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 On world oceans day, 30 UN agencies promised to abandon plastic products Every year, more than eight million tons of plastic waste is released into the seas and oceans June 8-world ocean day. In his message on this occasion, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres recalled the problem of marine pollution and called for intensified efforts to save the seas and oceans from plastic. His appeal was also heeded by UN agencies. "Thanks to the oceans, our blue planet is unique in the entire Solar system, and not only visually. They help to regulate the global climate and are the primary source of water that supports all life on Earth: from coral reefs to snow - capped mountains, from tropical rainforests to mighty rivers and even deserts," - said in a message of the UN head. António Guterres warned today that due to climate change, pollution and unsustainable use of the oceans was under threat, He stressed that 80 percent of ocean pollution is due to waste, falling back from the land. Every year in the seas and oceans is about 8 million tons of plastic. This waste kills turtles and birds, whales and dolphins.  Together with the fish they get to our tables. The head of the UN warned that if you do not take decisive measures, then soon the plastic in the ocean will be more than living resources. The Secretary General urged to prevent this tragedy and strongly recommended to reduce the extent of pollution of the marine environment. He said that more than 30 UN agencies promised to abandon the use of disposable plastic products. Local residents in Kenya are involved in cleaning the coastal zone "Today, as in any day, you can change the situation for the better by doing a simple act: for example, take your own water bottle, your Cup for coffee, your plastic bags for purchases; hand over plastic products for recycling; refuse products containing microparticles of plastics; take part in cleaning the coastal zone," the head of the UN addressed to all the inhabitants of the planet. UN creates a coalition on climate change The world health organization (who), the United Nations environment Programme (UNEP) and the world meteorological organization (WMO) have announced the creation of a global coalition on health, environment and climate change, the website of the United Nations framework Convention on climate change reports. In 2017, the global average annual CO2 concentration exceeded 400 ppm and the average temperature was 1.1°C above pre-industrial levels. Climate change is affecting the economies of developing countries, and the cost of recovery from natural disasters, in particular tropical cyclones, reached a new record last year, according to WMO Secretary-General petteri Taalas. The head of WMO stressed that the world has 30 years to reduce its carbon footprint, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and switch to renewable energy. Who estimates that 7 million people die prematurely each year from air pollution-related diseases, including strokes and heart disease, respiratory diseases and cancer. Air pollution in most major cities exceeds who air quality standards. Many pollutants that are harmful to health contribute to climate change. Reducing emissions from sources such as transport, cooking equipment, agriculture and industry could help reduce global warming by about 0.5°C by 2050. The new global coalition will seek to pool expertise and improve coordination. Within the framework of the Association, WMO, who and UNEP are going to strengthen work aimed at protecting health from the risks associated with the negative impact of the environment and climate change. In particular, it is planned to organize more efficient climate services, for example, with the help of seasonal forecasts. They can be used to prepare for climate-related diseases such as cholera and malaria, or to warn of the health dangers of extreme heat. First of all, the coalition will pay attention to air quality. The Association is going to use the WMO observing network, its sand and dust storm warning Advisory and assessment system (SDS-WAS) and the global atmosphere service. Tropical cyclones slowed down speed Hurricanes in the Atlantic and the Pacific have become noticeably more dangerous to humans and nature in recent years due to the fact that global warming has dramatically reduced the speed of their movement, according to the journal Nature. "The main conclusion of our work is that the speed of movement of tropical cyclones over water and land decreased by 20% in the Atlantic, 30% in the North-West Pacific and 19% off the coast of Australia. As a result, rainfall has increased and floods have become more extreme. All this is deadly for people, " said James Kossin (James Kossin) from the NOAA weather and climate Center in Madison (USA). Over the past two years, the shores of North America have been constantly "bombarded" by powerful hurricanes, causing enormous economic damage to coastal cities and villages in America and causing great problems for populations of some rare animals, such as monarch butterflies. Only in August and September last year in the Atlantic there were just four powerful hurricanes of the fourth and fifth categories of danger, Harvey, Irma, Jose and Maria, who left the island of Puerto Rico without electricity and created a potentially catastrophic situation on the Atlantic coast of the United States and Mexico. Kossin found out why tropical hurricanes and associated floods have become so destructive in recent years, analyzing how global warming and related