15 December 2010
Vitebsk to host international conference on Poozerie development prospects
VITEBSK, 15 December (BelTA) – Experts from six countries will gather for an international scientific conference at the Masherov Vitebsk State University to discuss development prospects of Belarusian Poozerie, the lake district in the north of the country, BelTA learned from the university. The scientific conference on 16-17 December will bring together more than 150 scientists, experts, and officials of environmental departments from Belarus, Russia, Ukraine, Latvia, Kazakhstan, and Poland. The agenda includes a broad range of issues such as modern conditions and development prospects of the protected areas of Belarusian Poozerie and adjacent territories, their role in biological and landscape diversity, national ecological network and in the system of cross-border ecological corridors. The conference will focus on the problems of use and protection of wetlands and ecosystems of Belarusian Poozerie, flora and fauna, rare and especially protected water and swamp areas. Special attention will be given to geo-environmental problems of peatlands and hydrological regime of degraded wetlands. The participants of the conference will also discuss proposals to improve existing and create new specially protected areas and also their role in ecological education. The conference has been organized by the Vitebsk Oblast Committee of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection and the Masherov Vitebsk State University.БЕЛТА