Environmentalists are completing the restoration of the central part of the "Yelnya" bog in the Vitebsk region

February 2, Minsk / Olga Belyavskaya - BELTA /. The public organization "Aхова птушак Бацькаўшчыны" (APB) is completing a conservation project on the largest Belarusian bog "Yelnya", the organization informed a BELTA correspondent. For two years, volunteers of the APB, along with specialists, have been actively involved in restoring the hydrological regime in the central part of the Yelnya bog. "During this time, over 30 dams made of local materials – burnt tree trunks and peat – have been built on the channels draining the bog," the APB said. "In total, over a hundred people from all over Belarus took part in the dam construction." The Yelnya bog is one of the largest raised bogs in Europe. It is located in the Miory and Sharkovshchyna districts of the Vitebsk region and covers an area of over 200 sq. km. "Despite its status as a pearl of Belarusian nature, the results of large-scale land reclamation of the last century did not bypass this bog either," the APB added. "The construction of numerous channels and the straightening of rivers led to a significant drop in groundwater levels, which became one of the main reasons for large and regular fires on the bog." As a result of the last fire, which occurred in 2002, over 70% of the bog burned down. The economic damage from the loss of cranberry bogs alone destroyed by fire amounts to over Br100 million per year. The project "Restoration of the Hydrological Regime of the Central Part of the Yelnya Bog" was implemented with the support of the Global Environment Facility's Small Grants Programme in cooperation with the administration of the Yelnya landscape reserve. The Yelnya bog has been declared a landscape reserve of republican significance, a territory of international importance, and an Important Bird Area. It is home to 98 species of birds, 23 of which are listed in the Red Book of Belarus, and 11 rare species of plants, including dwarf birch and cloudberry. The Yelnya bog massif is of great importance as a stopover for migrating geese and cranes during their spring and autumn flights. -0-