VITEBSK, 1 November (BelTA) - Water quality and the state of water ecosystems in transboundary water basins of the Dnieper and Western Dvina rivers will be high on the agenda of the fourth meeting of the joint Belarusian-Russian commission for the conservation and rational use of transboundary water bodies, BelTA learnt from the Vitebsk regional committee of natural resources and environment. The meeting will be held in Vitebsk on 9-10 November. The meeting participants are set to consider proposals regarding the improvement of the water environment in the Western Dvina and Dnieper basins, discuss their ecological state, additions to the list of transboundary watercourses and additions to the list of transboundary lakes of the Western Dvina river basin. They will also consider water quality and the state of water ecosystems in transboundary basins of the rivers Dnieper and Western Dvina and criteria for the evaluation of the content of heavy metals in surface waters of transboundary water bodies. The joint Belarusian-Russian commission for the conservation and rational use of transboundary water bodies operates in accordance with the agreement on cooperation in protection and rational use of transboundary water bodies, signed in 2002 between the Government of Belarus and the Government of the Russian Federation to implement the Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes. The previous meeting of the commission was held in the year 2010 in Moscow.

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