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1.1. Goal
The goal of this project is the prioritization of the most substantial sources of pollution based on their characteristics and the impact on the environment. International experts developed the methodology for the selection, evaluation and prioritization of the Hot Spots in the Dnipro River Basin. Afterwards this methodology was reviewed by the national experts and revised taking into consideration their comments, recommendations and objections.
The methodology for the identification and analysis of pollution sources (Hot Spots) is part of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Regional Project “Strategic Action Programme (SAP) for the Dnipro River Basin and Development of SAP Implementation Mechanisms”.
The programme for the development of a Strategic Action Plan is aimed at the reduction of transboundary pollution of the Dnipro River basin and whereby the environmental safety of inland and international waters, namely, the Black Sea.
The Dnipro River flows into the territory of the Republic of Belarus from the territory of Smolensk Oblast in the south-eastern part of Vitebsk Oblast and then crosses Mogilevskaya and Gomelskaya Oblasts in a nearly meridian direction. The extension of the Dnipro River in the territory of Belarus is 700 km and the drainage area is 116.4 thousand km² (22.8% of the total drainage area of the Dnipro River).
The Mereya River is the border between Russia and Belarus and Dubrovno is the first Belarus city on the Dnipro River.
The Dnipro River in the territory of Belarus can be divided into the upper part (from the river head to Zhlobin) and the lower part (from Zhlobin to Kiev). There are no tributaries or water bodies in the sizeable floodplain in the upper part; the lower part is characterized by numerous tributaries, former riverbeds, bays and floodplain water bodies. In Belarus, the streamside territory consists of forests and lakes. The southern part is presented by the Belarus Polesye, which is the plain waterlogged lowland and which has to a very large extent been reclaimed.
There are numerous tributaries of the Dnipro River, which supply the territory of Belarus with water: the Pripyat, Berezina, Drut and Sozh Rivers, which in their turn constitute a rather dense water system, which forms the basis of the water supply to the Dnipro River. Despite of the fact that the drainage area within in the territory of the Republic of Belarus accounts for only one quarter of the whole the Dnipro River drainage area, the major water resources come from the territory of Belarus.
In the direction of Mogilev the Dnipro River crosses the Belarus ridge, it generates dams winding in its course through the narrow weaving relief with a steep slope, there are a lot of places with shallow water and rifts. Not far from the cities of Mogilev and Rogachev the Dnipro River forms large scrolls and on average flows lower. In the direction of Orsha the left bank is higher than the right bank of the river, the valley is deep, there are fluvial terraces on the bank vaults and gullies covered with forests.
Downstream of Mogilev the river reaches the vast water-logged area of Polesye lowland. The valley of the river becomes wider, although the banks of the Dnipro River are high. Further to the south the valley becomes more and more wider and the river forms several meandering branches and rifts. Some branches of the river turn into the bays and some into lakes and bogs.
The Berezina River is the first large tributary of the Dnipro River. Numerous bogs form the basis of the water supply to the Berezina River, which is full-flowing and navigable almost along its whole length. After the convergence of the Berezina and the Dnipro Rivers, the latter becomes full.
Then the Dnipro River flows into the Sozh River; in its lower part, the Dnipro River forms the border between Belarus and Ukraine.
The Pripyat River is the largest right tributary of the Dnipro River with respect to water content and basin area (it is 750 km in length and a drainage area of 120 thousand km², with about 50% within the territory of Belarus). Inflow from the Pripyat River doubles the Dnipro River flow in comparison to upstream of its junction with the Pripyat River. The Pripyat River basin covers the Polesye lowland area. The Pripyat River water has a brownish colour due to the presence of peat particles; its inflow creates a plume which stands out against the background of the Dnipro River water over a long length.
Unfortunately a considerable part of the Dnipro River stream side in the territory of Belarus (42 thousand km²) is polluted by radionuclides (according to the official data for 2001 the level of pollution was Cs-137 ³ 1 Кi/km²).
In the territory of Belarus cropland area within the Dnipro River basin is 51.4 thousand km², the reclaimed area is 2 million hectares, the area of protected territories is 3.6 thousand km².
