From 2 February to 13 March, the exhibition "Flora and fauna of rivers, lakes and wetlands: conservation and rational use", dedicated to World Day of Wetlands, runs in the Documents of International Organizations Reading Room (room 207g).

This Day is annually celebrated in all countries since 2 February, 1997. The date was not chosen by chance. The Convention on Wetlands more known as the Ramsar Convention was signed in Iranian city Ramsar on 2 February, 1971.

This convention was the first global document which is entirely dedicated to one type of an ecosystem. It is designed to maintain and ensure the rational use of wetlands as a means of achieving sustainable development all over the world. The States, which signed the Ramsar Convention, determine on its territory suitable areas for inclusion in the List of Wetlands of International Importance and undertake to protect these grounds, living there waterfowls, and provide appropriate control for them.

On April 7, 2011 the parties to this convention are 160 states on whose territory the 1 971 wetlands of international importance with a total area 190 737 919 ha.

As defined by the Ramsar Convention, wetlands are areas of shallow water, marshes, peat bogs, natural or artificial lakes, permanent or temporary, dead-water or flowing, sweet, brackish or salt, including areas of marine water and the depth of which does not exceed six meters at low tides.

All wetlands without exceptions are a complex environmental system. They are extremely diverse, but any of them characterized by one main feature it is a complex interaction of these main components: soil, water, animals and plants, performing numerous functions and creating many products that humanity uses for centuries.

The Republic of Belarus joined the Ramsar Convention in September, 1999. Our country is particularly rich of wetland resources. Despite of intensive reclamation works, a significant amount of wetlands have saved in its natural state for this moment in Belarus (approximately 6, 4% of country territory). In our country there are 9 areas which of international importance and include in the List of the most valuable wetlands: reserves "Sporovsky", "Srednyay Pripyat", "Prostyr", "Zvanets", "Olmanskie bolota", "Yelnya", "Osveysky"," Kotra", Berezinsky Biosphere Reserve.

The European largest open lowlands marshes have preserved in its natural condition on the territory of Belarus. The Belarusian marshes are the "lungs" of Europe. In many respects to them all Europe breathes clean air, as a hectare of wetlands annually takes 550–1 880 kg of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. All our "marsh wealth" as effectively cleanses the atmosphere as 20 million hectares of forests. Marshes and flooded lowland river floodplains are essential for the conservation of biodiversity and natural heritage. They are an important region for the reproduction of many species of birds that have the status of endangered, rare species of valuable medicinal plants grow here, and also berry plants.

The improvement of legislation in the field of conservation and wise use of wetlands is carried out in order to preserve the natural wealth of our country. Approved by the National Development Strategy for the system of protected areas prior to 1 January 2015 and the scheme of rational allocation of specially protected natural areas of national importance before 1 January 2015. The exhibition presents more than 50 papers in Russian and English languages. The most part of the exhibition are documents of international organizations: books, pamphlets, and mimeographed materials of the UN, periodicals and pamphlets.

The exhibition includes the following sections:

Wetlands of International Importance.
Fauna, ecology and protection of birds of wetlands.
International and regional cooperation and collaboration in the field of conservation of wetlands of international importance.
Conservation and sustainable use of wetlands in the Republic of Belarus.

The exhibition will be interested for students and postgraduate students of environmental, biological and geographical specializations, for specialists in environmental management and environmental scientists, as well as all those who are interested in the problem of preservation of wetlands and biodiversity of our planet.

Useful references:

Documents:

Flora and fauna of rivers, lakes and wetlands

Informational resources

Services