Proposed Biosphere Reserve Vishtynetsky (Rominter Forest), Kaliningrad Region (Russia)

Preparations for the establishment of a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve in Kaliningrad are progressing:

With technical support from the Michael Succow Foundation and the Centre for Sustainable Tourism (HNEE), the Kaliningrad partners of the working group for the establishment of a UNESCO biosphere reserve in the Vishtynets Hills reached another milestone in October: The application for nomination of the Vishtynetsky Biosphere Reserve (Rominter Forest) was completed in its Russian version and sent to the Minister of Environment of Kaliningrad region for further use.

The proposed Biosphere Reserve comprises five core areas, including the headwaters of the Krasnaya (Rominte) river, other river valleys and wetlands and parts of Vishtynets Lake. The core areas as well as the buffer zone surrounding them are based on the territory of the “Vyshtinetsky” Regional Nature Park established in 2011. The development zone – which the Kaliningrad partner prefer to call the zone of cooperation – comprises open land characterised by pastures, meadows and meandering little rivers, with small villages in the vicinity of the nature park. A total of about 2500 citizens live in these rural area.

The recently produced second image film by Denis Stein offers a unique view of the wonderful landscapes of all three zones of the planned biosphere reserve.