Berezinski Biosphere Reserve

Berezinsky Biosphere Reserve is located in Lepel, Vitebsk Dokshitsy areas and Borisov district, Minsk region. Berezinsky Biosphere Reserve is world-famous as a model untouched natural environment. Unique protected virgin forests and extensive sphagnum bogs - the most valuable environmental and scientific object. The reserve was formed January 30, 1925 as a national game reserve for the protection and propagation of valuable wild animals, especially river otters, and game birds.

Today the reserve covers an area of 851.5 km2. This is a unique natural environment, combining exceptional diversity of wetlands: bogs, fens and transition, which together account for 60% of the reserve. On the reserve has an extensive network of large and small rivers, the floodplain of the river Berezina, different in size and origin of the lake. Variations in terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems of the reserve, as well as a high degree of conservation of their natural determine its value as one of the natural standards of Western Europe.

The reserve is an ideal habitat for many animals, in the recent past are common in Europe, and now in much of either disappeared or have become extremely rare. Dull, obscure people swamp reserve serve as excellent habitat for wild animals and birds.

The important role of the territory of the reserve has played in restoring populations of beaver, preservation of habitats of the black stork and the Belarusian population of brown bear, free-Borisov micropopulation Bialowieza bison. Nine of the 56 species of mammals reserve, 58 of the 230 species of birds, 2 species of fish and amphibians, one species of reptiles and 40 species of invertebrates are in the Red Book of the Republic of Belarus. The fauna of the reserve there are no endemic, but there are a number of relics, mostly from the boreal habitat. Vertebrate fauna of the reserve consists of 336 of the 460 marked for Belarus. Among mammals, special interest species such as the brown bear, lynx, wolf, otter, moose and beaver and bison. Volnozhivuschee herd of bison exist in the reserve since 1974.

The main attraction of the reserve is the Berezinskaya water system, built in 1797 - 1805 years. on the site of an ancient route "from the Varangians to the Greeks." Attempts to connect the Western Dvina and Dnepr been made before, but only during the reign of Emperor Paul I's idea of a through route has been realized. Decree of February 25, 1797 I asked Paul privy councilor Count Sievers, Director of Water Communications edge "establish water communication between the Western Dvina and Dnepr by Berezina."