ISAR | ISAR-Minsk

Since 2000, ISAR-Belarus has been providing support to the nongovernmental environmental movement throughout the country. Over the course of the last five years, the organization has distributed 116 grants, a total of $208,000, to NGOs in over 40 cities. ISAR-Belarus, which is an affiliate of the Initiative for Social Action and Renewal in Eurasia (ISAR, Inc.) in Washington, DC, is registered with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Belarus. Funding for the program was first provided by the US Agency for International Development (USAID), but currently comes from the C.S. Mott Foundation and the Eurasia Foundation.

During 2004-2005, with support from the Mott Foundation, ISAR-Belarus awarded 22 grants, a total of $78,000, to NGOs in such towns and cities as Baranovichi, Brest, Grodno, Minsk, Naroch, and Zaslavl. Grant-supported activities ranged from environmental education and eco-tourism to habitat protection, local agenda 21 development and support for citizen participation in the environmental decision-making process. ISAR grantees included 4,250 people in their projects, disseminated 56 different publications (16 of them new), organized 66 seminars and trainings and attracted funding from outside sources in the process of implementing their projects.

ISAR-Belarus has also played an important role in disseminating information about NGO activity. In 2004-05, it published three brochures: one for government offices on the NGO role in ecotourism development, a new direction for NGO activity (500 copies); and two for NGOs, one on gathering and disseminating environmental information (300 copies) and the second on NGO registration and activity in light of the new NGO legislation in Belarus (300 copies). Its regularly updated website includes a wide variety on information on environmental and NGO issues in addition to information about the procedures and past activities of the ISAR grant program.

The final meeting at the end of each grant program has given grantees the opportunity to present the results of their projects to each other and to others interested in the program. The most recent meeting was held on December 17, 2005, and like the others gave participants a chance to evaluate NGO development, the program’s impact and needs for the future. Such opportunities to analyze and share information on the environmental movement are rare and important occasions for the eco-NGOs of Belarus.

In addition to its Mott funded program, ISAR-Belarus during 2004, carried out a grant-making initiative on Local Environmental and Eco-tourism Planning supported by the Eurasia Foundation with money from USAID.

1. To stimulate the activities of the more than 100 environmental NGOs and initiative groups now working in Belarus and to promote an increase in citizens’ knowledge about environmental issues. To achieve this goal, ISAR-Minsk plans to distribute grants, organize NGO roundtables, publish brochures on NGO registration and environmental rights and expand our website. Expectations are for the distribution of approximately 30 grants in all.

2. To support the transfer of skills and knowledge from experienced to newer NGOs thus strengthening NGO coalitions and cooperation.

3. To foster the image of NGOs as partners to state bodies during the approval of ecologically significant legislative decisions by supporting public participation in the environmental decision-making process.

4. To educate Belarusian NGOs about their environmental rights by providing information and advocacy skills that will raise the ability and professional level of NGOs in assuring the protection of those rights.

The 2006-2007 program has already secured support from the Eurasia Foundation and is awaiting funding approval from the C. S. Mott Foundation.

Elena Laevskaya, Office Director
28-16 Zamkovaja street
Minsk, Belarus
Fax: (375 17) 203 84 98
Tel: (029) 625 0264
E-mail: belisar@solo.by
Website: www.isar.by

ISAR-Minsk is coordinating an information program that informs the public of Belarus about public participation in environmental decision-making from a legal and advocacy standpoint. This initiative not only encourages public participation, but encourages legislation of environmentally significant decisions, protects the environmental rights of the people, and develops ISAR-Minsk into an online resource for environmentalists.

The project was aimed at the realization of public ecological expertise about the condition of atmospheric air in Minsk in order to connect the level of air pollution by motor transport to the morbidity rate of the population. The research has revealed that inhabitants connect motor transport emissions to the condition of their health. On the basis of this work conclusions were drawn about the influence of transport on public health and transportation impact reduction measures were determined for various levels (city, regional, local) in the investigated areas.

