Browsing by Author "Sitkevich, Lizaveta"
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- Comparative analysis of freshwater wetlands of Belarus and Portugal on the aspect of their present status, nature conservation performance and future perspectivesPublication . Sitkevich, Lizaveta; Antunes, Carla RoloThe present thesis is devoted to comparative study of freshwater wetland areas in 2 countries – Belarus (the country of the author’s origin) and Portugal (the country of Master studies). 7 research sites were chosen – 3 mires in Belarus and 4 marshes in Portugal. The research was done in the field of their nature conservation performance, current use of wetland resources and future perspectives of use and conservation. Besides, the examples of the 2 successful wetland conservation projects in both countries, in which the author participated, were provided. Moreover, the sociological survey on assessing awareness of potential tourists about the research sites was conducted and its results presented. As a result, the comparative analysis was conducted to determine similarities and differences in wetland conservation approaches and practices in Belarus and Portugal and to identify the positive aspects and experience that could be used by each side in the future. The work has the following structure: 1. Introduction of the study, its objectives, structure, methodology; 2. Issue background – overview of Belarusian and Portuguese freshwater wetlands and their conservation experience; 3. Research data – presentation of the 7 research sites and 2 wetland conservation projects; 4. Results – comparative analysis of the research sites’ performance and analysis of the results of the sociological survey; 5. Conclusions The thesis research has produced a deep knowledge and understanding of the past and present features of the research sites, their current performance in nature conservation, ecotourism and environmental education. The main results obtained show that both Belarusian and Portuguese research sites are high conservation value areas. However, the conservation approaches and objectives are completely different in the countries: Belarusian wetland areas are much better conserved and actively involved in regular conservation practices which prove to be highly efficient; the priority objective set for the sites is their restoration through scientific research, conservation and sustainable use by protection, development of ecotourism, environmental education practices and involvement of local population. Portuguese sites are transformed to high extent and are subjected to unregular and inefficient conservation actions; the priority objective set for the sites is conservation of the sites through measures for recuperation of species and habitats without the objective of restoration of ecosystems, limitation of their use by protection status and regulation of illegal practices, visit control, and developing environmental education and ecotourism practices. In practice, the Portuguese concept proves to be unsustainable: it does not imply regular conservation activities which causes further degradation of the landscapes and the sites either function for formal protection and prevention of their further use or concentrate on environmental education. The results of the survey also prove the higher efficiency of Belarusian sites’s performance showing higher level of awareness about the research sites and their activities.