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BREST, 19 April (BelTA) The European Union intends to invest over 800,000 in the implementation of pilot initiatives in the area of green economy in Brest Oblast, BelTA learned from Natalya Kozlovskaya, a specialist of the EU/UNDP project for assisting Belarus' transition to green economy, during an awareness-raising event in Brest.

European grants are used to implement three green economy initiatives in Brest Oblast. The largest one is the creation of a facility to convert waste wood into biofuel at premises of the Brest city utilities enterprise. The facility was opened in 2016 and now successfully operates. A mobile plant to chop waste wood has been bought, a plant for sorting the resulting wood chips by fractions as well as a loader with mounted equipment. The project goes on. Work is in progress to buy boiler equipment.

An environmental information center has been established in the wildlife sanctuary Pribuzhskoye Polesie (the village of Leplevka, Brest District) at the expense of 150,000 granted by the European Union. The premises have been repaired and equipped: bicycles, canoes, and tents have been bought. A strategy to develop ecotourism and marketing has been put together. A business plan has been worked out. Ten new tourism products are now being mastered by the local personnel. The initiative has already produced results as the number of visitors the wildlife sanctuary attracts rose by 36% in 2016. The premises are being beautified now. Work on design specifications and estimates to build a photo tower is nearing completion. We intend to sign the contract and erect the photo tower for watching birds and animals soon, noted the project specialist.

The Brest transboundary information center's initiative for organic food production and promotion through reliance on agroecotourism operators and active members of the local community has been successfully implemented. The initiative provides for converting several populated localities in Kamenets District into a herbal tourism destination in addition to starting the production of herbal teas.

The project for assisting Belarus' transition to green economy is financed by the European Union and is being implemented by the United Nations Development Program. It was launched in January 2015. A total of 23 pilot initiatives are being implemented all over the country as part of the project, with 5 million apportioned for them. The project is supposed to end on 31 December 2017.

The first information meeting on principles, mechanisms, and prospects of promoting green economy in the Republic of Belarus took place in Brest on 19 April. The event was organized by the European Union Delegation to Belarus with assistance of the Belarusian Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Ministry and the Brest Oblast administration. There are plans to arrange similar awareness-raising events in Vitebsk, Grodno, Gomel, and Minsk Oblast.

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European Union to invest over 800000 in green economy projects in Brest Oblast - Belarus News (BelTA)