Managing Sita and Pededze nature reserve under its regulations

There are approved regulations of individual protection and use for the nature reserve "Sita and Pededze floodplains" (The Regulations of the Cabinet Nr.168 approved in Rīga on 6th of March, 2007).

Zoning of nature reserve

Managing Sita and Pededze nature reserve under its regulations

There are approved regulations of individual protection and use for the nature reserve "Sita and Pededze floodplains" (The Regulations of the Cabinet Nr.168 approved in Rīga on 6th of March, 2007). To get acquainted with these regulations is possible on the home page of the official newspaper “Latvijas Vēstnesis” (on Latvian).

Regulations of individual protection and use are more particular for the concrete nature reserve and with various allowable managing activities for scheduled fixed zones. The General Regulations of the Protection and utilization of the especially protected nature territories are not valid anymore since the approval of these regulations for the nature reserve “Sita and Pededze floodplains”.

The area of nature reserve is 870 ha. The schema of the functional zones is appointed in the 1st appendix of these regulations. The nature reserve territory has such functional zones:

• zone of adjustable regime;
• zone of nature reserve;
• zone of nature park;
• neutral zone.

The general limitations in the whole territory of nature reserve determine that there are permissible activities like nature friendly tourism, forbidden bird hunting. Allowable is the restoration of natural riverbed of river Sita. Already in the nearest time is scheduled to mark the borders of nature reserve with the informative signs.

The zone of adjustable regime has been created in order to preserve the natural forest habitats and particularly the habitats of nesting of protected bird species. The zone of adjustable regime is allowable for fixing up the nature tourisms and cognitive infrastructure in the notable location or particularly established ground accordingly with the 1st appendix of these regulations. Here are allowed such activities like hunting, angling, picking of the wild mushrooms and berries and those product gathering and gaining for personal usage.

The zone of nature reserve is created in order to preserve the especially protected meadow habitat

Floodplains are included in zone of nature reserve

as well as the habitat of the especially protected species – Corncrake, Great Snipe, Spotted Crake, Short-eared Owl and a Hermit beetle, feeding ground of the Lesser Spotted Eagle as well as the habitat of the particularly protected plant species. In the zone of nature reserve are forbidden any kind of activities that could have negative influence on the natural habitats, wild animal and plant species and their life-world. While hunting waterfowl is forbidden to use projectiles that contain lead. The Meadows are open for mowing after 10th of July and it is forbidden to mow from the side to the centre and other binding regulations.

The zone of nature park is created to preserve the sustainable management of the forest-stands that are included into the nature reserve. Here is forbidden to lumber in clean cut area and reconstructive logged area. Any kind of forest managing works during the bird nesting season are not allowed: from 1st of April till 31st of July.

The neutral zone is created in order to provide the development of the territory and usage of sustainable economic in the farmstead yards and household plots.

Accordingly to the territory planning of local municipality the construction works are allowable in the neutral zone, taking into account those rules, as well as established order and limitations of regulative law and regulations of the construction and nature protection.

The plan of Nature Protection for the nature reserve "Sitas and Pededzes floodplains’’ is developed within the framework of the LIFE – Nature project “Restoration of floodplains “ which is carried out by Latvian Fund for Nature.

Individual farmsteads are included in neutral zone