The evolution of the natural protected areas system in Belarus: From communism to authoritarianism

This study aims to analyze the changes that have occurred in the Belarusian natural protected areas system and the factors that determined these changes. The structure of the natural protected areas system in Belarus was largely inherited from the Soviet Union era and has remained mostly unchanged. It is organized around a few strict nature reserves, several national parks, and numerous nature preserves and nature monuments. A combination of environmental and social factors, such as radioactive contamination and transformation of economic and political systems, has determined the changes in the system. The study concludes that despite the reorganizations, understaffing, and the increasing business activities in natural reserves, the system of protected natural areas in Belarus is currently quite stable, and its structure will likely remain unchanged in the foreseeable future. (c) 2021 The Author. Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).