The Churches of Vilnius

This card was sent on 19th Jan 2013, via registered priority mail, when Lithuanian Post issued a souvenir sheet “Zuvintas Biosphere Reserve”.  Zuvintas, Lithuania, is located in the southern part of the Middle Lithuanian Lowlands. It represents approximately 59,000 ha and includes lakes, wetlands, mires, peat bogs, and pine tree stands. Its great variety of habitats and vegetation renders this location very rich in biodiversity. The biosphere reserve is slated to be given a special status in national nature conservation legislation. The main human activities include agriculture, forestry and fishing, with the recent development of eco-farming and tourism. The area has a population of about 11,000, comprising a mixture of large and small land owners.

Zuvintas was added to UNESCO’s Man and theBiosphere (MAB) Programme. The Man and the Biosphere Programme (MAB) of UNESCO was established in 1971 to promote interdisciplinary approaches to management, research and education in ecosystem conservation and sustainable use of natural resources.