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Developing a National Strategy for the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Peatlands in the Republic of Belarus

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Developing a National Strategy for the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Peatlands in the Republic of Belarus Developing a national strategy for the conservation and sustainable use of peatlands in the Republic of Belarus A. Kozulin1, N. Tanovitskaya2 and N. Minchenko3 1Scientific and Practical Centre for Biological Resources, National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, Minsk, Belarus 2Institute for Nature Management, National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, Minsk, Belarus 3Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection of the Republic of Belarus, Minsk, Belarus _______________________________________________________________________________________ SUMMARY During most of the 20th century, peatlands in Belarus were regarded primarily as a strategic resource for agriculture and energy. In 1991, the Council of Ministers approved a “Scheme of Sustainable Use and Conservation of Peat Resources until 2010” (the “Scheme until 2010”) which allocated a considerable fraction of the country’s mires to nature conservation. Expiry of that Scheme has prompted its replacement with the “National Strategy for the Conservation and Wise (Sustainable) Use of Peatlands in the Republic of Belarus” (the “Strategy”) supported by a new “Scheme until 2030”. The aim is to meet the requirements for both sustainable development of natural resources within Belarus and international conventions. This article describes the development of the Strategy, which was achieved in conjunction with a detailed appraisal of the current state of peatlands in Belarus. The outcome is that the “Scheme until 2030” allocates almost all of the mires that have so far been confirmed still to be in natural (pristine) condition (684,200 ha or 29 % of the total peatland area) to nature conservation, 19,600 ha (1 %) as a reserve of ‘especially valuable’ peat, 99,100 ha (4 %) for commercial peat extraction, and 1,592,600 ha (66 %) for agriculture and forestry. KEY WORDS: agriculture, ecotourism, nature protection, peat extraction, peatland forestry, wise use _______________________________________________________________________________________ INTRODUCTION energy and economic security of Belarus. The peat industry employs more than 5,000 people and during The Republic of Belarus is a land-locked country the five years 2011–2015, 1.7–3.2 million tonnes of situated near the geographical centre of Europe, peat were extracted annually, mainly for energy. sharing borders with the Russian Federation to the There are more than 30,000 people living in towns east, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland to the north-west, and villages where peat enterprise is the main and Ukraine to the south. It is relatively rich in both employer, and up to one million residents of the natural and drained peatlands, which cover a total country use heat produced from peat (Rudinski area of 2,560,500 ha (12.33 % of the country) 2013). As a result of human impacts on natural mire according to the current best estimate (Tanneberger ecosystems and the unsustainable use of some areas et al. 2017; Figure 1). of drained peat soils, processes of peatland The systematic study and inventory of degradation can be observed. Belarussian peatlands started in 1928 and was Mires, defined as peatlands where peat is especially active until the start of the Second World currently being formed, are essential for securing the War. The “Cadastre of Peat Deposits of BSSR” was sustainability of the biosphere. They store substantial published in 1940. Intensive study and large-scale quantities of fresh water which ensures the use of peat resources began after the War. In 1953 the conservation of water resources and provides a water new cadastre directory “The Peat Fund of supply for rivers and lakes. Thus, one of their key Belarussian SSR” was developed; this included 5,945 roles is to maintain a regional hydrological regime peat deposits with total area 1,467,550 ha. In 1979 the that is favourable for the functioning of natural directory was updated and reissued as “The Cadastre ecosystems. They also constitute a significant Directory of the Peat Fund of BSSR”, listing 7,055 terrestrial carbon store, and affect greenhouse gas peat deposits with total area 2,543,780 ha. exchange by removing carbon dioxide from the Until the last decade of the twentieth century, atmosphere and releasing oxygen as well as small peatland in Belarus was regarded mainly as a amounts of methane and oxides of nitrogen. strategic resource to be developed for agriculture and Moreover, the mires of Belarus provide habitats for energy. Peat still contributes substantially to the rare and endangered wildlife. More than 40 % of bird Mires and Peat, Volume 21 (2018), Article 