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The Pripyat Marsh of Belarus

The Pripyat Marsh of Belarus Emily Alford http://www.belarus.net/ECOLOGY/pripyat1.htm Belarus Facts Borders Latvia, Lithuania, Russia, Poland, and the Ukraine http://www.csce.gov/state_query.cfm?state_id=6 Belarus Facts A little smaller than Kansas Landlocked No natural borders

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The Pripyat Marsh of Belarus

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  1. The Pripyat Marsh of Belarus Emily Alford http://www.belarus.net/ECOLOGY/pripyat1.htm

  2. Belarus Facts • Borders Latvia, Lithuania, Russia, Poland, and the Ukraine http://www.csce.gov/state_query.cfm?state_id=6

  3. Belarus Facts • A little smaller than Kansas • Landlocked • No natural borders http://www.ramsar.org/mtg_belarus_conference_polesie1.htm

  4. Belarus Ethnicity • Ethnicity • Belarusian 77.9% • Russian 13.2% • Ukrainian 2.9% • Polish 4.1% • Other 1.9% http://www.kresy.co.uk/belo_costume.html

  5. Belarus Religions • Religion • Orthodox 60% • Catholic 20% • Jewish 14% • Other 6% http://www.geocities.com/belarus_icon/

  6. Belarus Languages • Languages • Belarusian • Russian Cyrillic Alphabet http://www.belarus-misc.org/bel-alpha.htm

  7. Environment and Climate • Belarus is mostly flat • Once completely covered with forest • Has over 10,000 lakes http://www.ramsar.org/pictures/belarus-conf02.jpg

  8. Environment and Climate • Average January temperature -4 degrees Celsius (24.8°F) • Average July temperature 17 degrees Celsius (62.6°F) • Rainy season from June to August

  9. Quick Facts about the Marshes • Formed by Pripyat River floodplain • Pripyat is the largest marsh area in Europe • Also called Pripyatsky, Pripet, Pinsk, Poles'ye, Paliessie http://www.ramsar.org/mtg_belarus_conference_polesie1.htm

  10. More Quick Facts • Size: 38,000 sq mi (98,400 sq km) • Over 900 sq km are part of Pripyatsky National Park • 250 bird species live there, 200 of which breed there http://www.hwcn.org/link/hmm/g7.htm

  11. Culture of the Swamp • Many archaeological sites • Traditional folklore and craft • More distinct than other regions of Belarus http://www.royal-deeside.org.uk/vwpics.htm

  12. Location • The Pripyat Marsh is located in the southern section of Belarus and northern section of Ukraine Pripyat Marsh

  13. Environment and Climate • Many unique species live in the swamp • Reed Warbler • Disappeared from most European countries, but still survives in these wetlands • Population in Belarus has decreased 90% in last 30 years http://www.lros.org.uk/May2001page3.htm

  14. Environment and Climate • Land Use • The marshes are used for farming: • Rye • Potatoes • Flax http://www.racetothetop.org/indicators/module2/ http://www.mda.state.mn.us/mgo/crops/Flax.htm

  15. Formation of Swamps • Combination of impervious clay and slow river-water run-off form the large swamps http://bi.org.by/photos/polesse/index.html

  16. History • Marshes were the location of the Battle of Pinsk • Battle took place on July 3, 1812 • French army tried to overtake Belarus • Used as hunting ground for European Kings http://www.ramsar.org/mtg_belarus_conference_polesie1.htm

  17. History • Occupied by Soviet 5th Army in 1918 • Was considered a natural barrier for the Soviet Union http://www.ramsar.org/mtg_belarus_conference_polesie1.htm

  18. Chernobyl • Contaminated 23% of Belarus’ land • Over 2 million people lived in this area • Contamination spread unevenly throughout Belarus http://www.qfever.com/20000823/uketours.html

  19. http://www.tschernobylhilfe.ffb.org/maps.htm

  20. Draining • Draining of swamps started around 1870 • Drastically increased draining in last 20 years • 1966-1990 More than one million hectares of the Pripyat marsh in the Polesie area, which is located in the southeastern corner of Belarus, was drained

  21. Debate over Draining • Government plans to drain 175,000 hectares of swamp • This would replaces farmland damaged from Chernobyl • Belarus government has already asked World Bank for the loan to pay for drainage

  22. Drainage Effects on Animals • Waterfowl unable to migrate and breed in marshes • Animals that grazed there are without pastures • Fish supplies decreasing http://www.oneworldjourneys.com/salmon/low/eco/sea.html

  23. Drainage Effects on Land • Drained marsh land is not economically beneficial • Land in areas on marsh already drained are rapidly decreasing in fertility http://www.oneworld.org/media/gallery/testa/2.html

  24. Drainage Effects on Land • Crop profit is significantly lower than the price of sowing and harvesting land • Lands are registered as agricultural land and must be farmed otherwise a fine is issued • Farmers lose either way

  25. Drainage Prevention • The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) supporting projects to protect the area • International conference held to conserve Pripyat floodplains, marshes and lowland mires in the Polesie region • Local cultures tended to see wetlands as unproductive “swamp.”

  26. Historic Buildings of Belarus http://www.russiannewsnetwork.com/belarus.html http://www.belarus.org.uk/grodno.htm

  27. Historic Buildings of Belarus http://www.belintourist.by/highlights.phtml

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