The "Shcherbinsky Mokh" peatland, which has been exploited, has been restored in the Vitebsk region with the support of UNDP/GEF

June 7, Minsk / Olga Belyavskaya - BELTA /. The depleted peatland "Shcherbinsky Mokh" in the Dubrovno district of the Vitebsk region has been restored within the framework of the UNDP/GEF project "Renaturation and Sustainable Management of Peatlands to Prevent Land Degradation, Climate Change and Ensure the Conservation of Globally Significant Biodiversity". This was reported to BELTA correspondent by UNDP/GEF project information officer Alexey Chistodarsky. "This is the thirteenth site to be re-wetted within the UNDP/GEF project," the interlocutor said. "Re-wetting is an effective and promising mechanism for renaturing depleted peatlands, reducing carbon dioxide emissions, and preventing peat fires." The development of the peat deposit, which began in 1958, led to the almost complete destruction of the natural wetland complex that previously existed here, with its characteristic fauna and flora. The disruption of the hydrological regime and subsequent peat fires hindered the restoration of natural wetland communities. To prevent water runoff from the bog and raise the groundwater level, the main drainage channels were blocked by 14 dead-end earthen dams. The re-wetting measures carried out at "Shcherbinsky Mokh" contribute to the restoration and stabilization of the territory's hydrological regime, the appearance of characteristic species of wetland plants and animals, and, in general, the rehabilitation of a raised bog system. As a result of the increased water level in the bog, one of the largest populations of *Eriophorum alpinum* in the Vitebsk region, a plant listed in the Red Book of Belarus, has begun to form. Favorable conditions have been created for protected species of wetland birds. Recently, scientists have noted rare red-listed bird species in the local ornithofauna: great white egret, great bittern, osprey, short-toed snake eagle, corncrake, and curlew. The work on restoring the hydrological regime was carried out with the financial support of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (UK) development project, the public association "Aхова птушак Бацькаўшчыны" (Association for the Conservation of Birds of the Fatherland), and the Michael Succow Foundation (Germany). -0-