The Ecological Impact of the Chernobyl Catastrophe on Sustainable Development in Belarus

Abstract

One of the principal causes hindering a sustainable, ecologically safe process of social and economic development in the Republic of Belarus relates to the negative consequences of the Chernobyl disaster. These consequences affect all the main spheres of social activity both in the contaminated regions and in the republic as a whole, and are a grave problem for Belarus. The nature and extent of the damage inflicted by the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power station have become destabilising factors for the socio-economic advance of the republic, characterised as they are by a drastic deterioration of the ecological situation and a rise in morbidity levels. The problems brought about by the Chernobyl disaster involve changes in territorial structures relating to the use of natural resources, forced migration from contaminated regions, the depressed morale and psychological state of those affected, and the utter transformation of their whole way of life.