phenomena, including rising air and water surface temperatures, have affected the behavior of typical Atlantic and Pacific cyclones.Studying the hurricanes that raged in the waters of the two oceans from 1949 to 2016, the scientist noticed that the speed of their movement gradually fell as the movement from the past to the present, generally decreasing by about 10% across the Earth. After analyzing the changes in the character of the movement of the winds and the storms in each of the regions, the climate scientist concluded that this occurred through the "fault" of global warming.His calculations show that the increase in water and air temperature has led to the fact that the wind, "conducting" migrations of hurricanes, noticeably weakened and began to move at a slower speed than before. Together with them, the cyclones themselves slowed down. As the climatologist explains, a decrease in the speed of the hurricane even by 10% leads to catastrophic consequences – the typical level of precipitation doubles, and the probability of occurrence of floods increases by several orders of magnitude. In addition, the decrease in the speed of the cyclone causes another dangerous phenomenon-due to the weakening of the "conducting" winds, the hurricane often changes the direction of "flight" and periodically returns back, which causes another series of destruction in the already flooded regions. Something similar, as Kossin notes, happened in Texas with hurricane Harvey. In the future, according To kossin's forecasts, the situation will be even more difficult. Now the average annual temperature on Earth is only 0.5 degrees higher than in the middle of the last century, while by the end of this century they can grow by 1.5-3 degrees. As a result, hurricanes will become even slower and longer-lived, making them even more destructive than they have become in recent years.

In connection with the fire on June 5, 2018 in the territory of Ukraine in the exclusion zone of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, the State institution "Republican сenter for hydrometeorology, control of radioactive contamination and еnvironmental monitoring" reports: At 09 hours on June 6, 2018, the radiation situation in the Gomel region, as well as in the whole of the republic of Belarus, remains stable. According to the data of stationary observation stations for radiation monitoring and measuring points of the automated radiation monitoring system located in the border areas of Belarus in the zone of influence of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, the excess of the dose rate levels of gamma radiation over long-term values ​​has not been recorded. The radiation background on the territory of the republic of Belarus is under constant control.

World Environment Day is considered one of the most important events of the ecological calendar. It is celebrated annually on June 5 in more than 100 countries. On December 15, 1972, the General Assembly declared June 5 World Environment Day, the purpose of which was to increase public awareness of the need to preserve and improve the environment. The choice of this date is justified by the fact that it was on 5 June, for the first time, the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment (Stockholm, 1972), which was followed by the creation of the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP). World Environment Day is one of the main ways to attract world attention to environmental problems. Environmental protection is a nationwide task, the importance of which can not be overemphasized. In solving environmental problems, a great deal depends on the position of each individual person, who can significantly change both his attitude towards environmental issues, and, ultimately, the state of the environment. The celebration of each World Environment Day is organized around a theme focused on the most pressing environmental issue. The motto of the World Environment Day 2018 is \"Fighting Plastic Contamination.\" This slogan is a call to action for each of us, a call to fight one of the greatest environmental problems of our time together. This theme appeals to each of us, offering to think about how we can change our daily lives to alleviate the overwhelming burden of plastic pollution lying on the surrounding nature, wild animals, and even on our own health. Global plastic contamination in figures: -Annually up to 5 trillion plastic bags are used -Annually 13 million tons of plastic fall into the world ocean -17 million barrels of oil are used annually for plastic production -1 million plastic bottles are bought every minute -Every year, plastic kills 100,000 marine animals -Decomposition of plastic in the environment occurs in the course of 100 years -According to studies, 90% of bottled water contains plastic particles -According to studies, 83% of tap water contains particles of plastic -50% of consumer plastic products - disposable -10% of all waste generated by mankind - plastic waste To defeat pollution by plastic, it is necessary to rethink cardinally our approach to the development, production and use of plastic products. Pollution by plastic is the main environmental problem of our time. Official events dedicated to the celebration of World Environment Day will be held this year in India. India is very encouraged by the opportunity to host celebrations on the occasion of World Environment Day, Indian philosophy and way of life have long been based on the principle of coexistence with nature. The Government of India has pledged to organize and promote celebrations in honor of