Belarus’ oldest environmental organization, Ecohome, turned 30 — the last five of those years spent operating in exile. Ecohome, supported by the Green Network, presented an analytical review documenting the systematic crackdown on Belarus’ environmental sector. The review documents the sector’s losses over the past five years and shows that despite the repression environmental activism continues both within the country and abroad.
Since 2021 more than 80 environmental organizations have been forcibly liquidated in Belarus. Among them are the oldest and most influential institutions: APB-BirdLife Belarus, Ecohome, Bagna, the Minsk Cycling Community and a number of others. Over 60 more organizations were forced to shut down independently due to authorities pressure or security threats. The pressure was not limited to the closure of legal entities. In 2022, Ecohome was designated an «extremist formation,» followed by the Green Network in July 2025. The country’s key environmental media resources were added to the list of extremist materials, while a number of activists and experts have undergone administrative or criminal prosecution and were forced into exile.
The destruction of the sector dismantled the system of independent public monitoring and deprived Belarusians of international tools to protect their rights. In 2022, after the Meeting of the Parties to the UNECE Aarhus Convention recognized the liquidation of Ecohome as persecution and called for its registration to be restored, the Belarusian authorities decided to withdraw from the convention. In 2023, the country also officially left the Bern Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats.
The narrowing of public oversight over environmental policy inevitably degrades the quality of decisions made in the country and directly affects the safety of the environment, food, and water. Independent expertise within Belarus is now effectively blocked,» the authors of the study note.
Despite the pressure, the environmental community has managed to reorganize.Inside Belarus, activists continue to defend their rights. Experts who fled the country have focused on international advocacy, expert analysis, and education. During this time, new initiatives have also emerged, which are developing a strategy for the country’s future environmental reforms, monitoring the impact of the war in Ukraine on the environment of the entire region, and engaging in environmental education for Belarusians.
The analytical review: Environmental organisations and activists in Belarus during the socio-political crisis is available for download at the following link.
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