Green lungs of Europe mentioned in the title denote exceptionally valuable natural areas in Belarus, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and, partly in Russian Federation (Kaliningrad district and districts in western Russia) northern districts of Ukraine and the north-eastern provinces of Poland. The environmental programme is a joint initiative of the states of the southern part of the Baltic basin, presented during the 1993 international conference of ministers of environmental protection, held in Lucerne. The area under discussion was divided into 22 zones which would be placed under special protection.