Viktor Galanov: on the environmental situation in the Vitebsk region and the principles of the "green" economy
— Viktor Anatolyevich, how have the priorities in the work of the environmental protection agency in the Vitebsk region changed in recent years? What issues have come into the focus of ecologists for the first time, and how does the development of technologies affect the work of the agency's specialists?
— In general, the work of environmental protection services is aimed at preventing and proactively addressing violations of environmental legislation. We monitor issues related to atmospheric air pollution, water resources, waste management, and the conservation and sustainable use of biological and landscape diversity.
We coordinate efforts to improve land management and the landscaping of settlements, as well as implement measures to combat Sosnowsky's hogweed and other invasive plant species.
We study modern energy-saving technologies for wastewater treatment and reducing atmospheric emissions, as well as waste processing and utilization, the implementation of which reduces harmful environmental impacts.
We pay great attention to the development of specially protected natural areas. In recent years, we have managed to increase the area of republican and local significance nature reserves and natural monuments by 8.4 thousand hectares, which constitutes 9.7% of the Vitebsk region's area.
Environmental protection services actively participate in the greening of urban and rural areas. This year, 62.8 thousand trees have been planted in the region, including over 22 thousand in rural settlements, and 11.2 thousand shrubs (over 4.4 thousand in rural areas). Currently, assessments of the survival rate of the plantings are being conducted.
— From an environmental perspective, how are issues of efficient use of fuel and energy resources and the implementation of renewable energy sources being addressed in the Vitebsk region?
— Vitebsk region has no fossil fuel sources, except for peat. Taking into account these natural features, phased work is being carried out to involve renewables in economic circulation: biomass, water, wind, geothermal heat, solar energy, and others. For example, to maximize the use of the hydropower potential of the Vitebsk region's rivers, work has been done to restore small hydroelectric power plants, some of which were built back in the 1950s.
Since 2017, the Vitebsk and Polotsk hydroelectric power plants have been in operation; they are the largest in the country and have a total installed capacity of 61.75 MW.
Thus, today in the region, 11 hydroelectric power plants with a total installed capacity of 65.4 MW convert the movement of water flows into electricity, which allows for an annual saving of up to 75 thousand tons of conventional fuel, while not polluting the atmosphere with greenhouse gas emissions and other harmful substances.
At the solid municipal waste landfills in Orsha, Vitebsk, and Novopolotsk, three biogas plants with a total electrical capacity of 1.8 MW annually utilize up to 5.5 million cubic meters of landfill gas, thereby not only preventing methane emissions but also generating electrical energy. The technologies for using solar energy and geothermal heat being implemented in the Vitebsk region are a significant factor in the development of the green economy, ensuring a reduction in the load on energy generating stations that use fossil fuels.
Over the past seven years, organizations and citizens have installed almost 70 solar water heaters, heat pumps, and photovoltaic systems.
The geographical location of the region and the level of development of forestry and agriculture have predetermined the spread of technologies in the region that involve the use of wood fuel and other biomass.
The technologies for using solar energy and geothermal heat being implemented in the Vitebsk region are a significant factor in the development of the green economy, ensuring a reduction in the load on energy generating stations that use fossil fuels.
Thus, over the past decade, measures have been taken in medium and small industrially undeveloped settlements to replace boiler equipment with a corresponding switch to the use of wood fuel instead of oil and gas.
A total of over 650 boiler houses and grain drying units generate thermal energy from renewable biomass (wood, flax shives, and straw).
— What adjustments are planned and necessary in the waste management system currently operating in the region?
— Issues of operating municipal waste disposal sites in accordance with environmental legislation, organizing the collection and extraction of secondary material resources, and safe storage of production waste remain relevant.
Currently, 27 landfills for solid municipal waste (SMW) and 201 mini-landfills in rural areas are in operation. Systematic work is being carried out to optimize the network of mini-landfills. In 2018, 109 of them were reclaimed, including completely in Beshenkovichi and Lepel districts. Similar work is planned for 82 mini-landfills in 2019.
In Belarus, a draft concept for the creation of landfills for the disposal of municipal waste and facilities for sorting and utilizing waste has been developed, according to which six interregional SMW landfills (Vitebsk, Orsha, Polotsk, Miory, Glubokoye, Chashniki) will be built in the Vitebsk region in 2022 – 2030. With their commissioning, the existing landfills and mini-landfills will be closed.
Annually, about 2 million cubic meters of municipal waste are generated in the region, which are a source of secondary material resources (SMR). For their collection, 193 collection points for scrap materials are in operation, and 12 sorting lines (post-sorting points) for municipal waste are functioning.
Over 9.5 thousand containers for separate waste collection have been installed in residential areas. Next year, a waste sorting plant in Vitebsk will start operating, designed for receiving and semi-automatic sorting of mixed solid municipal waste, with a capacity of 100,000 tons per year. Construction of a municipal solid waste management complex in Orsha is planned.
In the coming years, a deposit system for packaging collection will be introduced in the country.
This system will allow collecting and sending for recycling up to 90% of metal, glass, and plastic containers and food packaging.
In 2018, 74.9 thousand tons of MSW were collected, which is 3.6 thousand tons more than two years earlier. The utilization rate of MSW last year was 20.2%. At the same time, according to the National Strategy for MSW and Waste Management, this indicator should reach 25% by 2020 and 40% by 2030.
— What is the situation with invasive plant species in the region?
— In the Vitebsk region, Canadian goldenrod, sida, box elder, and Sosnowsky's hogweed, the most problematic plant for the region, are widespread.
Depending on the occupied area, the degree of threat to human life and health, the environment, and the density and number of growth sites, mechanical, chemical, and combined methods are used to combat them. After the destruction of invasive vegetation, the territory must be sown with grass mixtures of various compositions, introduced into agricultural circulation, or afforestation measures should be carried out.
The area of infested territories is about 3 thousand hectares. Ushachi district, where hogweed occupies 1260 hectares, Vitebsk district - almost 521 hectares, and Gorodok district - 405 hectares, remain the most problematic.
About 530 thousand rubles were allocated from the regional budget in 2019 for measures to regulate the spread and population of Sosnowsky's hogweed.
As of the end of May, work has been carried out on 1476 hectares, which is 50% of the total area.
Land users and specialized teams created on the basis of organizations are engaged in these activities.
Territorial bodies of the Ministry of Natural Resources continuously monitor the implementation of action plans by land users, compliance with technologies and deadlines. An electronic database of hogweed growth sites has been created. Daily, information is generated both by districts and for the region as a whole. Control measures are also carried out using a quadcopter.
— Is the public environmental movement active in the Vitebsk region?
— Hundreds of raids are conducted throughout the year with the participation of public ecologists. Since the beginning of 2019 alone, volunteers have identified 72 violations, and the guilty parties have been brought to administrative responsibility. In 2018, they were most active in raids in the Gorodok, Chashniki, and Verkhnedvinsk districts. For example, specialists from the Gorodok inspection, together with public ecologists, recorded more than fifty violations, including violations of the rules for operating mini-landfills, waste management, non-compliance with the regime of water protection zones and coastal strips, as well as recreational areas on water bodies.
On this professional holiday, I want to sincerely thank everyone who works to preserve and improve the ecological situation, who is not indifferent to these problems, who understands that environmental protection is the duty of every person, and each of us can make a feasible contribution to this cause. Taking this opportunity, I wholeheartedly wish you good health, happiness, well-being, and success!