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PROGRESS REPORT 
activities dedicated to the Biodiversity  Decade (2011 - 2012) in the Republic of Belarus  	

The 65th session of the UN General Assembly declared 2011 - 2020 the United Nations Decade on Biodiversity. Belarus has developed, and is implementing, a national action plan dedicated to the Biodiversity Decade, approved by Deputy Prime Minister V.N. Ivanov on 14 September 2011 (Resolution No. 06/214-327). 
Pursuant to the Action Plan, the following activities have been completed.
444 fauna and 281 plant habitats have been assigned a conservation status.
An operation has been carried out to reintroduce the Square Stalked St. John's Wort (Hypericum tetrapterum). 800 plants were planted in the territory of the National Biological Reserve "Vyhanashchanski".
Over 30 fallow deer were reintroduced at Baranavichy Forestry District, starting a new species population in the area.
Six action plans have been developed to conserve rare and endangered plant species, including the Lilyleaf Ladybell (Adenophora lilifolia), Square Stalked St. John's Wort (Hypericum tetrapterum), Drooping Woodreed (Cinna latifolia), Beefsteak Mushroom (Fistulina hepatica),Ciclidotus danubicus, and Rock Tripe (Umbilicaria deusta).
Six underpasses have been built for reptiles and another three overpasses for ungulates. 130 wildlife road signs have been installed, and 14 Km of highways have been equipped with wildlife protection nets. To prevent avian electrocution, 37191 high voltage transmission pylons were retrofitted with bird safety devices.
Fifty-four greenways and 14 eco-trails have been designed and equipped.
Forest planting and regeneration operations have been performed on and area 27.8 thousand hectares, ad over 22.43 thousand hectares of forest have been planted.
Over 310 million units of standard planting material has been grown of more than 280 tree and shrub species. 
Planting has been performed of over 443 thousand trees, 21 million flowers, 208 thousand shrubs. Landscaping works have been completed on 320 hectares of lawns and 2800 hectares of mini-parks.
As a part of the effort to rehabilitate degraded landscapes, re-wetting has been performed of the former peat deposit Karytsina, occupying an area of 73 hectares in Baranavichy District.
Three press conferences were conducted in 2012, on themes related to biodiversity conservation and environmental protection, namely, "Landscaping and design of large and small cities"; "Prevention of forest fires" and "International Biodiversity Day".
There have been more than 96 publications on biodiversity conservation in the printed media, and several feature programmes and multiple advertising clips have been broadcast on Belarusian Radio and Television. Specific themes included ecotourism development, biodiversity and habitat conservation, and proper conduct in designated nature conservation areas. The advertising clips were broadcast 298 times, with a total air time of over 2 hours and 18 minutes.
Throughout the year, seven stamps, three souvenir sheets, three pre-stamped envelopes, one postal set, and 36 postcards were produced on themes related to biodiversity conservation. 
Numerous reverence, yearbooks and atlases of the Flora and Fauna have been published, along with brochures on biodiversity-related themes. 
Photographic and graphic arts exhibitions have taken place dedicated to biodiversity conservation. Specific themes included: "Moments of Nature", and "State Museum of Wildlife and Environmental Protection".
Educational institutions hosted numerous roundtables, workshops, presentations, master-classes, informational sessions, knowledge and graphic arts contests, and documentary film shows on biodiversity-related themes. 
The EU/UNDP project “Support to the development of a comprehensive framework for international environmental cooperation in the Republic of Belarus” provided funding and assistance to the Green School Programme. Activities implemented under this programme in 2012 included: 
•	fourteen training workshops for teaching staff;
•	 Classroom and extramural educational activities in Stages 1, 2 and 3 of secondary education, support to the initiatives of youth organisations, local governments and educational institutions,
A range of conferences, workshops and research congresses were conducted on matters related to biodiversity management, e.g.:
•	12th International Young Researcher Conference "Eurasia's forests and the Belarusian Lake District; 
•	Second training workshop for students of Moscow State Forest University titled "Status, Dynamic, and Monitoring of Forest Communities in Designated Conservation Areas";
•	International Research and Practice Workshop "Conservation of the European Bison in Belarus";
•	International workshop "Research and Practices in biodiversity conservation and the natural dynamic of forest ecosystems";
•	National workshop "Theoretical and Practical issues in conservation of nocturnal bird predators at Dioica Fen Mire.
•	Fifth International Congress of the A.M. Nilolaev Herpetological Society reviewing the research and practices in the conservation of amphibian and reptile populations in Northern Eurasia, and the issues and futures of such activities.
2012 activities also included numerous guided tours, congresses and volunteer action days, such as "Clean Forest", "European Bat Watching Days", "Bird Help", "Beware of Mushrooms", "A Car-free Day", etc.). Three international summer camps were organised for student activists from Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, and the CIS. 
Activities on international environmental cooperation have resulted in the signing and approval of the following documents:
•	Memorandum of Understanding on environmental cooperation between the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection of Belarus, the NGO APB - BirdLife Belarus and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds;
•	Agreement between the government of Belarus, government of Poland and government of Ukraine on establishing the transboundary biosphere reserve "Western Palessye", followed by the decision by UNESCO on inclusion its inclusion in the Global Network of Biospheric Reserves;
•	Strategic Plan of the Republic of Belarus for the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety for the Period 2013 to 2020.