World Environment Day through a series of interactive activities and events generating high public interest and involvement. From all-Indian initiatives for cleaning plastics in public places, national reserves and forests, to simultaneous cleaning of beaches - India will lead the initiative with its own example. Along with the world community on June 5, all Belarusian nature advocates, environmentalists, public figures and ecologists also celebrate their professional holiday. In our country, the Decree of the President of the Republic of Belarus marks the Day of Environmental Protection on June 5, and its celebration coincides with the celebration of World Environment Day. Reference: By the Decree of the President of the Republic of Belarus of 02.02.2000 No. 35 \"On the introduction of additions and changes to the Decree of the President of the Republic of Belarus of March 26, 1998 No. 157\", the list of holidays is supplemented with the Day of Environmental Protection - June 5. Traditionally on this day it is customary to hold various actions and measures to protect the environment, calling not to pass by the problems of the ecological situation, but to take the path of their solution. This year, the holiday of June 5 for the republic is of special importance, so far as 2018 in Belarus is declared the Year of the Little Motherland. The contribution to the environmental protection and Belhydromet staff of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection of the Republic of Belarus is significant. Belhydromet specialists carry out monitoring of the physical, chemical and biological (for water bodies) processes occurring in the environment and provide the state administration bodies, organizations of various sectors of the economy and the population with operational forecast information. Belhydromet congratulates colleagues on the Day of Environmental Protection and expresses gratitude to all those who devote their lives to caring for the environment. We call on all to live in harmony with nature, without violating its laws and regulations, to use its wealth rationally, in order to preserve our planet for future generations.

Session of Working group WG-8 on the theme «Capacity-building and professional training» of Interstate Council for hydrometeorology of CIS member States was held in the A.I. Voeikov Central Geophysical Observatory on 28-29 May, 2018 (Saint-Petersburg, Russian Federation). The meeting reviewied the state of staff capacity of the national hydrometeorological services, identified opportunities and main areas of joint action for sustainable capacity development including  interaction with national training institutions of CIS member States which trains specialists- hydrometeorologists and works with WMO programme on capacity development. During the meeting it was decided to strengthen cooperation (in future engagement between national hydrometeorological services) in the field of staff capacity-building WG-9 is executive body of Interstate Council for hydrometeorology of CIS member States and  carries out its functions in close collaboration with  the Secretariant of CIS Interstate Council for hydrometeorology and with CIS Executive Committee. The purpose of the WG-8  is to prepare draft decisions of  Interstate Council for hydrometeorology on the organization and coordination in terms of capacity building and training schemes for national hydrometeorology services. 

Every year, on May 31, WHO and partners celebrate world no tobacco day, drawing attention to health risks associated with tobacco use and effective policies to reduce tobacco consumption.  The theme of world no tobacco day 2018 is "Tobacco and heart disease". The campaign will aim to raise awareness of the: links between tobacco and heart disease and other cardiovascular diseases (CVD), including stroke, which together are the leading cause of death in the world; feasible actions and measures that key stakeholders, including governments and the public can take to reduce tobacco-related health risks heart. World no tobacco day 2018 is taking place against the backdrop of a number of global initiatives and activities aimed at combating the tobacco epidemic, which has an impact on public health and is the cause of death and suffering of millions of people in the world. The Ministry of health of the Republic of Belarus is concerned about the problem of tobacco consumption, especially among young people, and takes various measures to prevent this dependence. Every year, in order to prevent diseases related to tobacco Smoking, and enhance the promotion of healthy lifestyles among the population of the Republic of Belarus, preventive information and educational campaigns are held. Thus, in order to implement the provisions of the WHO framework Convention on tobacco control in the Republic of Belarus, the state program "people's Health and demographic security" for 2016-2020, approved by the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Belarus on March 14, 2016 № 200, as well as in connection with the holding of May 31, 2018 Single health day "world day without tobacco" in the period from 11 to 31 of May in the Republic of Belarus held the Republican anti-tobacco information and education campaign "under the motto" tobacco and heart disease". The aim of this action is to raise awareness of the population about the relationship between tobacco Smoking and cardiovascular diseases, which are the main cause of death in the world, as well as prevention of tobacco consumption, as one of the important measures to reduce Smoking-related diseases. Tobacco