A thematic book exhibition It's Time to Take Action: Save the World's Wildlife! dedicated to the World Wildlife Day is open in the Official Documents Service Department of the National Library of Belarus (2nd floor, room 207) from February 26 to April 1.

This Day was proclaimed on December 20, 2013 at the 68th session of the United Nations General Assembly (resolution A/RES/68/205) and is celebrated annually on March 3.

World Wildlife Day is propelled by the need to preserve biological diversity on the planet. Wildlife has an intrinsic value and contributes to the ecological, genetic, social, economic, scientific, educational, cultural, recreational and aesthetic aspects of sustainable development and human well-being.

World Wildlife Day is an opportunity to celebrate the many beautiful and varied forms of wild fauna and flora and to raise awareness of the multitude of benefits that their conservation provides to people. At the same time, the Day reminds us of the urgent need to step up the fight against wildlife crime which has far-ranging economic, environmental and social impacts. Sustainable Development Goal 15 focuses on halting biodiversity loss.

Concerns about sustaining the number of endangered species of fauna and flora and the possible impact of their complete extinction on other species are pushing the indifferent people of science, politics, economics as well as ordinary citizens around the globe to join forces to save the living things affected by human intervention in the natural world.

Like many other dates proclaimed by the UN, World Wildlife Day has a new theme that allows you to focus on one or another aspect of the problem each year. The theme of 2020 is Sustaining all life on Earth.

The date of the World Wildlife Day is not random. On this day in 1973, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) was adopted. This Convention is one of the biggest agreements concerning wildlife protection. Its goal is to control poaching and international trade in endangered species, both animals and plants.

Poaching and illegal trade in wildlife are major unresolved issues of our time. According to experts, the international turnover from this trade reaches 17 billion euros annually. CITES protects approximately 5,800 species of animals and 30,000 species of plants.

Today, 183 states are parties to CITES. The Republic of Belarus has been a Party to the Convention since December 1994. In our country, 52 species of animals and 35 species of plants fall within the CITES Convention and are listed in Annexes I and II. The problem of sustaining wildlife is an integral part of the environmental policy of Belarus. The Law on Environmental Protection, the Law on the Plant World, the Law on the Wildlife, and a number of other regulatory documents designed to provide a legal and economic basis for the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity were adopted and entered into force in Belarus.

The exhibition presents more than 100 documents in Russian and English. Among them are books, brochures, periodicals, and booklets.

The exposition includes the following thematic sections:

wild animals, rare and endangered animals;
wild plants, rare and endangered plants;
protection of the flora and fauna;
international legal instruments for the protection of wildlife. Red books;
development and maintenance of protected areas (natural and wildlife reserves, national parks, etc.)
wildlife of the Republic of Belarus;

The exhibition will be interesting to biologists, zoologists, ecologists, experts in the fields of forestry, nature management and environmental protection, scientists, graduates and undergraduates, as well as all those who are interested in wildlife conservation and biological diversity of our planet.