The project had the following direct output:

• The project resulted in updates to the control system concept for road movement in Minsk, authorized by the Minsk City Executive Committee;
• The results of environmental experts were used during the decision-making process of the Minsk City Executive Committee considering the construction of a multi-story parking lot in the center of the city;
• The results of the project were used in the development of a protocol "Action plan for Parking Lot Development in Minsk" by the city executive committee.

Within the framework of the City branch "Baranovichi Ecological Union " NGO "Belarusian Social - Ecological Union " public ecological control actions were carried out. Together with the inspection of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection, and the environmental protection police, an administrative-technical inspection involved 55 ecological control actions over the course of 5 months during which 49 legal infringements were revealed. Under the auspices of public inspectors, 37 people were involved in administering 18 written instructions to legal persons about elimination of these nature protection infringements.

The public association organized an "environmental control hotline" and 247 inhabitants have addressed complaints and offers for improvement of environmental conditions in the city. On the basis of the collected information a “Public Database of Environmental Offers and Desires" was created. Consequently, a package of proposals directed toward improvement of the condition of the environment of Baranovichi region was drafted. These offers were submitted to the Baranovichi Council of Deputies.

During the realization of the project, the organization actively cooperated with Baranovichi Council of Deputies resulting in the acceptance of the following decisions:

• Decision of Presidium of Baranovichi Council of Deputies on assistance to public associations for ecological projects;
• Offers of the public association "Belarusian Social - Ecological Union" for refining the household waste and to rational water use practices.

Representatives of the "Baranovichi Ecological Council" together with the Commission of City Council of Deputies on ecology, town-planning and land tenure accepted public participation in settling the dispute over the territory bordering Gaj. Under the offer of the "Baranovichi Ecological Council," the City Council of Deputies brought offers of "Environmental police for Baranovichi," that promoted city sanitation.

The project "Public ecological control" has shown that cooperation of public associations, bodies of local authorities and city dwellers is extremely important for the successful decision of environmental problems in the region of Baranovichi.

For the first time in Belarus within the framework of this project a public association has organized and carried out a Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) of a national strategy of sustainable development until 2020. The SEA was conducted in 2002 by the Institute of the Ministry of Economics of Belarus. Public associations have involved experts to conduct the SEA. The analysis of the situation in Belarus was carried out, documents were prepared, and contact with project developers was established.

The result of the project was that for the first time in practice in Belarus the technique of SEA was used to analyze concepts, strategies, plans, and programs. The circuit of use of SEA tools for the analysis and updating of the National strategy, applicable to other strategic documents was worked out; the SEA concept National Strategy was executed and recommendations for the development of a National Strategy until 2020 were prepared; representatives of public associations were authorized as experts of the development of a National Strategy - 2020.

In addition to the small-grants program during 2002-2003, research about Belarussian NGOs in the field of environmental protection, was carried out. On the basis of information from the reference book of environmental NGOs in Belarus, ISAR published a book of environmental NGO projects (the text in Russian and in English) and a brochure entitled “Uniting for Development” including those NGOs involved in ISAR’s 2002-2003 program. Editions are distributed free-of-charge among NGOs, submitted to state bodies, and provided to the general public. Under application of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection of Belarus, 200 copies of the Reference book were issued. This reaffirms the need for this kind of information as well as ISAR’s reputation as a respected and important resource. The reference book, in particular, was used for the formation of public environmental coordination councils.

Additionally, ISAR-Belarus, over the last three years, has been able to gather rich information about NGO activities in the field of environmental protection in Belarus, and establish networks among NGOs, initiative groups, and government officials. This is a guarantee of future success in ISAR programs.

Currently, ISAR-Belarus is conducting a project “Supporting Initiatives of Belarussian NGOs in Local Environmental Planning and Eco-tourism planning.” This initiative is supported by the Eurasia Foundation with a grant from USAID