products are products for which tobacco leaves are used as raw materials and which are intended for Smoking, sucking, chewing or sniffing. The composition of all such products includes nicotine - a psychotropic component that causes severe addiction. Tobacco use is a major risk factor for a range of chronic diseases, including cancer, lung and cardiovascular diseases. Despite this, tobacco use is widespread throughout the world. Tobacco Smoking is an epidemic and a global problem for humanity, as exposure to tobacco smoke is one of the causes of death, disease and disability in large numbers of people. The consequences of bad habits annually lead to the death of about 6 million people in the world (600 thousand of them are passive smokers). In Europe alone, the annual number of tobacco-related deaths is about 1.2 million (14% of all deaths). In Europe, approximately 215 million people are smokers, of which 130 million are men. According to the European Union, 19,000 non-smokers die each year from secondhand smoke. WHO experts predict that by 2020 tobacco will become the main cause of death for 10 million people annually. Tobacco smoke is harmful not only for a smoker, but also for those who are close to him. Inhalation of air with tobacco smoke is called passive Smoking. There is no safe level of exposure to second-hand smoke. Studies have shown that the risk of passive Smoking is very real. The smoke flowing from a lit cigarette is unfiltered smoke. It contains 50 times more carcinogens, twice as much tar and nicotine, five times more carbon monoxide and 50 times more ammonia than smoke inhaled through a cigarette. For people who work in a heavily smoked room, the degree of passive Smoking can reach the equivalent of 14 cigarettes smoked per day, which brings them closer to a regular smoker. There is no safe level of exposure to second-hand smoke. Passive Smoking is dangerous in itself, however, the risks associated with it increase when staying indoors. Tobacco smoke irritates the upper respiratory tract. Dry nose, sore throat, sneezing-this is only a small, superficial part of the problem. Constant irritation of the nasal mucosa can lead to the formation of vasomotor rhinitis. Not many people know that problems with nasal breathing have a direct connection with ear diseases. Swollen or conversely, overly dry mucosa of the nasal cavity may lead to tubootitis (Eustachio). Asthma in General "loves" passive smokers — they develop it five times more often than those who are lucky not to face tobacco smoke. Passive Smoking has a powerful effect on the reproductive system, in particular in women — the menstrual cycle becomes shorter than in non-Smoking women. This can cause a decrease in the ability to conceive. Early ovarian depletion is typical of women who smoke, however, passive ovarian syndrome is also not a rare finding. Smoking when carrying a child to decide, by and large, the woman. And she is also responsible for the development of child complications associated with Smoking. But when a pregnant woman is forced to inhale the smoke of cigarettes of Smoking households — this can already be regarded as intentional harm to her and the child! Passive Smoking during pregnancy causes such pathological conditions as: high risk of premature birth, low birth weight, increased risk of sudden infant death syndrome, atopic dermatitis in the child. The eradication of Smoking is one of the effective measures to improve the health of the population. According to the international cancer Union (UICC), today 30% of all cancer deaths are associated with Smoking. Reducing tobacco use by half will save 170 million lives by 2050. It is necessary that everyone can breathe air free from tobacco smoke. Today, there are many methods and ways to get rid of this addiction. In the Republic of Belarus, assistance to those who have decided to "quit" cigarettes is provided on an outpatient basis in all regional health care institutions that provide drug (psychiatric) assistance to the population. There are 8 specialized rooms for the treatment of nicotine addiction in the Republic. In health facilities where data are lacking, the rooms are functional responsibilities assigned to local doctors-psychiatrists-narcologists, psychotherapists. Given that the effectiveness of anti-tobacco activities depends largely on the mobilization of all government structures, Belhydromet supports the Republican information and educational campaign. The trade Union Committee of the primary trade Union organization is in constant interaction with the administration of the Belhydromet on the implementation of measures aimed at the formation of a healthy lifestyle, prevention of tobacco use. The trade Union Committee constantly provides organizational and financial support for various sports, sports and tourism activities, monthly subscriptions to the gym and sauna.   Information about the consequences of tobacco consumption and exposure to tobacco smoke is posted on Bulletin boards and in designated Smoking areas and communicated to each employee by mailing your work email, and all employees with this addiction, recommended just for today to stop Smoking. The activities carried out within the framework of the campaign are one of the opportunities to pay attention to the problem of Smoking, to continue the formation of the team's intolerance to Smoking and prevention of Smoking in public places. If you are not indifferent to your family and yourself - quit Smoking as soon as possible! (Adapted from: http://minzdrav.gov.by/ru/novoe-na-sayte/31-maya-vsemirnyy-den-bez-tabaka/ ).

