Pripyatsky National Park, National park in Gomel Region, Belarus.
Pripyatsky National Park covers 634.58 square kilometres in the floodplain of the Pripyat River, at the fork of its right tributaries the Stviha and Uborć. Forests cover 74% of the park, water and bogs 15%, and grassland 6%; about 40 small lakes lie within its borders, and disused log-floating canals dug in the late 19th century still cut through the terrain.
Plans to protect the Polesia marshes date from the 1920s and 1930s, when Władysław Szafer proposed conserving the Olmany bogs. In 1969 the Pripyatsky State Landscape-Hydrological Reserve was created; European bison were reintroduced there in 1987. On 2 October 1996 the reserve was reclassified as a national park, a move environmental groups criticised because it allowed logging and hunting. The administration sat in Turov until 2003, when it moved to Laskavichy.
The park's name comes from the Pripyat River, whose floodplain it protects. Its administration sits in Laskavichy, having moved there from Turov in 2003; several park institutions remain in Turov. Fishing and hunting are permitted on park territory.
Visitors need permits for activities like fishing, photography, and extended hiking, which can be arranged through the park administration. The timing of your visit matters: spring and summer offer good wildlife viewing, while autumn provides easier access conditions.
The park's area is 634.58 km², and since 29 March 2013 it has been covered by the Ramsar Convention; since 2004 it has formed part of the Important Bird Area called Prypiackija bałoty. The Olmany marshes, with the Krasnoje and Hało peat bogs, lie east of the village of Olmany.
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