In order to implement the provisions of the Law of the Republic of Belarus dated July 17, 2023 No. 294-Z “On Amending the Law of the Republic of Belarus “On Environmental Protection” on February 27, 2024, the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Belarus adopted Resolution No. 123 “On Conducting an Economic Assessment of Ecosystem Services”, which approved the Regulation on the procedure and conditions for conducting an economic assessment of ecosystem services.
Ecosystem services are provisioning, regulating, supporting, cultural and other services that enable society to obtain benefits in the environmental, economic and social spheres as a result of the preservation, restoration and sustainable functioning of natural ecological systems.
The objects of economic assessment of ecosystem services are natural ecological systems and the ecosystem services they perform, which ensure that society obtains benefits in the environmental, economic and social spheres.
Conducting an economic assessment of ecosystem services will allow justifying the economic efficiency of investments in the environmental protection complex, comparing the costs and benefits of the provided ecosystem services, and calculating the amount of compensation payments.
The economic assessment of ecosystem services is carried out for the following purposes:
- assessment of the state of the ecosystem and its components;
- reducing the harmful impact on the environment and improving its quality;
- efficient use of financial resources, taking into account the direct and remote consequences of impact on ecosystems during the implementation of state programs;
- justifications for the development of measures to obtain benefits from the conservation, restoration and sustainable functioning of ecosystems;
- preparation of proposals for the implementation of measures to obtain benefits from the conservation, restoration and sustainable functioning of ecosystems;
- planning and implementation of economic and other activities;
- taking into account the cost assessment of ecosystem services when forecasting and assessing changes in the state of the environment for objects associated with the impact on natural ecosystems, when conducting an environmental impact assessment.
The Resolution stipulates that the economic assessment of ecosystem services is not mandatory and is carried out only at the initiative of an interested legal entity or individual entrepreneur for the purpose of making management decisions, attracting investments, international technical assistance projects, and others.
The economic assessment of ecosystem services is carried out by legal entities that have a certificate of accreditation of a scientific organization and are included in the register of scientific organizations, on a contractual basis.
The resolution comes into force on April 26, 2024.
