Belaya rus Description

"Belaya Rus"

"Belaya Rus" - Description

Ecological Initiative "Belaya Rus" is Belarusian non-governmental and non-profit organization.
Our mission is implementation of the principles of sustainable development and working out a concept that ensures respect for the limited capacity of natural resources while meeting social and cultural requirements and making use of economic development and its mechanisms.
We work on local sustainability, alternative energy, environmental information dissemination, and environmental education.

Little History, Membership:

- Since 1989, Belaya Rus has worked in the area of promoting environmental awareness and knowledge.
- In April 1992, Belaya Rus got a legal status as a non-profit organisation with umbrella-structure with the purpose to work in the environmental field under the name of Youth Ecological Movement "Belaya Rus".
- In 2000, Belaya Rus was re-registered according to new legal requirements under the name of Ecological Initiative "Belaya Rus".
- In 1992, Balaya Rus joined INFORSE-Europe (International Network for Sustainable Energy).
- Belaya Rus is also member of CEE Bankwatch Network, and ANPED, Northern Alliance for Sustainability.

Belaya Rus has about 200 members. Since 1994, we publish our monthly environmental magazine Green News in Belarus, which is sent out to 1000 of subscribers.

The Main Areas of Activities are:

Local sustainability;
Effectively lobbying of decision-makers,
Involving the public in the whole process and improving public awareness,
Environmental information and public participation ;
Environmental awareness rising campaigns;
Sustainable agriculture;
Energy saving and waste management.

Belaya Rus is actively involved in preparation of the new Sustainable Development strategy for Belarus. We are involved in the discussion of environmental legislation and international environmental agreement implementation as a member of the "National Environmental Consultative Council of NGOs".

Project Suported by DANCEE:
In 1999-2001, Belaya Rus and Danish Organisation for Renewable Energy (OVE) implemented a project "Developing Environmental Awareness in Belarus" supported by DANCEE. The project was implemented in two phases. Our main achievements are:

Two environmental educational bus tours around Belarus;
Waste separation campaigns for schools;
Energy saving campaign for schools;
25 issues of monthly environmental newsletter "Green News" in Russian;
Six types of publication on energy and waste issues and environmental education;
Seven small pilot projects around Belarus implemented by Belaya Rus regional links;
Seminar on Belarus - Danish co-operation;
Earth Day activities.

You can read about the project phase 2 (2000-2001) in English at:
http://www.inforse.org/europe/belo-da.htm

List of Main Projects and Activities Realised by Belaya Rus

Publication of the monthly environmental newsletter Green News since 1994 (Supported by DANCEE in 2 periods in 1999-2001)
Education and practical campaigns on waste separation and energy saving, January - May 2001 (Supported by DANCEE)
Two International Environmental Bus Tour Campaigns, September 1999, October 2001, (Supported by DANCEE and Greenpeace Democracy Fund)
Round tables for Earth Day, March 2000 (Supported by JANUN, Germany)
Annual General Meeting of ANPED, Northern Alliance for Sustainability, March 2001
Seminar on Belarussian-Danish NGO Cooperation, December 2001, (Supported by DANCEE)
Two National Strategy Meeting of Belarussian Eco-NGOs in partnership with NGO ECODOM, June 2001, April 2002 (Supported by Miljoekontakt, Netherlands)
NGO Forum on Dneper river problems, July 2002 (Supported by UNDP - GEF)

Project we are Working on in 2002:

Green Telephone hot line (own resources)
National week of Dneper river (Supported by UNDP - GEF)
Translation to Russian the DIERET on-line course on renewable energy
Local Agenda 21 for Dzergynsk (Supported by ISAR, Kiev, Ukraine)

More information:
Ecological Initiative Belaya Rus
220109 st. A Krasina 23 - 37, Minsk, Belarus,
Ph/fax: + 375 17 224 54 74
E-mail: Natasha@ecodept.unibel.by