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International technical assistance project:
«Baltic Landscape in change – innovative approaches towards
sustainable forested landscapes»
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Work Package 6 (WP6):
“Basin approach to the catchment area management
of the River Neman”
RUE “Belgosles” - Partner 3 of the Project “Baltic Landscape”
Project Coordinator – Mikhail Kuzmenkov
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CONTENTS
• Introduction
• General description
of the River Neman basin
• Project activities
• Main results
• Main approaches
INTRODUCTION
 In the Development program of the Baltic
Sea region, approved by the European
Commission on December 21, 2007 for the
period 2007-2013 forest is regarded as the
most important natural resource, increasing of
the contribution to economy and ecology of the
region, including preservation of water
resources.
 Forest and water are closely linked and
form major natural infrastructures.
 Basin approach to the catchment area
management of the River Neman can be
realized on the basis of research of the state,
utilization and potential of forests.
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GENERAL DESCRIPTION
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 River Neman is a transboundary river with total length 914 km, including 431 km on
the territory of Belarus.
 The River Neman basin is situated on the territory of 4 states – Belarus (37% of
area), Lithuania, Poland and Russia.
 The area of Belarusian part of the
catchment makes 4564 thousand ha
(including the catchments of the River Viliya)
or 22% of the territory of the country.
 Within the boundaries of the basin on the
territory of Belarus there live 1.8 million
people with population density 42 pers./km2.
Rural population makes 33%.
 water availability per capita Within the
boundaries of the basin – 4.8 thousand
m3/year.
 The area of forest per capita makes 0.87 ha.
 Nearby 15 thousand employees are working in forest sector or 2% of engaged in
economy.
PROJECT ACTIVITIES
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 Creation of the information base on
forests and forestry of the basin
 Analysis and assessment of the state and
utilization of forests in the basin
 Analysis and assessment activities forest
hydroamelioration
 Analysis and assessment of the beaver
vital activity in the basin
 Elaboration of main approaches to the
improvement of forest regulation and forestry
activity on the basin principles.
MAIN RESULTS
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Information base on forests and forest resources of the basin was created. It
includes:
 Determination of boundaries and of
the forest fund area of the basin.
 Distribution of forest fund by
administrative regions of the basin and
legal entities occupied with forestry.
 Distribution of forest fund by land
types.
 Assessment of forest using different quantity and quality indicators, including water
protection forests.
 Subject digital maps of different purpose (administrative units, state forestry
institutions, forest stands, hydrography, forest hydroamelioration facilities,
ecological risks of forest land draining).
MAIN RESULTS
 The area of forests in the River Neman basin is 1642 thousand ha. They
make 20.4% of forests in Belarus.
 Forest coverage of the basin is 37,9%, forest coverage of the main
confluents of the River Neman varies between 15 and 42%.
 Forest coverage is lower than optimal (estimated) rate on 7 catchments.
 60% of forest area make forests with
ecological priorities, including 17% - forests
on specially protected territories.
 Old-growth forests are represented only on
5% of the area, of coniferous species – on
3.7%.
 Monocultures were created on 28% of
forest area of the basin .
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MAIN RESULTS
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 Forest productivity makes 213 m3/ha, it is lower than potential by
20%.
 The replacement of indigenous forest formations by secondary with
lower value was detected: of pine on 2%, of oak – on 4% of the area.
 The harvesting of mature wood is mostly carried out using clearcutting method (70%), including forests of water protection zones.
 Forest regeneration should be
carried out on 36 thousand ha of
forest area.
including:
in forests of water protection
zones – 7.9 thousand ha (22%).
MAIN APPROACHES
TO INCREASING OF FOREST POTENTIAL:
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 increasing of the forest coverage of catchments of several
confluents of the River Neman
 optimization of forest area distribution by purpose taking into
account economic and environmental interests (50:50)
 reduction of the share of clear-cuttings
 rising of the status of forests of water protection zones by
elimination of carrying out of clear-cutting there
 optimization of species composition of forests in the basin
 realization of forest regeneration activities on detected unforested
lands
 detection in the process of land-management of lands for creation
of new forests on lands, inefficiently used in other economy branches,
to increase the forest coverage of catchments
MAIN RESULTS
Hydroamelioration
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 The area of drained lands in the River Neman basin (including River Viliya)
– 566 thousand ha (12.4% of the territory of the basin and 16.6% of drained
lands in general in the country).
 In forestry of the basin 52.6 thousand ha were drained or 3.3% of drained
lands in the basin and 2.8% of the area of forest fund of the basin.
 During draining there were straightened and deepened riverbeds of 508
small rivers and other water courses with the total length >1000 km, seasonal
redistribution of river runoff occured.
 River runoff to the r. Neman in
the period from 1950 to 2012
decreased by 0.33 km3 (-5,3%),
however the decrease of the runoff
has been observed also before the
mass draining period (till 1960).
MAIN RESULTS
Hydroamelioration
 Drying up of streams, small rivers, sources, lowering of the water level in
wells is the most common in the areas of underground water intake, less
common – on the areas of agricultural amelioration and insignificant under
forest hydroamelioration.
 Soil degradation takes place mainly on drained agricultural lands. Water
and wind erosion is widespread on the area of ca 100 thousand ha. In the
forest fund the area of affected lands makes 0.8 thousand ha.
 Forestry efficiency of draining was not reached in 84% of drained forests.
 The area of forests with hydroamelioration
systems in the basin, which are registered in
forestry makes 24.3 thousand ha or 46% of
the area of drained lands. The rest was
amortized and put out of operation .
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MAIN RESULTS
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 Registered forest hydroamelioration systems require reconstruction
activities, as well as removal of silt and shrubs on drainage canals on the
length of 550 km (54%).
 In the forest fund 380 thousand ha of overwetted lands are in the natural
state, including 63.6 thousand ha of open bogs. These are mainly small parcels
with area till 10 ha (89%).
 On hydroamelioration network inhabited with beavers there are observed
re-waterlogging, decrease in productivity of stands, their degradation.
 Beaver population in the river
Neman is nearby 12 thousand of
individuals or by a factor of 2,5 above
the optimal.
 Beavers underflooded 1.1 thousand
ha of stands in the basin which are
drying.
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MAIN APPROACHES TO PROBLEM SOLVING:
 specification of boundaries and territories , where operating
condition of amelioration systems should be provided, with elaboration
of respective plans of activities;
 organization of monitoring of the state of drained forest lands
where amelioration activities were stopped;
 draining of bogs and other overwetted lands in natural state for
forestry purposes is unreasonable ;
 improvement of beaver registration methods and specification of
acceptable population in different stations in interconnection with
changing environmental conditions ;
 elaboration and carrying out of activities on stopping of beaver
habitation on hydroamelioration network which is in operation
condition.
IMPLEMENTATION METHODS
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 Making amendments to normative documents regarding the issue of
attribution of forests to purpose.
 Making amendments to the Forest felling rules taking into account
forest coverage of catchments.
 Realization of the main approaches through forest regulation projects
which are the basis for forestry activities.
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THANK YOU FOR ATTENTION!