Polesie State Radioecological Reserve

The Polesie State Radioecological Reserve is a radioecological nature reserve in the Polesie region of Belarus, which was created to enclose the territory of Belarus most affected by radioactive fallout from the Chernobyl disaster. The reserve adjoins the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone in Ukraine. The environmental monitoring and countermeasure agency, Bellesrad, oversees the food cultivation and forestry in the area.

Two years after the Chernobyl disaster, the Belarusian part of the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone was extended to a more highly contaminated area. Then, a closed to the public nature reserve was established in Belarus with a total area of 1,313 km2 . The reserve was established on July 18, 1988. Before the disaster, over 22,000 people lived there in 96 settlements. The population was evacuated after the disaster. In 1993 it was expanded by 849 km2 , making it the largest Belarusian nature reserve and one of the largest in Europe.

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