Vitebsk Oblast to host workshop on feasibility of rehabilitation of wetland ecosystems

VITEBSK, 2 June (BelTA) – The practices of re-swamping of degraded bogs will be high on the agenda of an international workshop in the Dubrovno Region, Vitebsk Oblast on 4 June, ahead of the World Environment Day, which is marked on 5 June. The workshop, Re-swamping – an efficient tool to rehabilitate wetland ecosystems, restore flora and fauna species and to prevent peat fires, BelTA learnt from Aleksei Chistodarsky, an information officer of the UNDP/GEF projects . The workshop has been organized as part of the UNDP/GEF project “Re-naturalization and Sustainable Management of Peatlands in Belarus to Combat Land Degradation, Ensure Conservation of Globally Valuable Biodiversity and Mitigate Climate Change”. Its main aim is to demonstrate the feasibility of re-swamping as one of the most efficient tools of rehabilitation of depleted peatlands and degraded swamps. Re-swamping reduces the CO2 emissions. The rise of the ground water level reduces the risk of peat fires. Re-naturalizing the peatlands restores the natural habitat of typical mire species. Attending the workshop will be officials of the ministries of forestry, natural resources and environmental protection, emergency situations, representatives of the UNDP and GEF Small Grants Program in the Republic of Belarus, Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (UK), institutes of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, public association for the protection of birds of Belarus and several forestries. All in all, 13 depleted peatlands and degraded bogs have been re-swamped in Belarus under the UNDP/GEF project. Two more swamps in the Liozno region will be included into the project soon.

БЕЛТА