Priorities and Financial Mechanisms of Belarus Sustainable Development

Achieving sustainable development is of a global nature, remains a large task for all countries, but particularly for developing countries and countries in transitions. The strategic aim of Belarus sustainable development is defined in the National Strategy of Sustainable Development of the Republic of Belarus until 2020 (NSDS-2020) elaborated proceeding from the recommendations and principles of the UN Conference on Environment and Development (Rio de Janeiro, 1992).

The important tools of Belarus sustainable development are, namely: 1) fiscal, monetary and pricing policy; 2) facilitating market and other institutional transformations in economy; 3) resource-saving technologies and environmentally safe productions: research and innovation; 4) programs and mechanisms of production modernization, enterprise restructuring; 5) investment and structural policy; 6) regional sustainable development programs; 7) activation of foreign economic policy and international cooperation.

The key objectives of the fiscal policy are to ensure financial and social stability, create macroeconomic conditions for sustainable economic growth and improved living standards in the context of ecological concerns. Environmental protection objectives call for a set of nature conservation measures, research and development in energy efficiency and resource saving, as well as development of ecological monitoring. A significant area of budget spending is the construction of sites related to rehabilitation and recovery interventions in the Chernobyl-affected areas. A broader involvement of the private capital is envisaged in the financing of conservation and resource-saving activities.

In the forecast period, the monetary policy should serve to achieve the general strategic goals of sustainable development through introducing stability of the national monetary unit, higher reliability and liquidity of the banking system, effective and secure functioning of the system of payments. The implementation of a set of monetary and crediting activities will ensure financial stability at the macroeconomic level and attainment of parameters and scope typical of the monetary systems of the economically developed countries.

The strategic goal of institutional transformations in the Republic of Belarus is to create a system of institutions necessary to develop the market economy and able to address the issues of raising the living standards, production modernization, preservation of both productive potential of the natural complex, and security of the country. Ownership plays a decisive role in the system of institutional market changes. Ownership transformations aim to create a plural socially oriented market economy, support private initiative and enterprise, promote investment processes and, ultimately, to establish sustained prerequisites for rapid growth and improved economic efficacy.

The availability of scientific and technological achievements, research and innovation potential that can lead to progressive changes in technology and production, energy and material use are an important precondition of resource-saving advancement in the Republic of Belarus. National, sectoral and regional scientific and technological programs and projects lay the scientific foundation for addressing these issues.

Sustainable economic growth of the country will be ensured and maintained through modernization and restructuring of the real sector, technological and organizational renewal of industries to adapt them to internal and external specifics of the market economy. Sustainable economic growth of the national industrial complex should be based on high-technology, competitive and environmentally compatible production on conformity with world standards through active radical transformation of the existing scientific, technological and industrial potential.

The strategic goal of the investment and structural policy of Belarus is to attract investment, channel it into socio-economic priority areas and address ecological issues, as well as to develop a capital export policy through the use of competitive advantages of other countries by creating multinational companies, financial and industrial groups and other horizontal (cluster) structures. In order to facilitate investment flow into economy, further liberalization of foreign economic activities is necessary as well as the creation of mechanisms to insure investments against economic and political risks. It is necessary to ensure that public investment contributions further increase in size.

A transition of the Republic of Belarus to sustainable development in large measure depends on the active involvement of country regions in this process. In discharging their specific functions, local and regional authorities should contribute in their own way to sustainable development and improvement of the life quality of their residents. Thus, local administration plays a pivotal role in synthesizing all opinions and translating them into specific targets and programs, including into local sustainable development strategies (Local Agendas 21). In order to achieve the objectives and targets of regional sustainable socio-economic development and implement regional programs, it is necessary to provide for a set of interlinked measures and activities, economic mechanisms that would help address key issues, ensure concerted action of all stakeholders (including business and public organizations) involved in the implementation of each specific program.

The progress of Belarus toward sustainable development will decisively depend on the country's ability to expand contacts with the outside world. This is because the country's core industries and services sector are oriented toward the external market and there is substantial dependency of Belarus on imported raw materials. Deeper integration of Belarus into the world community presents a strategic goal. Foreign trade policy builds upon international rules and democratic standards, observance of international agreements, multi-directionalism and liberalization of foreign trade relations.

The primary objective of the Belarusian foreign economic policy is to effectively participate in the international labor division using competitive advantages of the country to raise the quality of life of its population through application of technological advances, dynamic development of economy and social sector while preserving the reproduction capacity of the country's natural complex as part of the Earth's biosphere in the interest of the present and future generations. For the purpose of implementing its foreign trade policy while being part of the global drive toward sustainable development, Belarus is envisaged to strengthen rapport with all players of international social, ecological and economic cooperation: participation in UN human development programs (UNDP), United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) and cooperation with the Global Environment Facility (GEF).

NSDS-2020 primarily focuses on the peculiarities and patterns of the forecast period, follow-up to the ?Agenda 21?, harmonization of social, economic and ecological development as equipollent and complementary elements in the ?man-environment-economy? balanced system.

The key sources of Belarus sustainable development should be: human capacity, scientific, production and innovation potential, natural resources, advantageous geographic location of the country, while the ?high intellect-innovation-prosperity? constitute top priorities. Transition to innovative development, system reforms in economy and society are the essential tasks of sustainable development in Belarus.