Environmental Protection Day of Belarus

Belarusian bison.By the decree of the President of Belarus, this national holiday is scheduled for June 5. It coincides with the date of World Environment Day, which was established in 1973 by the UN General Assembly.

Over the past 10 years, the level of pollution of the natural environment in the country has significantly decreased. Emissions of harmful substances by industrial enterprises have almost tripled. The discharge of contaminated wastewater is more than 10 times. This is primarily the result of improving the management and control system in the field of environmental protection, conducting environmental expertise of construction projects and reconstruction of all types of industries.

An important condition for improving the environmental situation is the improvement of environmental legislation and the entire regulatory framework in this area. In recent years, the Parliament of Belarus has adopted many basic documents regulating the field of environmental management. Among them are the Laws of the Republic of Belarus “On Environmental Protection”, “On Production and Consumption Waste”, “On Environmental Expertise” and others. In addition, the government has approved long-term national programs that determine the environmental policy of the country.

One of the most important aspects of creating a favorable environment is the preservation of natural ecosystems and landscapes.

Currently, the area of specially protected areas is 8.3% of the entire territory of the republic.

Perhaps the most famous Belarusian reserve is “Belovezhskaya Pushcha”. It is the only major remnant of primary relic flat forests on the European continent. Here lives the world's largest population of bison.

In 1992, by the decision of UNESCO, the State National Park "Belovezhskaya Pushcha" was included in the World Heritage List of Humanity. In 1993 it was awarded the status of a biosphere reserve, and in 1997 it was awarded the Diploma of the Council of Europe.

Bialowieza Forest is a unique and largest array of ancient forests typical of the plains of Central Europe. The average age of the forests of the Bialowieza Forest is more than 100 years, some parts of the forest are 250-350 years old. More than a thousand giant trees are registered in the Forest. The Bialowieza Forest in terms of the number of plant and animal species is unparalleled in Europe.