Belarusian part of national reserve “Belavezha” may become 16 times bigger

The territory of the National reserve “Belavezha” included on UNESCO’s List of heritage may become 16 times bigger within the next few years. It will occupy about 60 thousand hectares then. The director general of the national park Mikalai Bambiza informed that only a small part of the reserved forest was an object of world heritage – 5 thousand hectares. At the same time we should remember that Belavezha in a unique forest reserve in Europe. Its Belarusian part is about 160 thousand hectares. You can see gigantic fir-trees and conifers that are 44-50 metres high there. There are more than 100 oak-trees from 300 to 700 years old, 450-year-old ash-trees, 300-year-old confers and 250-yer-old fir-trees in the forest.

The park will have to present reasons for inclusion of additional territories on the list of world heritage to UNESCO in 2009. According to M.Bambiza, the territories border the forest reserve included on the list. It is the most relic part of the national park including a reserved part where humans’ activities are forbidden.

BelTA