05, 1–17, http://www.mires-and-peat.net/, ISSN 1819-754X © 2018 International Mire Conservation Group and International Peatland Society, DOI: 10.19189/MaP.2016.OMB.227 1 A. Kozulin et al. NATIONAL PEATLAND STRATEGY FOR BELARUS Figure 1. The current distribution of natural mires and drained peatlands in Belarus. Source: SPCB (2016). This Figure is reproduced from Bambalov et al. (2017). species, 35 % of insect species and 15 % of wild plant which stipulated how Belarussian peatlands (all of species listed in the Red Data Book of the Republic which are in State ownership) should be used. This of Belarus inhabit mires. Amongst these are globally aimed to establish wise use of the country’s peatland endangered birds - about 40 % of the global resources. It covered 2,397,000 ha of studied population of Aquatic Warbler (Acrocephalus peatlands and assigned a considerable proportion of paludicola), 10 % of the world population of Greater the mires to the Nature Conservation Fund. As the Spotted Eagle (Clanga clanga) and 3 % of the world “Scheme until 2010” expired, it became clear that population of Great Snipe (Gallinago media). there was a need to develop a “Strategy for the Belarussian mires additionally accommodate Conservation and Wise (Sustainable) Use of considerable biological resources such as cranberry Peatlands”, along with a “Scheme of Distribution of (Vaccinium oxycoccos), medicinal plants and game; Peatlands According to Their Type of Use until and the development of ecotourism in Belarus is 2030”, referred to hereafter as ‘the Peatlands largely linked to the recreational potential of mires. Strategy’ (or, simply, ‘the Strategy’) and ‘the Recognising the potential for conflicts, in 1991 Scheme’, respectively. The elaborated Strategy and the Council of Ministers approved the “Scheme of Scheme were approved by resolution of the Council Sustainable Use and Conservation of Peat Resources of Ministers of the Republic of Belarus on 30 of the Republic of Belarus until 2010” (RCM 1991)1, December 2015 (RCM 2015b). _ 1 A full list of legislative instruments mentioned in the text (citations beginning with DP, RCM and RSC) is provided in Table A1.1 (Appendix 1). Mires and Peat, Volume 21 (2018), Article 05, 1–17, http://www.mires-and-peat.net/, ISSN 1819-754X © 2018 International Mire Conservation Group and International Peatland Society, DOI: 10.19189/MaP.2016.OMB.227 2 A. Kozulin et al. NATIONAL PEATLAND STRATEGY FOR BELARUS In this article we first give a general overview of and an interdisciplinary co-ordination council. Both the aims and development process of the Peatlands of these bodies were created specifically for the task, Strategy. We then describe the status of Belarussian and they included representatives of all agencies and peatlands as well as key problems relating to their organisations dealing with the conservation and use sustainable use, present the principles and focus areas of peatlands. The approach adopted was to: that were defined for implementation of the Strategy, and the outcome in terms of the specific prescription (i) examine the current state of peatland for peatland use that was developed. Finally, we conservation and use in Belarus, outline the plan for implementation of the Strategy (ii) on this basis identify main problems and threats, and the expected results. then (iii) develop principles and main activities to ensure GENERAL OVERVIEW OF THE STRATEGY sustainability of the resource. Definitions of terms are provided in Table A1.2 The National Security Concept of the Republic of (Appendix 1). Belarus (DP 2010) recognises the degradation of In conjunction with development of the Strategy, land, forests and natural complexes - as well as the an inventory of the current state of peatlands was depletion of mineral, water and biological resources conducted and used to estimate their ecological and - as major threats to national security. The purpose of economic value. The data were obtained using the Peatlands Strategy is to ensure that peatlands are materials from the “Scheme until 2010”, the conserved and used in such a way and at such a rate “Peatlands of Belarus” database (SPCB 2016), that they will not become depleted in the long term; interpretation of satellite imagery, and field survey. and thus to preserve their ability to meet the Then the data were assembled in GIS. environmental, economic, aesthetic and other needs Using the special normative document “The Rules of present and future generations. To this end, it aims and Procedure for Determining How Peat Deposits to balance national interests pertaining to industry on and Mires are Used” (TCP 2015), every peatland in the one hand and the environment on the other, as Belarus can be allocated, on the basis of type of use, well as to guarantee that the Republic of Belarus will to one of the following four groups (known as fulfil its commitments under the following ‘funds’): the Fund of Mires Subject to Special
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