Ecology is an Investment in the Future

#7. Foresight Boom
Ecology is an Investment in the FutureEcology is an Investment in the FutureEcology is an Investment in the Future

In the light of rational combination of economy and ecology, the “green” economy, which has become the central topic on the global agenda, adds more confidence to the chosen strategy. “The economy of the Republic of Belarus is based on the principles of sustainable development. At the same time, ecology for us is a goal-setting component in economic development “, – this is the main leitmotif of the interview of the First Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection of the Republic of Belarus Ia Vitalievna Malkina specifically for the journal ES. It should be recalled that in December 2016 the Government of the Republic of Belarus approved the National Action Plan for the development of the “green” economy in Belarus until 2020. The law on organic farming is included in the plan of the draft laws of Belarus for 2017. For the republic this is a new direction with great potential for the development of environmentally friendly food products and the creation of new jobs in rural areas. Work is in progress in the field of certification of goods, works and services. These developments will be further included in environmental regulations and rules, where environmental quality standards will be defined.

Economy of Sufficiency. Sustainable Ethical Market Economy

#1. Long-Lasting Choice
Economy of Sufficiency. Sustainable Ethical Market EconomyEconomy of Sufficiency. Sustainable Ethical Market EconomyEconomy of Sufficiency. Sustainable Ethical Market EconomyEconomy of Sufficiency. Sustainable Ethical Market Economy

The forthcoming ethical market economy will be the economy of sufficiency. It will provide “enough for everyone’s needs, but not for the greed of everyone” (Mahatma Gandhi). It will be sustainable, encouraging for long-term solutions and punishing for short-term speculations. Both freedom and justice will be provided. The balance of free markets will be achieved through fair solution of the problems of climate, income, taxes, gender equality and procedures. A new vision of what is a human being will appear: people do not only seek to get maximum wealth and benefits, stepping over other people. They also look for community, mutual aid and intelligence in life. Such anthropology will counterbalance competition and community. It will change economic and political theories. It will result in new understanding of the responsibility. Responsibility will be considered as a report to all involved parties, including future generations, for believers of monotheistic religions — as a response before God — the source of life, and for the followers of dharmic teachings — as an aspiration for harmony with dharma, the universal order and for a proper way of life. Christian, Muslim, Jewish, Buddhist, Hindu, Jain, Sikh and other values and spirituality, including non-religious worldview, will represent a joint ethical foundation for such economy of sufficiency. It will limit the greed of separate people and human institutions, leading to a new economic paradigm of equitable and sustainable markets.