National Action Plan to prevent land degradation for 2021-2025 is approved

The National Action Plan to prevent land (soil) degradation for 2021-2025 was approved by the Decision of the Council of Ministers No. 341 of June 15, 2021.

The plan includes 42 measures, which are aimed at:

    — improving legal regulation in the field of land (soil) degradation prevention;
    — implementing practical measures on degradation prevention and degraded lands (soils) restoration;
    — increasing the level of scientific and technical knowledge, capacity building, information support;  
    — strengthening international cooperation.

The program activities include the following:

•     Improving legislation on:

– location, development, reclamation and accounting of on-farm quarries intended for extraction of commonly occurring minerals;

– establishment of differentiated standards for the content of chemical substances in soils;

– obtaining remote sensing data on the territory of the Republic of Belarus;

•     conversion of lands suitable for forest cultivation into the category of forest fund lands;
•     ecological rehabilitation of peatlands;
•     creation of a standard digital platform “Precision Farming”.

The activities included in the draft National Plan are aimed at achieving Sustainable Development Goal 15 “Conservation of terrestrial ecosystems”.