MINSK, 5 June (BelTA) – Belarus intends to sign an agreement on protecting transboundary waters with Latvia this year, BelTA learned from Belarusian Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Minister Andrei Khudyk during an online conference hosted by the BelTA website.
According to the source, intergovernmental agreements on cooperation in protecting and using transboundary waters have been signed with Russia, Ukraine, and Poland. Belarus intends to sign such an agreement with Latvia this year. Apart from that, the country has acceded to the UNECE Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes (Water Convention).
Belarus is comparatively small, yet it has over 20,000 watercourses and over 10,000 bodies of water. The water resources are sufficient for satisfying needs of the population and commercial entities at present and in the future. “We take measures to protect waters and improve the water management system. As a result, a prevailing number of sections of watercourses are regularly monitored and boast good and excellent ecological statuses,” the minister stressed.
The cleanest bodies of water are found in catchment areas of the Zapadnaya Dvina River (Voloso Severny Lake, Voloso Yuzhny Lake, Yezerishche Lake, Lukomskoye Lake, Myadel Lake, Obsterno Lake, Sarro Lake, Snudy Lake, Tiosto Lake), the Neman River (Myastro Lake, Naroch Lake), and the Pripyat River (Beloye Lake near the populated locality of Bostyn). At the same time 4.6% of surface bodies of water experience considerable anthropogenic burden. The number includes the Svisloch River near the populated locality of Korolishchevichi, the Loshitsa River in Minsk, the Plisa River near Zhodino, the Mukhavets River above Kobrin, the Yaselda River below Bereza, the Dokolka River, the Moroch River near the populated locality of Yaskovichi, and the Usha River below Molodechno.
