Berezinsky Centre for Environmental Education

About

The activities are financed by the Berezinsky Biosphere Reserve. The Centre was developed with the financial support of GEF/UNEP project “Strengthening the Network of Training Centers for Protected Area Management through Demonstration of a Tested Approach” and the UNDP project “Raising environmental awareness of the youth through establishment and development of Green Schools in Belarus”

Number of staff: No permanent staff. The Centre is run by the Ecological Education and Tourism Department of the Berezinsky Biosphere Reserve

Number of visitors per year: 20,000

Overall aims of the centre

The centre’s aims are to raise environmental awareness of youth and public as a whole regarding the sustainable use of natural resources, environmentally friendly behaviour, unique character of specially protected areas and the necessity of their conservation; create a methodical framework, train workers of Belarusian protected areas, train teachers on organizing and conducting observation of the status of ecosystems and biodiversity by pupils, and run an intense awareness raising campaign.

Description of the centre

Berezinsky Biosphere Reserve is located in the north of Belarus in the Belarusian Lakeland, on the territory of three administrative districts – Lepel and Dokshitsy districts of Vitebsk region and Borisov district of Minsk region. It covers an area of 85,151 ha. Berezinsky Reserve is a unique complex of different types of forest, mires, big and small rivers and lakes.

The prevalent landscape element of the Berezinsky is mires, the most valuable nature conservation and scientific object. Its values are connected with excellent richness and variety of hydrological conditions and mire phytocenosis. The reserve is a habitat of the number of threatened plant and animal species, it is one of the most important nesting and concentration sites of wetland birds in Belarus.

Berezinsky Biosphere Reserve provides life conditions for a considerable number of rare and protected species of animals and plants in Belarus and in the region. In particular, the site supports 113 species of animals listed in the National Red Data Book of Belarus which is 59,8 % of the general number of species listed in the Red Data Book, including 9 mammal species, 58 birds, 2 amphibians, 1 reptile, fishes and 42 insect species. 74 species of plants listed in the National Red Data Book grow there. The European status of protection have e.g. 43 species of birds and 17 plant species (Annex II of EU Habitats Directive and Appendix I of Bern Convention).

According to the current environmental legislation the reserve’s territory is completely excluded from economic usage. The basic type of economy practiced in areas adjacent to the wetland (mostly drained land) is agriculture, i.e. growing perennial herbs, cultivated and grain crops, and cattle grazing.

Every year the Reserve attracts about 20,000 tourists and sightseers of Belarus and foreign countries. Hotels, restaurants, sauna, comfortable guest-houses, located in the neighbourhood of picturesque lakes are at tourists’ disposal. At tourists’ service in summertime are bicycles and boats, in winter – skis for tourist routes along exotic places, and also routes by foot and by car are organized for tourists to get acquainted with historical sights of the reserve – the Berezina water system; the Berezina River crossing of Napoleon; ancient burial places of Slavs; monuments of the World War II.

Visiting local villages for acquaintance with everyday life of natives, traditional Belarusian cuisine, work of craftsmen, participation in cultural traditions and ceremonies are organized. Since 1994 ecological tourism based on nature observing, studying of flora and fauna in small groups is practiced in the reserve.