On October 23, 2024, Resolution No. 787 of the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Belarus approved a scheme for the rational placement of specially protected natural areas of national significance until January 1, 2035.
The scheme was developed by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection jointly with the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, other interested government agencies and other organizations for a ten-year period, taking into account the international obligations of the Republic of Belarus: the Convention on Biological Diversity (Rio de Janeiro, 1992), the Convention on Wetlands of International Importance especially as Waterfowl Habitat (Ramsar, 1971), the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (Bonn, 1979).
The Scheme defines the spatial and temporal aspects of the formation of an effective system of specially protected natural areas (SPNA) of national significance through the systematic implementation of measures to plan the declaration, transformation, termination of the functioning of SPNA (reserves, national parks, sanctuaries and natural monuments) of national significance, defines their approximate areas and sets deadlines for the implementation of such measures.
As of January 1, 2025, the area of protected areas of national significance (taking into account the implementation of measures to transform protected areas planned for 2024) will be 1,458.6 thousand hectares or 7.02% of the country’s area. The largest number of protected areas of national significance is in the Brest (432.2 thousand hectares) and Vitebsk (330.7 thousand hectares) regions, the smallest number is in the Mogilev (64.3 thousand hectares), in the Gomel and Grodno regions the area was (206.6 thousand hectares) and (195.5 thousand hectares), respectively, in the city of Minsk – 0.6 thousand hectares.
The area of protected areas of national significance may increase to 1,544.7 thousand hectares by 2035, which will be 7.44% of the country’s area. Taking into account the implementation of regional schemes for the rational placement of protected areas of local significance (for 2024-2033), the total share of the area of protected areas of national and local significance will increase from 9.1% (as of 01.01.2024) to 9.6% (as of 01.01.2035) of the country’s territory.
Over the course of 10 years, the plan proposes to declare 9 territories that already have the status of local reserves as nature reserves of national significance, and to transform two national parks, 31 nature reserves, and 284 natural monuments of national significance.
