The Organizing Committee is an international group of scientists and managers who have dedicated themselves to furthering environmental stewarship within Belarus.  Belarus, a former member state of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, has been an independant state since 1991.  The environmental protection and management is programs of Belarus are still developing.

The critical next step in this development process is the incorporation of Public Participation in the governance of environmental issues.  The Organizing Committee recognizes that the government must have the final word on decisions which are to be made, but also recognizes that the thoughts, ideas, and preferences of the people are worth being heard.

Internationally, this process of offering the people a forum for expressing their environmental preferences is known as Public Participation and the process is the Environmental Impact Assessment, which of course includes the final report.

Public Participation also includes the ability of the People to participate in environmental stewardship in their daily activities.  Some people participate by choosing environmentally friendly products from the market.  Some may set thermostats in a manner which conserves energy and others, by using water wisely.  Hopefully, there will be many people who participate in all these ways and invent more as they learn more.

We ask, "How can the People form an opinion or manage their home life if they are not aware  of the facts?"  Data collected during a recent study was assessed to determine the level of Environmental Awareness among the people of Brest.  The results indicate that the people are concerned about the environment, but don't really have a good idea of how to make improvements.