We do suistainable wildlife policy making

Our objectives

Spreading of information on the conservation and sustainable use of wetlands, biodiversity and natural ecosystems on the territory of SPNA

Participation in decision making process and implementation of the Law on the state level

Building up concern for the wildlife protection in Belarus and the involvement of a wide range of people in the processes of environmental protection

Areas of work

Legal assistance and advice on sustainable wildlife management. We run the online Infocenter, where anyone can get answers to their questions from experts in the field of environmental protection and sustainable management. We advise local residents, collect their appeals and complaints for filing with government agencies of Belarus.

Advocacy. Bahna is a facilitator of public participation processes in environmental decision-making, state policy-making and policy implementation in the field of conservation of biodiversity and SPNAs.

Environmental education. We organise the School of Wildlife and the School of Advocacy. We also conduct issue-related lectures, exhibitions and other cultural events in order to show the importance and the role of Belarusian ecosystems in global processes.

Advice on environmental management. We work out recommendations on the sustainable management of wetlands, biodiversity and natural areas. We participate in the independent monitoring of the Forest Stewardship Council, and since 2014 we have been working on the development of the SPNA system. We conduct independent feasibility studies of the development of natural areas, as well as of legislative acts and legal standards in the field of wildlife protection. We bring together experts from various fields and form working groups on problematic topics.

Bahna.land website has been publishing news and featured articles about Belarusian and global wildlife since 2013.

Environmental policy-making. We collaborate with local initiatives, with the ministries and other state bodies of Belarus. Since 2016, we have been part of the inter-agency council for biodiversity conservation under the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection. Since 2016 we have participated in the scientific-social advisory council for ecosystem services and biological diversity, established on the basis of the NAS of Belarus for bioresources. We have established a collaborative relationship with the Yelnya, Ozyory, Osveysky, Kotra Republican Landscape Reserves, the Lebyazhy, Biological Reserve and the Turovsky Lug Reserve of Local Importance.