Belarus and Latvia plan to create a cross-border specially protected natural area on the territory of the Braslav Lakes National Park, BelTA learnt from Alexander Rachevsky, the chief of the international cooperation department of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection.
The terms and development prospects of this area were discussed in a meeting between representatives of the nature protection ministries and scientists of Belarus and Latvia. The meeting took place in the town of Braslav on December 2-4.
Alexander Rachevsky said that the formation of the Belarusian-Latvian cross-border specially protected area will help preserve and develop the unique biological and landscape diversity of the Braslav region. In the course of the project scientists of Belarus and Latvia plan to take joint measures to protect and control the eco-systems in the cross-border specially protected area, to create conditions for barrier-free migration of wildlife within its boundaries and monitor the globally important species of flora and birds. The two sides also intend to organize joint ecological research and exchange the scientific and methodological information, to develop a set of measures to promote eco-tourism.
In the near future the specialists of Belarus and Latvia are going to prepare all necessary documents to regulate the process of setting up the area and the conditions of cooperation between the two sides, develop the area management plan. “Latvian consulting companies have offered us to make the project of the cross-border specially protected natural area international and involve the European Union and its financial support in the project. Such opportunities are now being considered,” Alexander Rachevsky said.
In the future Belarus and Latvia are planning to implement a project on setting up cross-border wetland areas. The cooperation will help enhance the efficiency of nature-conservative measures in order to preserve rare species of wetland flora and fauna in the two countries.
The Braslav Lakes National Park lies in the north-west of Belarus. Its area is 69,100 hectares. The largest lakes are Drivyaty, Snudy, Strusto, Voiso, Nedrovo, Nespish. The park’s fauna includes such rare species of birds as a black stock, a grey crane, a herring gull, a ptarmigan, a dunlin. The flora of the National Park embraces nearly 500 various types of plants, of them 32 have been included in the Red Book of Belarus.
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