LocationsMinsk Region’s Blueprint: Innovations, Inclusion and Environment
February 16, 2026
On a cold February day in the Minsk region of Belarus, the conversation in Logoisk was practical and forward-looking: what has already worked, what can be scaled, and what needs to come next. During her working visit, UNDP Resident Representative in Belarus, Ms. Renfei Liu, joined colleagues from UN agencies and national and regional partners to review progress and discuss the next phase of cooperation under the Minsk Regional Strategy for Sustainable Development 2040.
“This meeting is not about announcing ready-made solutions,” said the head of UNDP in Belarus. “It is about listening, jointly prioritizing, and shaping a practical pipeline.”
It’s a timely approach. The world is in the UN’s Decade of Action for the Sustainable Development Goals, and Belarus’ progress — reflected in its 32nd place on the global SDG Index — is built through both national policy and what regions deliver in real life: jobs, services, skills, and a healthier environment.
Over the past five years, UNDP and partners have channeled more than USD 10 million into local priorities in the Minsk region. The results vary from factory floors to seminar rooms, but they share a common thread: solutions designed with local leadership and built to leave no one behind.
Innovation with economic and environmental benefits
With the support of UNDP, Belarus has launched its first production of office paper from recycled paper. Previously, this technology for recycling secondary raw materials had not been used in the country.
In Borysov, a paper factory’s move toward recycling technologies shows how “green” and smart choices can drive economic benefits. With recycling technologies introduced with UNDP support, the factory now saves up to USD 1 million annually while reducing its environmental footprint.
In other parts of the region, innovation is advancing agriculture. In Cherven and Dzerzhinsk districts, UNDP supported the modernization of a key competence center and a Laboratory for GIS Technologies — an investment that helps make farming more precise, productive and sustainable.
UNDP is focusing on early engagement to change the image of the agricultural profession in the eyes of children and adolescents.
For young people considering their future, this is an important message: agriculture today is increasingly about data, navigation and smart planning, not only hard manual labor.
Technology for everyone
Showdown: adaptive table tennis for people with visual impairments, played by ear and touch.
Across the region, technology is being harnessed to serve people in profound ways. In Dzerzhinsk, the introduction of adaptive sports has opened up new sports and social opportunities for people with visual impairments, supporting their health and confidence while strengthening social connections.
Everyone deserves a chance at success. The employment initiative helps residents of Molodechno find their place in the workforce and gain confidence in their future.
In Molodechno, ENEF, a producer of electrical equipment, employs people with hearing impairments through its “First Job” initiative, supported by UNDP. Recognizing that today's students are tomorrow's workforce, the company also handed over a modern automated surface mount machine to the local polytechnic college, allowing students to gain practical experience on industry-standard equipment.
This forward-looking approach also extends to the next generation.
The opening of the ROBO&Kod Programming and Robotics Center in Molodchano, Minsk Region, creates new opportunities for children to acquire knowledge and skills in STEM fields.
In the same town, the first Programming and Robotics Center for children opened its doors, creating a new hub for mastering skills in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).
In the medical field, innovation has another meaning: precision. Orthopedic surgeons in the region are using augmented-reality tools for planning and navigation in limb and joint treatment. Dozens of specialists have gained access to new tools ensuring surgical accuracy and patient outcomes.
“Our goal is to ensure that growth benefits everyone and that technology serves humanity,” noted Renfei Liu during the visit.
Nature protection that creates local opportunities
The Minsk region is home to unique natural landscapes — and protecting them can also support local livelihoods.
Sustainable tourism can be an effective tool for protecting nature by attracting additional funds for monitoring, conducting scientific research, and raising public awareness—all of which are critical to saving spotted ground squirrels.
In the Nesvizh district, a UNDP-supported initiative to protect the endangered Speckled Ground Squirrel helped rediscover the species’ last remaining habitats in Belarus. An area of approximately 100 hectares has since been placed under official protection, shielding the species from threats like plowing. However, the benefits extend beyond conservation. The effort is becoming the basis for a new ecotourism venture, positioning this rare species as a distinctive nature tourism symbol of the district.
The success also builds on earlier steps to make tourism more environmentally friendly at the nearby 16th-century Nesvizh Palace Complex, a UNESCO World Heritage site, where bicycles were introduced to promote more sustainable visitor routes.
Tarpan horses help solve a dual challenge: attracting tourists and restoring the local ecosystem.
On a larger scale, UNDP applied nature-based solutions in the Naliboksky Nature Reserve. A grouse nursery is supporting the revival of local bird populations, while the reintroduction of 151 wild Tarpan-like horses is serving a dual purpose: attracting visitors and restoring ecosystems. By grazing overgrown vegetation, the horses help maintain open meadows that many plants, pollinators, and other wildlife depend on.
UNDP’s recent work to help establish an ecotourism cluster around the Naliboksky Nature Reserve shows how conservation and community development can reinforce each other: preserving natural heritage while creating new, locally rooted economic opportunities.
A soil dam to retain water on a degraded peatland in the Chervensky district.
Nature protection in the region also connects directly to climate action. In the "Cherven district, 664 hectares of degraded peatlands are being re-wetted — reducing the risk of peat fires, cutting carbon emissions, and restoring vital habitats for wildlife.
Coming next
The Minsk Regional Strategy 2040 sets a clear direction: innovation, well-being and environmental safety. The task now is execution — turning priorities into a practical, fundable pipeline.
UNDP’s new Country Programme for 2026–2030 is designed to help translate regional ambitions into results, building on what has already proven effective locally. The next phase of UNDP-Minsk region collaboration is about strategic follow-through: selecting what to scale, closing gaps, and designing practical solutions together.
Local progress is what makes national progress possible, and what makes global goals credible. In the Minsk region, progress is not abstract. It is visible on factory floors, in classrooms and clinics, and across landscapes that sustain local communities.
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