The West Polesie Transboundary Biosphere Reserve (

Ukrainian Ukrainian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Ukraine * Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe * Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine * So ...

: ; Russian: ) is a transboundary

nature reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or ...

located in Poland, Ukraine, and Belarus. It is designated as an area of global importance under

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

World Network of Biosphere Reserves The UNESCO World Network of Biosphere Reserves (WNBR) covers internationally designated protected areas, known as biosphere reserves, which are meant to demonstrate a balanced relationship between people and nature (e.g. encourage sustainable dev ...

under their

Programme on Man and the Biosphere Man and the Biosphere Programme (MAB) is an intergovernmental scientific program, launched in 1971 by UNESCO, that aims to establish a scientific basis for the improvement of relationships between people and their environments. MAB's work engag ...

. The reserve was established in 2012 when the Shatskiy Biosphere Reserve in Ukraine,

Polesie National Park Polesie National Park ( pl, Poleski Park Narodowy) is a National Park in Lublin Voivodeship, eastern Poland, in the Polish part of the historical region of Polesia. Created in 1990 over an area of 48.13 square kilometres, it covers a number of for ...

in Poland, and Pribuzhskoye Polesie Biosphere Reserve in Belarus were combined to create a UNESCO-certified biosphere reserve. The former Shatskiy Biosphere Reserve, established by UNESCO in 2002, was absorbed into this new reserve and renamed. The region's administrative offices are located in the

Poleski National Park Polesie National Park ( pl, Poleski Park Narodowy) is a National Park in Lublin Voivodeship, eastern Poland, in the Polish part of the historical region of Polesia. Created in 1990 over an area of 48.13 square kilometres, it covers a number of for ...

in Poland, the Shatskyi National Nature Park in Ukraine, and the Pribuzskoye Polesie in Belarus.

History

In 1983, the Shatsk National Nature Park was established to protect rare natural complexes in the Shatsk Lakes region. The national park contained 48,977 hectares of area, and in 2002, it was used as a basis to create the Shatskiy Biosphere Reserve, designated by UNESCO. In 1990, in Poland, the Polesie National Park was created to preserve wetland forests, meadows and non-forested peatlands. On the Belarus side, by 2004, the Pribuzhskoe Polesie biosphere reserve was established. In 2011, the governments of Belarus, Poland and Ukraine signed an agreement to use areas from each country to create a transboundary nature reserve. The previously established Shatskiy Biosphere Reserve in Ukraine, Polesie National Park in Poland, and Pribuzhskoye Polesie Biosphere Reserve in the

Brest Oblast Brest Region or Brest Oblast or Brest Voblasts ( be, Брэ́сцкая во́бласць ''(Bresckaja vobłasć)''; russian: Бре́стская о́бласть (''Brestskaya Oblast)'') is one of the regions of Belarus. Its administrative cent ...

of Belarus were used as the basis to form the West Polesie Biosphere Reserve. All three countries applied to include the reserve in UNESCO's

. During the 24th session of the UNESCO's International Coordinating Council for their Man and the Biosphere Programme, they considered and approved the reserve's application. In 2012, the West Polesie Transboundary Biosphere Reserve was officially certified as a part of the World Network of Biosphere Reserves.

Geography

The reserve covers an area of 263,016

hectares The hectare (; SI symbol: ha) is a non-SI metric unit of area equal to a square with 100-metre sides (1 hm2), or 10,000 m2, and is primarily used in the measurement of land. There are 100 hectares in one square kilometre. An acre is ab ...

: 139,917 hectares of the area are in Poland, 75,075 hectares are in Ukraine, and 48,024 hectares are in Belarus. It includes a core area, as well as a

buffer Buffer may refer to: Science * Buffer gas, an inert or nonflammable gas * Buffer solution, a solution used to prevent changes in pH * Buffering agent, the weak acid or base in a buffer solution * Lysis buffer, in cell biology * Metal ion buffer * ...

and transition zone which make up a majority of the reserve. According to the Krugloye government, it is the "biggest protected natural reserve in the Central European Biogeographical Region." The region contains more than 100 lakes, including 62 in Poland, 28 in Ukraine, and more than 20 in Belarus. There are both

boreal Boreal may refer to: Climatology and geography *Boreal (age), the first climatic phase of the Blytt-Sernander sequence of northern Europe, during the Holocene epoch *Boreal climate, a climate characterized by long winters and short, cool to mild ...

