Economy Ministry: Belarus preserved its unique natural resources

The Economy Ministry has completed a series of publications on the achievements of Belarus’ socio-economic development over thirty years since the establishment of the institution of presidency with a story about what has been done to ensure that the younger generation of Belarusians lives in a favourable natural environment, sb.by reports with a link to the Economy Ministry’s official website

It is noted that Belarus ranks 32nd in the world ranking of the environmental efficiency index. The country is among the first third of the countries with the best performance in terms of nature protection, forest cover, fresh water extraction (withdrawal) and wastewater treatment, low mortality caused by the use of unsafe water.

A system of specially protected natural areas has been created and is effectively operating in our country. Since 1995, their share has increased 2.4 times to 9.1 percent of the country’s total territory. There is one nature reserve (the Berezinsky Biosphere Reserve), four national parks, 376 wildlife reserves, and 973 nature monuments. They are home to about 80 percent of rare and endangered species of wild plants and about 90 percent of wild animals.

“Belarus has consistently fulfilled its commitments under the Paris Agreement. Over 30 years, pollutant emissions have been reduced threefold. At the same time, our country has one of the highest rates of forest cover in Europe (40.2 percent of the territory in 2023), large areas of undrained marshes (about 4 percent of the territory), which bind and remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere,” the statement reads.

Our country is one of the world leaders in the restoration of disturbed wetland ecosystems. Over the past two decades, such activities have already been carried out on an area of 87,000 hectares, including 2,200 hectares in 2021. The relevant events will continue on an annual basis.

A lot of work has been done to preserve another of our natural treasures – clean drinking water – for the next generations. Over thirty years, water extraction from natural sources has almost halved (from 2.745m cubic metres in 1992 to 1.435m in 2023).

According to the observations of the National Environmental Monitoring System, the share of water bodies with good or excellent environmental status in 2023 is 68 percent – evidence of an effective policy to protect water resources from pollution.