Press releases

GRODNO, 21 July (BelTA) - There are plans to continue the international cooperation project “Let’s Save Belovezhskaya Pushcha Together”. Now we are preparing an agreement with the Polish side to implement the second phase of the project, Sergei Shparlo, the head of the Grodno Oblast Emergencies Department, told a press conference, BelTA has learned.

The first phase of the project was implemented under the previous cross-border cooperation program “Poland-Belarus-Ukraine” with the participation of Grodno and Brest oblast emergencies departments and Poland. For the Grodno Oblast Emergencies Department fire tankers were purchased with a capacity of 10 and 8 tonnes to fight fires in forests and peatlands. They were sent to Svisloch District which is home to a part of Belovezhskaya Pushcha. The Grodno department intends to continue cooperation within the framework of the project. “We are set to meet with the Polish partners and sign the agreement to implement the second phase of this project,” Sergei Shparlo informed.

The Grodno Oblast Emergencies Department is planning to submit a project to restore the old fire tower in the center of Grodno for the next contest of projects under the international technical assistance program “Poland-Belarus-Ukraine”. Plans have been made to carry out the project together with colleagues from Bialystok where they want to repair the out-of-service fire tower, Sergei Shparlo noted.

Last year the Grodno Oblast Emergencies Department acquired fire-rescue equipment worth €900,000 thanks to participation in transboundary projects.