Commissioning of a new satellite data receiving station in the far Eastern center of the Federal state budgetary institution "planet»   In the far East center of the Federal state University "SIC "Planeta" put into operation a new complex of reception and processing of satellite information on the basis of a full-circle antenna diameter of 9 meters. The complex provides reception of information with the domestic number of satellites of "meteor" and "Canopus".  The commissioning of this complex ensures reliable reception of space data with an increase in satellite groupings for hydrometeorological purposes and monitoring of the natural environment, including dangerous phenomena. It should be noted that the new station has allowed to increase the volume of received information and satellite information products at a time when the far East is actively processes that often lead to emergency situations: opening of rivers, natural fires, volcanic eruptions. The perfect cloud ring flew over Kazakhstan The study of clouds is given a lot of attention, but sometimes in the atmosphere notice not uncommon amazing education that are attractive for aesthetic reasons, and scientific. On may 22, the MODIS Spectroradiometer on NASA's Terra satellite received an image of a circular cloud vortex flying over lake Balkhash in Eastern Kazakhstan. In the picture you can see that the clouds have formed an almost perfect circle. MODIS instruments installed on polar orbital satellites receive images of each part of the Earth once a day. The INSAT-3DR geostationary satellite, operated by the Indian space research organization, observes this part of the planet closely and receives new images every 26 minutes. This helps to fill in the data gaps. Terra satellite received the image at 12: 05 local time. INSAT-3dr pictures show that a few hours before the circular formation was associated with the area of convection over the Western Tien Shan mountains. The clouds swirled because of the cyclonic wind flow. The radius of the circle was about 200 kilometers — small enough that meteorologists could attribute the phenomenon to the category of mesoscale. SYNOPTIC scale formations have a horizontal length of more than 1000 kilometers, while the micro — scale ones are less than 1 kilometer. Over the UK hit 20,000 lightning per night Last weekend, the British sky lit up with a great light show. A strong storm swept over southern England and the Midlands. Experienced meteorologists admitted that they had never seen anything like it. The London fire brigade received more than 500 calls related to the weather, when the warm and humid weather was replaced by a severe storm. In Warwickshire, lightning struck five buildings early Sunday morning. In the city of dolish in the County of Devon because of lightning lit up the phone booth. In the Midlands of light lost about 1000 jobs. In the valley of the Thames announced 17 warnings due to floods. In the West Midlands and Bedfordshire motorists warned about the danger of driving on flooded roads. The employee of the meteorological service of the UK Charlie Powell says that during the night in the country struck from 15 to 20 thousand lightning. He explains: "the Temperature at night did not fall below 15-16 degrees, for the end of may it is quite warm and humid night, so all the conditions for a storm were created." Flooding in Sri Lanka 19 people were killed, 128 thousand people were injured. In Sri Lanka, the rainy season began. The rains that hit the island have already caused the death of 19 people. Accompanied by strong wind rains caused flooding in the center and West of Sri Lanka. According to Pradeep Kodippili of the country's disaster management Center, more than 55 thousand residents were evacuated to less dangerous areas, about four thousand homes were flooded or destroyed. In total, due to the action of the elements, about 128 thousand people were injured. The authorities warned of the increased threat of landslides. Rescue services, police and the military are currently providing assistance to the local population. According to weather forecasters, rain will continue, in some places can fall more than 150 mm of rain, the danger of mudflows. In the area of special risk are residents whose homes are located near the banks of large rivers. Climate change can adversely affect tea production and quality In the next decade, tea production and consumption will grow, mainly due to demand in developing countries. European citizens increasingly prefer coffee or water, but new varieties of tea compete with them. These are the findings of the FAO report (food and agriculture organization of the United Nations) on the tea market. Experts warn that climate change can negatively affect the scale of tea production and its quality. The growth in tea production is associated with its popularity in emerging economies such as China and India. In turn, the increase in demand for tea there experts explain the increase in income of the population, as well as the emergence of new varieties of this traditional drink: green, herbal, fruit, berry tea, as well as delicatessen varieties. Overall, black tea production is expected