coniferous forests and

temperate zone In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (23.5° to 66.5° N/S of Equator), which span between the tropics and the polar regions of Earth. These zones generally have wider temperature ranges throughout t ...

deciduous forest In the fields of horticulture and Botany, the term ''deciduous'' () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, aft ...

s on the reserve, as well as marshes, meadows,

swamp A swamp is a forested wetland.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p. Swamps are considered to be transition zones because both land and water play a role in ...

s, and peat bogs. The Polish Łęczna Lakeland Landscape Park and

Sobibór Landscape Park Sobibór Landscape Park (''Sobiborski Park Krajobrazowy'') is a protected area ( Landscape Park) created in Lublin Voivodeship, eastern Poland in 1983. It takes its name from the village of Sobibór. The Park lies on an area of , within the Wło ...

are located on the reserve. The railway line from

Brest, Belarus Brest ( be, Брэст / Берасьце, Bieraście, ; russian: Брест, ; uk, Берестя, Berestia; lt, Brasta; pl, Brześć; yi, בריסק, Brisk), formerly Brest-Litovsk (russian: Брест-Литовск, lit=Lithuanian Br ...

Włodawa Włodawa (; yi, וולאָדאַווע, Vlodave; ua, Володава, Volodava) is a town in eastern Poland on the Bug River, close to the borders with Belarus and Ukraine. It is the seat of Włodawa County, situated in the Lublin Voivodeship ...

, Poland runs through the region's forests. The reserve's administrative offices are located in the

in Poland, the Shatskyi National Nature Park in Ukraine, and the Pribuzskoye Polesie in Belarus.

Flora and fauna

The reserve is home to endangered species identified by Poland, Belarus and Ukraine, as well as internationally designated endangered species, including the

Aquatic warbler The aquatic warbler (''Acrocephalus paludicola'') is an Old World warbler in the genus '' Acrocephalus''. It breeds in temperate eastern Europe and western Asia, with an estimated population of 11,000-15,000 pairs. It is migratory, wintering in ...

(Acrocephalus paludicola) bird. The

Marsh Sandpiper The marsh sandpiper (''Tringa stagnatilis'') is a small wader. It is a rather small shank, and breeds in open grassy steppe and taiga wetlands from easternmost Europe to the Russian Far East. The genus name ''Tringa'' is the New Latin name given ...

(Tringa stagnatilis) and

Eurasian crane The common crane (''Grus grus''), also known as the Eurasian crane, is a bird of the family Gruidae, the cranes. A medium-sized species, it is the only crane commonly found in Europe besides the demoiselle crane (''Grus virgo'') and the Siberi ...

(Grus grus) species of birds also use the area as a

breeding ground In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...

. The region covers important migratory pathways for birds, including a north–south pathway from the

White Sea The White Sea (russian: Белое море, ''Béloye móre''; Karelian and fi, Vienanmeri, lit. Dvina Sea; yrk, Сэрако ямʼ, ''Serako yam'') is a southern inlet of the Barents Sea located on the northwest coast of Russia. It is su ...

to the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain. The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from ...

to the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the ea ...

, and east–west migration. The plant species Silene lituanica and Festuca polessica are native to the area.

Population and culture

As of 2019, there are an estimated 68,000 people that live within the reservation's buffer and transition zones. Culturally, the area mixes both eastern and western European influences. The economy is mainly driven by agriculture,

forestry Forestry is the science and craft of creating, managing, planting, using, conserving and repairing forests, woodlands, and associated resources for human and environmental benefits. Forestry is practiced in plantations and natural stands. Th ...

, fishing, tourism and recreation. The reserve also hosts wooden architecture and buildings that are traditional to the

Polesie Polesia, Polesie, or Polesye, uk, Полісся (Polissia), pl, Polesie, russian: Полесье (Polesye) is a natural and historical region that starts from the farthest edge of Central Europe and encompasses Eastern Europe, including East ...

region.

References

External links

UNESCO website of the reservePoleski National Park website
- Poland administrative authority
Pribuzskoye Polesie website
- Belarus administrative authority {{Authority control Biosphere reserves of Poland Biosphere reserves of Ukraine Biosphere reserves of Belarus Transboundary protected areas Protected areas established in 2012