Until 2020, the environmental movement was one of the most actively developing sectors of civil society in Belarus.
Public interest in exercising environmental rights has increased steadily, and activists’ expertise has grown alongside the number of environmental organisations. The events of August 2020 — namely, the rigging of the presidential election, the unprecedented protests and followed repressions — have fundamentally altered the situation. The state campaign to suppress civil society resulted in dissolving of hundreds of NGOs, including some of the oldest environmental organisations, such as APB/BirdLifeBelarus and Ecohome. The mechanisms of interaction between the public and the state, developed over many years and aiming to address and prevent local environmental problems and to protect citizens’ interests at all levels, were dismantled.
However, despite ongoing repression, people within the country continue to address environmental issues, albeit often in private and through personal contacts and trusted networks. Organisations and experts who were forced to leave Belarus are inventing and adapting to new working formats. They are monitoring the environmental situation in the country, engaging in international advocacy and striving to preserve the expert community in exile.
This review focuses on the situation faced by environmental organisations and activists in Belarus amid a prolonged socio-political crisis.