On November 10, Vitebsk /Diana Kurilo - BELTA/. Environmentalists from Belarus and Russia propose to improve the sources of rivers flowing into the Western Dvina and Dnieper. This decision was approved by the joint Belarusian-Russian commission for the protection and rational use of transboundary water bodies, which concluded its work in Vitebsk today, reports a BELTA correspondent. To improve the ecological condition of the transboundary water bodies of the Western Dvina and Dnieper river basins, over the next few years, work will be carried out to survey the riverbeds of these rivers and determine the degree of their overgrowth and silting. The joint commission also identified the main areas of scientific research and applied scientific work to improve the water management situation in the basins of the Western Dvina and Dnieper. In particular, scientists will have to assess the ecological state of these waterways and their basins and determine methods for its improvement. The commission noted that the spring floods and summer high waters of 2011 did not have a negative impact on the life activities of the population and economic facilities located in the basins of the Western Dvina and Dnieper. The heads of the national parts of the working groups for the river basins have been instructed to prepare for the passage of the spring floods and summer high waters of 2012. Next year, environmentalists plan to hold seminars for specialists from laboratories monitoring the water quality of transboundary water bodies. In addition, the meeting approved updated lists of transboundary watercourses and transboundary lakes in the basins of the Western Dvina and Dnieper rivers. The next meeting of the joint commission will be held in 2012 in the Russian Federation.-0-

BELTA