The Obolskoye swamp in the Shumilino district has been restored under the UNDP/GEF project

May 15, Vitebsk / Diana Kurilo - BELTA /. The Obilskoye bog in the Shumilino district has been restored. This is the second bog in the Vitebsk region and the eighth in Belarus to be renaturalized under the United Nations Development Programme and the Global Environment Facility (UNDP/GEF) project, as reported to BELTA correspondent by UNDP/GEF project information officer Alexey Chistodarsky. Activities on rewetting the depleted peatland "Obil-1" within the framework of the UNDP/GEF project "Renaturalization and sustainable management of peatlands to prevent land degradation, climate change and ensure the conservation of globally significant biodiversity" have been completed. A special commission chaired by the Shumilino forestry enterprise, which included representatives of the UNDP/GEF project, gave a positive conclusion on the acceptance of the work. Rewetting will be achieved by forming transitional and raised bogs, which will be created by raising the water level using a cascade closure of canals with 30 earthen streamlined dams. The total area of the restored territory will be 1096 hectares. Br150 million has been allocated for the implementation of this project. Rewetting will lead to the improvement of the ecological situation in the interfluve of the Obil and Western Dvina rivers, improve the natural habitats of animals and birds listed in the Red Book of the Republic of Belarus: badger, bittern, black stork, and short-toed eagle. According to experts, the population of game species will increase in these areas, wild berry plantations will grow, thereby increasing the attractiveness of the territory as a tourist destination. -0-