International Rivers Day is celebrated annually on March 14. It is also known as the International Day of Action Against Dams.
This day was established in 1997 at the First International Conference in Brazil in order to draw people’s attention to the problem of excess dams.
Dams and dams are known to disrupt the natural flow of rivers and change the ecosystems of entire regions, and are an obstacle to migratory fish.
Belarus is located on the watershed of rivers belonging to the basins of two seas – the Baltic and the Black. There are 20.8 thousand rivers with a total length of 90.6 thousand km on the territory of the country. The largest of them are the Dnieper, the Western Dvina and the Neman. The longest river within the republic is the Dnieper (its length within the country is 689 km).
In Belarus, great attention is paid to the protection of water resources. Regular observations of the hydrological regime, the quality of surface, ground and waste water are conducted.
Currently, 114 hydrological posts monitor the hydrological regime in Belarus.
The network of hydrological posts is designed to conduct observations and obtain data on the state of surface water bodies and their water resources in order to study the hydrological regime, maintain the state water cadastre, assess the impact of economic activity on water resources and transboundary mass transfer of pollutants, provide consumers with primary hydrological data, factual and forecast hydrological information.
Rivers are not just water. They are home to countless living creatures, as well as a vital resource for all of humanity.
We urge everyone to preserve this natural heritage, which continues to remain relevant from century to century!