to increase by 2.2% annually over the next ten years. And green tea will gain popularity even faster – its production will grow every year by 7.5%. The report notes that today the largest exporter of tea is Kenya, but it is catching up with China. There, as in India and Sri Lanka, it is becoming increasingly popular. However, in Europe, tea gives way to coffee and bottled water. The same Europeans who like to indulge in tea, go from bags to loose tea and prefer delicious varieties that are served in trendy cafes and tea. At the same time, the authors of the report warn that the tea industry is threatened by climate change. For the cultivation of tea requires very specific conditions. Changing temperatures, unpredictable rainfall can affect the yield, quality and cost of tea, and farmers may lose income. FAO calls for adaptation measures to climate change and at the same time reduce greenhouse gas emissions that accompany the tea production process. In India, build roads from plastic debris In India, recycled plastic is used for road construction. Only in 2017, 100 thousand km of the roadway was laid from plastic garbage in the country. Many Indian States are participating in the project. In Kerala, the most active participants in the program were local fishermen. Plastic waste has long been a significant part of their catches, and the establishment of a plastic recycling center in the state was an excellent solution for the disposal of ocean debris. For the fishermen of the centre the opportunity to earn additional income. Since the beginning of 2018, 5 thousand participants of the project have delivered more than 65 tons of plastic garbage to the center. In the center, the plastic is crushed and melted at a temperature of about 170 °C. hot bitumen is added to the substance, and the resulting substance is laid as asphalt. Plastic recycling is one of the most urgent problems of the planet. A possible breakthrough in the fight against plastic pollution — the discovery of an enzyme that can digest plastic — made a team of scientists from the UK and the US in April 2018.

From 29 May to 1 June 2018 in Minsk, the Football Manege (Minsk, Pobediteley 20/2) in the framework of the Belarusian industrial forum was held the 21st international exhibition of technologies and innovations in the industry Tehnoprom. The exhibition included three thematic sections:  industrial equipment, technologies and products; industry 4.0-modern industrial automation, advanced innovative materials and technologies; energy in industry, energy saving, ecology. Main objectives of the exhibition: demonstration of innovative industrial equipment, products and technologies of domestic and foreign companies for their promotion in regional and international markets; strengthening business contacts and exchange of experience. The state institution "Republican center for Hydrometeorology, radioactive pollution control and environmental monitoring" was presented at the exhibition together with other organizations subordinated to the Ministry of natural resources and environmental protection. The exposition of the Ministry of natural resources was presented in a new format – instead of traditional posters, a video about the main activities of the Ministry of natural resources and its subordinate organizations was prepared for the exhibition.    In addition, everyone, visiting the exhibition stand of the Ministry of natural resources, was able to see the weather forecast for the next 6 days.  The official closing took place on Friday 1 June at 13.00.

On May 23-24, 2018, in the city of Gomel, the 10th meeting of the Joint Belarusian-Russian Commission for the Protection and Rational Use of Transboundary Water Objects was held. During the meeting the following issues were considered: 1. The quality of water and the state of water ecosystems of transboundary water bodies of the Dnipro and Western Dvina river basins. 2. On the water management situation in the Dnipro and Western Dvina river basins. 3. Results of interlaboratory diagnostic analyzes and practical seminars of specialists of laboratory services of the Republic of Belarus and the Russian Federation on the Dnipro and Western Dvina river basins. 4. On transboundary monitoring of groundwater in the Dnipro and Western Dvina river basins. 5. On the progress of work on improving the mechanisms for cooperation between the joint management of the Dnipro Basin. 6. About plans of work of working groups of the Commission for 2018. 7. On the agenda, time and venue of the XI meeting of the Commission. The head of the Radiation Ecological Monitoring Service Elena Bogodyazh  took part in the meeting. with a report on "The quality of water and the state of water ecosystems of transboundary water bodies of the Dnipro and Western Dvina river basins on the territory of the Republic of Belarus in 2017", during which multi-year trends in the status of transboundary watercourses were noted. In working discussions the Russian side was interested in the approach used in the republic to assess the hydrobiological and hydrochemical status of surface water bodies. Following the meeting of the Commission, a protocol was signed.

