The zoological collection and the genetic bank of the wild fauna of the State Research and Production Association «Scientific and Practical Center for Bioresources of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus» have been declared a national treasure of Belarus. The corresponding decision is enshrined in the resolution of the Council of Ministers No. 391 of June 15, 2022.
The zoological collection and genetic bank of the wild fauna is 3,626 samples of 1,098 species and continues to be replenished (the available reserve for replenishment is at least 8,000 samples). This is a systematized collection of the specimens of invertebrates of the republic and the region as a whole, reference for species identification, and samples of the biological material from various typical representatives of the wild fauna, collected taking into account their ecological-coenotic and population-chorological significance. The Foundation provides taxonomic and molecular information on the biological diversity of the fauna of the republic and a significant part of the Palearctic region, including samples for more than 100 years. There are no similar funds of collection animals and biomaterial in the Republic in terms of volume or taxonomic composition of the various groups of animals.
The main goal of the scientific facility is to perform the functions of a scientific and reference center for the accumulation, conservation and scientific use of the biological and genetic material characterizing the faunistic diversity of the animal world within Northern Eurasia with an emphasis on the territory of the Republic of Belarus.The sources of the formation and replenishment of the object of national heritage are the ongoing scientific research of the Scientific and Practical Center of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus on bioresources, as well as the built-in system of the extensive ties with national parks, universities, museums, taxidermy workshops and other organizations, including foreign ones, as well as private individuals related to the use of biodiversity resources.
The scientific significance of the object lies in the fact that the scientific collection contains:
- information on the biological diversity of the animal world of our country and a significant part of the palearctic region over a historically long period;
- type specimens of animals – standards of taxonomic purity of the species;
- holotypes and paratypes, on the basis of which descriptions of new taxa of invertebrates were made;
- specimens of hymenoptera about 30 species and genera of the world fauna that have not yet been described, new to science;
- the most complete collection of spider specimens in the republic (more than 98% of all species registered in Belarus).
It should be noted that, according to the Global Genome Biodiversity Network, the fauna of Belarus is officially represented in the world's leading genomic databases by a very small number of samples of biological material, so the national resource of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus will potentially be in great demand.The morphological and genetic information preserved in the form of the collection specimens acquires special uniqueness in the temporal aspect, since it allows assessing the state of biological diversity, and hence the stability of species and populations in different periods, which, in comparison with modern indicators, makes it possible to judge development trends (population degradation or progress) and, on this basis, to build schemes for the conservation of the gene pool of the most vulnerable representatives of the animal world or the management of the populations of the resource species.
Preservation and maintenance of the Zoocollection and the gene bank of the wild fauna will contribute to: the development of fundamental research areas; the preparation of National Biodiversity Conservation Reports and other international documents in the field of protection and rational use of the wildlife (implementation of the National Action Plan for the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Biological Diversity under the Convention on biodiversity; the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety and the Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from their Use and other policy documents); the development of the taxonomy of the animals and other fundamental areas, the maintenance of a cadastre of wildlife; positions in the field of the studying the biological diversity at the international level, addressing the issues of the spread of invasive species and the emergence of pandemics of zoonotic infections, participation in the conservation of the world populations of the rare species of the fauna, maintenance of biodiversity within the vast Eurasian species ranges.