”, 2006-2011, http://www.polesie-wetlands.by;
•UNDP Project “Capacity Building for Implementation of Flexible Mechanisms of Kyoto Protocol in Belarus”, 2006-2009, http://www.climate-by.com/pages/projects/Default.aspx;
•UNDP Project “Building capacity for Strategic Environmental Assessment and environmental conventions implementation in Belarus”, 2008-2010, http://undp.by;
•UNDP Project “Sustainable Development on Local Level”, 2008-2010, http://undp.by;
•UNDP Project “Removing barriers to energy efficiency improvements in the state sector in Belarus”, 2007-2010, http://undp.by .
List of potential joint implementation projects with indication of objectives, expected results and conditions is available at http://inovations.belta.by/en/09-18.html, http://inovations.belta.by/en/09-16, http://www.climate-by.com/pages/projects/Default.aspx .
Mode of funding:
Additional remarks:
Sources of Financing: Special purpose budgetary funds (national budget expenditures on scientific, sci-tech and innovation activities, national budget expenses on state capital investments, Belarusian Innovation Foundation, innovation support funds of the government bodies, other state-run organisations subordinate to the Government, etc)
Co-financing sources:
International projects, branch and corporate initiatives
Overall budget of the programme:
n/a
III. Results, Evaluation and Impact
Measurement of outcomes:
Yes
Programme evaluation:
Results:
•Public nature protection institutions have been created for the management of all Ramsar sites financed by the government nature protection fund.
•Development of the management plans has been started for 4 Ramsar sites: the 'Mid-Pripyat State Landscape Zakaznik' and the 'Prostyr' – within the framework of the UNDP/GEF; ‘Yelnia’ and ‘Osveisky’ - as part of the state scientific and technical programme.
•A scheme for wise distribution of SPNA for 2008–2015 has been developed. It will give a national protection status to most of the wetlands which are of crucial importance (according the scheme, 7 wetland reserves of regional level and 7 reserves of other types which also contain wetland complexes are going to be created).
•Programme for rehabilitation of disturbed peatbogs for 2008-2012 has been developed by the Ministry of Forestry.
•Within the framework of the UNDP/GEF Project ‘Rehabilitation and sustainable management of the degraded peatbogs in Belarus’, the activities have been started on the rehabilitation of the first four degraded peatbogs in order to reduce greenhouse gase emissions, solve the problems of soil degradation and ensure the preservation of biological diversity (Dokudovskoye, Bartenikha, Miranka, Galoe);
•National Development Strategy Projects for creating a system of specially protected natural areas (SPNA) covering the period until 2015 and State Development Pogramme Projects have been developed and approved aiming at the creation of a system of SPNA for 2008-2014; their implementation will provide direct funding for activities which aims are protection and sustainable use of wetlands.
Further developments:
Activities in the frame of the Programme and related national and international programmes are important for sustainable development of the country. It is expected to improve the economy of Belarus with wide penetration of the novel science-intensive, resource-saving, eco-friendly technologies,
to protect natural habitat of the country and restore damaged territories and, as a result, to raise the quality of life of the Belarusian nation. Moreover, it is expected to fulfill the country’s commitments under international environment oriented conventions.
IV. How to find out more
Information source:
http://www.gknt.org.by http://www.government.by/public http://www.minpriroda.by http://www.mlh.by/en/forestry/resources.html http://www.climate-by.com/Pages/Default.aspx?lang=en http://www.polesie-wetlands.by http://www.peatlands.by http://belisa.org.by
Funding agency:
State Committee for Science and Technology (http://www.gknt.org.by),
Ministry for Environment Protection and Use (http://www.minpriroda.by), Ministry of Forestry (http://www.mlh.by/en/forestry/resources.html).
Launching agency:
State Committee for Science and Technology, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment Protection, Ministry of Forestry
Administering agency:
Branch ministries, agencies and institutions of Belarus
Correspondent name:
Olga Meerovskaya, Natallia Rybianets
Correspondent institution:
Belarusian Institute of System Analysis and Information Support of Scientific and Technical Sphere
Correspondent contact details:
Address: 7 Pobedititey ave., 220004 Minsk, Belarus.
Tel/fax: +375 17 2867630
E-mail: meerovskaya@fp7-nip.org.by; mab@bsu.by
Date of submission:
16/05/2009 12:49