A new EU funded project will help to create a network of “green schools” in Belarus and extend the monitoring of atmospheric air

A new project of International Technical Assistance aimed at the extension of environmental monitoring, first of all, atmospheric air, by increasing the potential of “green schools” has been registered in Belarus. The project " Civic Engagement in Environmental Monitoring and Improving Environmental Management at the Local Level” ("Green School") will be funded by the European Union and implemented by UNDP in Belarus in partnership with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection of the Republic of Belarus. The project budget is 3.5 million euros.

Within the framework of the four-year project, resource centres for “green schools” will be created, a contest of environmental initiatives will be held, and 10-20 initiatives will be selected for the implementation within the project.

The project activities will be focused, among other areas, on involving persons with disabilities in environmental quality monitoring. The state institution "Republican Rehabilitation Centre for Disabled Children" will be a pilot site for testing the "Green Schools" training programs in institutions of this type.

The "Green Schools" project will also support the Aarhus Centres of the Republic of Belarus.

The project will cover all six regions of Belarus and the city of Minsk, where environmental clubs will be established on the basis of "green schools" with the participation of civil society organizations. That will allow to involve the public in air quality monitoring activities.