River ecology tops agenda of Belarus-Russia environmental meeting

VITEBSK, 10 November (BelTA) – Environmentalists of Belarus and Russia suggest improving the state of the rivers flowing into the Western Dvina and Dnieper. The proposal was approved by the joint Belarus-Russia commission on protection and rational use of transboundary water bodies that completed its work in Vitebsk on 10 November, BelTA has learnt. Ecologists plan a research into the level of silt-filling and weediness of the rivers in a bid to improve the ecological state of the transboundary water bodies of the Western Dvina and Dnieper river basins. The joint commission emphasized that spring and summer floods this year had left intact daily activities of the local population as well as the operation of economic facilities located within the Western Dvina and Dnieper basins. The ecologists of Belarus and Russia schedule a number of seminars next year. Specialists will be monitoring the quality of water in the transboundary water bodies on a regular basis. In addition, the commission approved the revised lists of transboundary stream flows and lakes connected to the Western Dvina and Dnieper. The next meeting is due to take place in the Russian Federation in 2012.

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