World Wetlands Day

Since February 2, 1997, the World Wetlands Day has been celebrated worldwide. It was on February 2, 1971, that the "Convention on Wetlands" was signed in the Iranian city of Ramsar. By the name of the city of signing, the convention is more often called the "Ramsar Convention".

The main goal is the protection of wetlands of international importance (primarily as habitats for waterfowl). Wetlands are important for the entire planet's ecosystem. They collect and store rainwater, feed groundwater horizons, maintain water balance, counteracting droughts and floods, and also improve water quality by filtering it from pollutants. They are also important for biodiversity conservation. 30% of all known fish species live in swamps and rivers.

The main condition for joining the Ramsar Convention is the creation of a "Ramsar site" within the country, and currently, 170 states are participants of the convention. The Republic of Belarus joined the convention in September 1999, and the first territory included in the list was the "Sporovsky" reserve.

In the Miory district, the republican landscape reserve "Yelnya" was included in the Ramsar List of Wetlands of International Importance in 2002. In addition, Yelnya is recognized as a key botanical territory and an important area for bird habitats and migration.