26 February 2002
New charges introduced for services to tourists in Belavezhskaya Puscha

 The Belavezhskaya Puscha National Park management has began charging tourists for walking near open-air cages and significantly raised charges for guided tours.
Excursions near open-air cages, which used to be free of charge in the past, now cost 2,500 rubels (less than $2). The management said the measure is intended to raise additional funds for animal feed.
Tourists are not allowed any longer to drive around the park in their own cars. Guided car tours used to cost about 1,000 rubels per person. Under the new rules, tourists can explore the park in their own minivans or rent a minivan at the park. A guided tour costs 8,000 (about $5) per person in a non-rented minivan and 10,000 rubels ($6) per person
in a rented minivan.
The park administration declined to comment on the price rise. A park employee speaking on condition of anonymity told BelaPAN that new charges might scare off tourists.
Belavezhskaya Puscha covers a vast area in western Belarus and spreads into Poland. Its forests are on the average more than 100 years old. The age of some is estimated at 250 to 350 years. 600-year-old oaks and 350-year-old ashes and pines are not uncommon there. The Park is unique in Europe in terms of animal and plant diversity. In 1992,
UNESCO included the Park into its World Heritage List, while the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development allocated $1 million to protect the biodiversity of the Belarusian part of the forest.
In late January, the Council of Europe extended by another five years the park's Diploma for Protected Areas, the park employee said.