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According to Jaroslav Neverovičius, Žuvintas is a protected area of the highest level and “changing the principle when exceptions occur is not the best solution.”
“This is an unfortunate series of decisions that are not discussed with expert experts who are not evaluated, and perhaps even violate established principles of higher law. It is no coincidence that Žuvintas is a protected area, it is a UNESCO site, a site of European importance and … it is irresponsible to make such decisions, “the presidential adviser told News Radio on Tuesday.
Sigismund Gedvila photo / 15min / Jaroslav Neverovich
The government approved new regulations for the Žuvintas Biosphere Reserve in early July. They give more rights to berries, mushrooms and fishing in the reserve. The decision allowed ice fishing no longer for the inhabitants of five, but for the fourteen surrounding villages.
The Baltic Environmental Forum and the Lithuanian Ornithological Society recently made a public appeal to the authorities regarding this Government Resolution. The petition states that by amending the regulations of the Žuvintas Biosphere Reserve, the Government legalizes the “irresponsible and scientifically based use of natural resources” in the oldest protected area in the country.
“The resolution ignores research data showing that the catch of fish in Lake Žuvintas has a negative impact on the ecosystem of this exceptionally shallow and sensitive lake, and predatory fish in this lake are rapidly disappearing.”
According to environmentalists, the resolution also divides civil society on the privilege granted to an artificially selected party and violates democratic legislative principles, since it was adopted without consulting the public or scientists and contrary to international obligations.
“This application of selfish measures exclusively in the Žuvintas Nature Reserve, among other things, reduces the exceptional natural and scientific importance of this area in relation to other state nature reserves. Žuvintas is the only territory in Lithuania that belongs to the UNESCO global network of biosphere reserves, therefore its protection must be stricter than other reserves, and changes in protection must have a clear objective of protecting the nature and a scientific basis, “emphasize critics of the government’s decision.
The Žuvintas Biosphere Reserve is the oldest protected area in Lithuania, established in 1937. It is the only Lithuanian territory that belongs to the UNESCO World Network of Biosphere Reserves, part of the reserve is protected as a Ramsar Convention ( Convention on Wetlands of International Importance, especially Waterfowl Habitats), the entire biosphere reserve is part of the Natura 2000 network of the most valuable natural areas in the European Union.
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