Polesie Reveals its Secrets

New opportunities for the development of ecological tourism in the Belarusian Polesie region were provided with the opening of an eco-educational centre on the premises of the Sporovsky National biological reserve. The centre was established through support from the UNDP/GEF project "Creating sustainability for the protected wetlands in Belarusian Polesie" and the GEF Small Grants Programme.

The main task of the centre is to provide information to visitors about the reserve's ecological particularities, flora and fauna, eco-routes and services. The centre's resources are also aimed at contributing to the development of a set of eco-tourism services for foreign guests, as well as raising the attractiveness of the region for international tourism.

The eco-educational centre offers visitors four eco-routes, conceived under the thematic component of the UNDP/GEF project. Visitors can choose between the pedestrian trail, the water route, cycle route and a combined route - each demonstrate the important role of the reserve in regulating nature processes, its flora and fauna, and the historical, cultural and ethnographic heritage of Belarusian Polesie.

Source: UN Bulletin № 24, July-August 2009. by United Nations Office in Belarus.

Internet: www.un.by