 Based on the materials of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection of the Republic of Belarus. In order to attract people's attention to the problem of the irretrievable disappearance of many species of wild animals and wild plants on the Earth, the United Nations proclaimed May 22 the International Day for Biological Diversity. In 2018, the theme of the International Day for Biological Diversity will be the celebration of the 25th anniversary of activities in the field of biodiversity. The choice of this topic was due to the need to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the entry into force of the Convention on Biological Diversity and to emphasize progress in achieving its goals at the national and global levels in a quarter of a century. Conservation of biodiversity is a common concern of humanity. The Convention on Biological Diversity considers biodiversity at all levels - at the ecosystem level, at the species level and at the level of genetic resources. It also covers the field of biotechnology, including through the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety. In fact, it covers all possible areas directly or indirectly related to biodiversity and its role in development, ranging from science, politics and education to agriculture, commerce and culture. The issues of conservation of biological diversity in the Republic of Belarus and ensuring its sustainable use are among the priority directions of state policy in the environmental sphere. The celebration of the International Day for Biological Diversity is timed for the holding of a seminar "25 years of the Convention on Biological Diversity. Protocols to the Convention as instruments for the realization of its goals ", which will take place within the framework of the UNDP-GEF global project "Strengthening Human Resources, Legal Systems and Institutional Capacity for Implementation of the Nagoya Protocol in the Republic of Belarus" of March 30, 2018 No. 2/18/000874 participation of representatives of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection of the Republic of Belarus, the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus and the UNDP Country Office in the Republic of Belarus from 22 to 23 May 2018. Each of us can contribute to the conservation of biological diversity, both at the national level and globally - by taking care of nature!

  The 67th meeting of the joint board of the Committee of the Union State on hydrometeorology and environmental monitoring was held in Minsk in the building of the Executive Committee of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) from May 17 to May 18. The meeting was chaired by Maksim Yakovenko, the head of Roshydromet, and Roman Labaznov, the head of the Belhydromet of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection of the Republic of Belarus. Chairman of the Commission of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Union of Belarus and Russia on environmental issues, nature management and liquidation of the consequences of accidents Galina Filippovich, Deputy Chairman of the CIS Executive Committee Agybay Smagulov, First Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection of the Republic of Belarus Iya Malkina were participated in the event, as well as the Adviser of the Social Policy Department of the Department of Social Policy and Information Support of the Standing Committee and the Union State Irina Lukyanova, consultant of the representation of the Standing Committee of the Union State in Minsk Natalia Kononova and others.     In welcome speech to the participants of the meeting, First Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection of the Republic of Belarus Iya Malkina stressed: "The joint board of the Committee of the Union State for Hydrometeorology and Environmental Monitoring was a unique platform for interaction between the two services for a long time that influence on the development of hydrometeorological activities in Belarus and Russia". "The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection of the Republic of Belarus highly appreciates the development of bilateral cooperation between the hydrometeorological services of Belarus and Russia, and joint activities within the framework of the Committee of the Union State on hydrometeorology and of environmental monitoring is inherently unique and can serve as an example for the national hydrometeorological services of other countries "- noted Ms. Malkina. During the two days of the work the boards’ members of the Committee discussed the status of the implementation of the Union State program "Development of the Hydrometeorological Safety System of the Union State for 2017-2021" in 2017, as well as educational project of the Union State in the field of hydrometeorology, experience in meteorological services in Russia and Belarus of major international sporting events, organization of interaction with the owners of "non-state" observation networks, as well as a number of other issues stipulated by the agenda of the meeting.