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According to Belarusian tradition, Father Frost (also known as Dzyed Maróz or Santa Claus) lives in Belovezhskaya Pushcha, part of the immense primaeval forest that once stretched across the European Plain. It is hardly surprising then that Belarus’s largest manufacturer of high quality children’s plastic toys and games is based a few miles away.  Polesie is a toy manufacturer located in the small town of Kobrin, famous for its cheese, and now also its toys.

This publication shows that improving energy efficiency can play an important role in helping countries meet their commitments under the Paris Agreement. The first part of the brochure presents eight case studies of technical assistance projects by UNDP and GEF in energy efficiency in eight countries: Armenia, Belarus, Georgia, Romania, Russian Federation, Serbia, Turkey, and Ukraine. The second part presents UN Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) experiences related to energy efficiency in the region.

“When I accepted an invitation from the Belarusian Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Association to participate in an advanced training course, it was a major turning point in my life. At the time, I was a young and ambitious Senior Refrigeration Engineer, leading a number of projects at a private company – I had been doing this for the past five years, and was looking for opportunities to grow as a professional.

Before a massive draining of peatlands was launched in the second half of the 20th century Belarus owned 2.4 million hectares of natural mires. Between 1960 and 1980, one million hectares of mires were drained for agriculture, 300,000 ha were drained for forestry and another 286,000 ha for peat mining. After peat was extracted, damaged peatlands were converted to agricultural land for further use. However, in actual practice the efforts to cultivate degraded peatlands turned out ineffective, and such lands were generally abandoned.

SGP-logo.png Minsk Region, Belarus

 

The Expanded Constituency Workshops keep the GEF National Focal Points, Convention Focal Points and other key stakeholders, including civil society, up to date on GEF strategies, policies and procedures and to encourage coordination. The events enable focal points to meet with their counterparts from other countries in the region. They also allow other GEF partners, especially GEF Agencies, to discuss and review policies and procedures and to share experiences from GEF projects and their integration within national policy frameworks.