Miory Regional Executive Committee

Ten copies of the updated Red Book of Belarus were transferred by ecologists to the collections of the regional library and the central library systems of Vitebsk and the Vitebsk district.

The fifth edition of the Red Book of Belarus was published in December 2025. It includes 523 species of plants and animals.

As noted during the presentation by Alexey Markovsky, Deputy Chairman of the Regional Committee for Natural Resources and Environmental Protection, compared to the fourth edition, 55 plant and animal species were added, and 38 were excluded. Many have changed their conservation status. For example, ten years ago the brown bear was on the verge of extinction and held Category 1; it has now been reclassified into Category 4, which indicates that there are no threats to a decline in its population. Likewise, the badger and the European bison have been reassigned from Category 3 to Category 4.

The Red Book is the main document in which information on the current status of rare and endangered plant and animal species is summarized, and on the basis of which scientific and practical measures aimed at their protection, reproduction, and rational use are developed.

The Red Book list for the Vitebsk region includes 45 animal species and 73 plant species. A total of 931 habitats and natural growing sites are under protection.

Tatiana Adamiyan, Director of the V. Lenin Regional Library, thanked the donors for the gift and emphasized that the cultural institution pays considerable attention to environmental topics, organizing exhibitions and hosting various events on relevant subjects. Consequently, the fifth edition of the Red Book will serve as a valuable aid in their work.

The first edition of the Red Book of Belarus was published in 1981 and included 85 species of wild plants and 80 animal species.

vitebsk-region.gov.by