The First National Report on the Implementation of the Convention on Biological Diversity in Belarus

SUMMARY

The Republic of Belarus ratified the Convention on Biological Diversity in 1993. In compliance with its international commitments Belarus has developed the National Strategy and Action Plan for the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Biological Diversity and identified First-Priority Measures for the Ministries and Departments aimed at implementing the Action Plan. The process of preparation of the above documents was carried out with participation of almost all local bodies of government, ministries, departments and non-governmental organisations.

The processes of development and implementation of the Action Plan are:

• cyclic (periodic assessment of the condition of biological diversity in the Republic, planned revision of the existing priorities and the determination of new priorities for conservation and use of biological diversity, preparation and implementation of measures that correspond to new priorities -- every 5 years); and
• multi-sectoral (measures on conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity are implemented with participation of local bodies of government as well as various socio-economic sectors and public organisations).

Chapters IV, V and VI contain detailed analytical information including characterisation of indicators of the status of biological diversity in the country, the assessment of biological resources and trends of their dynamics as well as the main causes of loss of, and threats to biological diversity.

Belarus bears the main responsibility in Europe for conservation of wetland ecosystems that are valuable both as habitats of rare and endangered species and for the prevention of climate change. Despite its difficult economic situation, the need for overcoming the consequences of the Chernobyl incident and the increasing impact exerted by anthropogenic factors on the ecosystems, the Republic has seen a certain progress in the sphere of conservation of biological diversity and restoration of vulnerable ecosystems.

In conformity with the Decree of the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Belarus, control over the fulfilment of first-priority measures by the ministries and departments related to the implementation of the Action Plan has been imposed on the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection.

Particular attention in the process of implementation of the Action Plan is paid to the solution of two main problems: conservation of natural resources, i.e. species and ecosystems, and integration of issues of conservation of biological diversity into the sectors of economy.

During the Third Conference of Ministers "Environment for Europe" held in Sofia in 1995, the Republic of Belarus, among other European states, approved The Pan-European Biological and Landscape Diversity Strategy. The provisions of the above Strategy, which can be considered as very important both for our country as well as for Europe, stipulate the development of the ecological network on the territory of Belarus followed by its inclusion into the Pan-European Ecological Network as well as the integral planning of land use and incorporation of issues of conservation and use of biological diversity into agricultural production.