Living in harmony with nature is a way to the future

From 21 November to 5 December, a subject book exhibition “Living in harmony with nature is a way to the future”, dedicated to the UN Decade on Biodiversity (2011–2020), runs in the Official Documents Division (2nd floor, room 207).

Japan was the initiator at the tenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity to carry out the Decade. On 20 December 2010 the UN General Assembly at its 65th session declared 2011–2020 the United Nations Decade on Biodiversity (resolution A/RES/65/161). The resolution marked the importance of biodiversity for the achievements of the Millennium Development Goals. And it was emphasized that UN declared the Decade on Biodiversity for promoting realization of the Convention and the Strategic Plan in the field of preservation and steady implementation of Biodiversity for 2011–2020.

Opened for signing Convention on Biological Diversity on the Conference on environment and development in 1992 in Rio de Janeiro is the International agreement in the field of preservation and sustainable use of biodiversity resources. The Convention was signed by 193 parties, it says about its universality.

In Belarus the document was ratified by the Supreme Soviet of the Republic of Belarus for 06.10.1993 №2358-XII “About ratification of the Convention on Biological Diversity”. Our country knows that it is important to join international attempts to solve global ecological problems. Prospect main directions on the implementation of the Convention are determined in “The National Strategy and the Plan of Actions on preservation and sustainable use of biological diversity of the Republic of Belarus”.

Taking the resolution (A/RES/65/161) the UN General Assembly marked that among numerous factors, which prevent from achievement of Convention goals, the most serious is considered to be a public lack of information about an important significance of biodiversity that is the reason for low political priority of questions related to biodiversity. The acceptance of this resolution was directed to attract attention of the international society to the problem of continued lost of biodiversity. The Assembly called to preserve and efficiently use the nature of our planet and to join all attempts in preservation its ecosystems and conserve especially valuable objects of nature.

The exhibition contains over 100 documents in Russian, English, French and German. Most part of exposition is documents of international organizations: books, brochures, mimeographed materials of UN, periodicals, booklets.

The exposition includes following sections:

• Biological diversity and steady development;
• International legal documents on preservation of biological diversity and environment;
• International and regional collaboration and interaction in the field of preservation of biological diversity;
• National stragedy of the conservation of biological diversity and sustainable use of biological resources;
• Protection of the Republic of Belarus biodiversity;
• Preservation of biological diversity of endangered flora and fauna.

The exhibition will be interesting for students and post-graduates of ecological, biological and geographical specializations, specialists in the field of nature management and preservation of the environment, researchers, and also to everyone who is interested in the problem of biological diversity preservation.

Useful references

• United Nations Decade on Biodiversity*(2011–2020)
• Strategic Plan for UN Biodiversity*(2011–2020)
• International Mother Earth Day (22 April)
• International Year of Forests* (2011)
• International Year of Planet Earth (2008)
• International Year of Biodiversity
• Biodiversity and steady implementation
• Biological Diversity
• Global Biodiversity (2010)
• 60 directions of the UN activity
• International Day for Biological Diversity (22 May)
• World Environment Day (5 June)
• United Nations Decade for deserts and struggle against desertification (2010–2020)
• Endangered species
• Overfishing: a threat to marine biodiversity
• Facts about deserts and desertification
• Climate fluctuation
• UN Environment Programme

Documents

• UN Convention on Biological Diversity (1992)
• General Assembly resolutions
• Secretary General’s reports and records
• Convention on desertification in those countries which seriously suffer from it, especially in Africa (1994)
• UN Agreement on the conservation of transboundary fish resources and resources of far migrated fish and their management (1995)
• Basel Convention on control under transboundary transportation of waste products and its moving off (1979)
• Bonn Convention on the conservation of migratery wild animals (1979)
• Convention on long-range transboundary air pollution (1979)
• Convention on the international trade of flora and fauna which are under the threat of disappearance (1973)
• Preservation of biological diversity (Chapter 15 of the agenda to the 21st century)
• Beijing Statement about the struggle against desertification and promotion to steady development and the report of the International Conference on the struggle against desertification (Beijing, 22–24 January 2008)
• Declarations on environment
• Conventions and Agreements on environment