Ten facts about the current state of Baikal. The truth about the ecology of Baikal

In Irkutsk, the summing up of the results of the studies of Lake Baikal, which took place in the summer and autumn of 2017 as part of the Baikal Expedition project, began, Irkutsk Online news agency reports. Mikhail Kolobov, candidate of biological sciences, employee of Moscow State University, Marina Rikhvanova, head of the Baikal Expedition project, and Elena Tvorogova, president of the youth charitable foundation Revival of the Siberian Land, spoke about the first results and the current state of the lake at a press conference.

What is happening with Baikal?

The lake consists of two parts: the "core" and the coast. The inner part is inhabited by the Baikal flora, the coast is inhabited by the Siberian flora, what can be found in the rivers. It does not go further than the coastal zone. Biologists are primarily concerned about the "core".

Baikal is still a very clean lake, says Mikhail Kolobov. However, the impression of the general state of the reservoir among specialists remained ambiguous - processes that did not exist before take place in it. What it depends on, scientists have yet to find out.

The danger is that when environmental conditions change, the central endemic part becomes capricious, says the candidate of sciences. - If they (endemics. - Approx. ed.) die, there is nowhere to take new ones. As a result, this place is quickly populated by other, non-endemic species. In the end, this may lead to the fact that Baikal, its internal flora and fauna will perish, that is, cease to exist in such large numbers as they are now.

Is spirogyra dangerous?

Experts note: an unambiguously negative attitude towards spirogyra cannot be called fair. Algae in itself is not pollution, it is only a reflection of the processes taking place in the lake.

Spirogyra consumes what appeared in the water. Why did it appear in the water? No one was able to use it before her, or was it brought in from outside? It is necessary to find out, but in any case, this is a signal, - Mikhail Kolobov notes.

According to him, the spread of spirogyra is a kind of leukocytes of the lake, a healthy reaction of Baikal to the fact that an excessive amount of minerals began to enter it. Therefore, this algae does not need to be fought. Attention should be paid to the creation of treatment plants, to teach tourists and local residents to use phosphate-free products.

What's new in the lake?

On the eastern coast of Lake Baikal, in the area where the Selenga River and Cape Tankhoi flow into it, an excess of the maximum permissible concentration (MPC) of heavy metals - zinc, copper, lead - was found to be two to three times higher.

These substances are taken out into the lake and mixed with water, they are present in a fairly high concentration, even exceeding the maximum allowable, which is sad. And with the current it is carried away to the Angara, - the specialist notes.

In the area of ​​the Ushkany Islands, an increased concentration of ammonium was found. The attention of scientists was also attracted by an increase in the content of silicates in water - these are sand, silicic acids. In the area of ​​the Barguzinsky Bay, elevated concentrations of potassium and ammonia were found, which are not critical, in some places they do not exceed the MPC, but they are higher than the background values ​​for the rest of Baikal. In some places, a change in the radiation background has been noted, although the radiation level is still ten times lower than the norm.

What is the MPC level and why is it dangerous to exceed it?

People still live and work on Lake Baikal, who continue to pollute it, referring to the fact that the maximum permissible concentration of harmful substances has not yet been reached. At the same time, not all users of the lake know that there are several MPCs: there is a maximum permissible concentration for waters that are used to water green spaces, there is a separate MPC for drinking water, Mikhail Kolobov draws attention.

There are MPCs for fishery reservoirs. These are the most sensitive standards, here the concentration of substances should be 10 times less than in the water used for drinking. MPC is calculated from the ratios that affect the weakest link in the ecosystem: phytoplankton, the smallest algae, zooplankton, - says Mikhail Kolobov.

If we take into account the identified elements, then zinc acts as an inhibitor of photosynthesis, which can cause phytoplankton to die. At the same time, zooplankton can suffer from large amounts of copper. Together, zinc and copper are capable of causing a greater destructive effect than individually.

If the upper link of the ecosystem - phytoplankton, zooplankton - is destroyed in Baikal, this will become a point for further collapse of the ecosystem. There are endemics in the lake that will not recover. For example, the Baikal epishura, the basis of nutrition for fish fry, accounts for up to 90% of all zooplankton.

Who is to blame for everything?

Mikhail Kolobov does not rule out that a large amount of toxic substances enter the Selenga from Mongolia. However, according to the expert, if at the exit in the river delta the indicator is 2-3 times higher than the MPC, then in Mongolia they should be prohibitive, because a significant part of the heavy metals should settle in the Selenga channel on the way to the lake.

Maybe the pollution did not come from there, but something affects us here, - he argues. - The presence of ammonia is an indicator that fresh processes of decay are taking place somewhere. Or, for example, potassium in the water indicates that logging or woodworking has become more active in the immediate vicinity of the lake. Exceeding the level of heavy metals in the area of ​​the Selenga delta may indicate the extraction of metal ores.

Where did the radiation come from? Somewhere they dug up something. Substances that are contained in ores, in the soil, got into the water. It's all washed away. On Baikal you can see where they "heaped up". We looked at the concentration of silicates in water. Initially, there are many of them in Baikal, but in comparison with the background values, an excess was revealed. A sign that active earthworks are taking place near the lake.

What happened to the omul?

Experts name many reasons that could affect the decline in the omul population in Baikal. The main version is considered to be excessive uncontrolled fishing, which has occurred since the early 1990s. Mikhail Kolobov, however, does not exclude that the reduction in the number of omul can be explained by natural phenomena, and to a much lesser extent - by the influence of harmful substances:

I do not want to link the decline in the omul population with the excess of indicators for heavy metals, one can only assume. There are normal natural cycles, population decline or increase. Jumps always exist. They can be for a year or two, and for decades and even centuries.

If you fantasize, you can say about the influence of zinc and copper: copper kills epishura, zinc makes phytoplankton grow slowly. The amount of food decreases, the amount of omul also decreases. The same situation could occur both because of emissions and because of tectonic shifts - the release of chemicals began. Finally, it may be overfishing, and it was.

Why do seals die?

Similar natural processes could cause mass death of seals. In particular, infections that may have spread due to a population that is too large. The infection can be either introduced by a person or internal, Mikhail Kolobov believes.

There is such a thing, when too many animals are born in a population, they, firstly, begin to compete with each other, he says. - But this is unlikely to happen with seals - not such a high density. Secondly, there is a risk of internal epizootic (widespread infectious disease among animals. - Approx. ed.). The higher the density, the higher the incidence.

What is happening near the BPPM?

According to Marina Rikhvanova, head of the Baikal Expedition project, after the closing of the BPPM, the pollution of the lake continues. In addition to sludge collectors, where hazardous production wastes are still located, the industrial site of the closed plant itself poses a danger to Baikal.

Sludge accumulators of the BPPM are overflowing, people are threatened with flows of chemistry. - It has not been recultivated, no hazardous substances have been conserved on it. There was no closure project. Even during the operation of the plant, pollution seeped into the ground and accumulated. Previously, wells were constantly working there, which pumped out this pollution, and it was sent to treatment facilities.

After the closure of production, the contaminated water was no longer pumped out. Toxic waters continue to accumulate.

Who is responsible for the cleanliness of the lake?

Public initiatives and scientific and educational projects remain the main engines for studying Baikal's problems. It was with their help that work began for several years on the shortcomings in the organization of the protection of the lake, says Elena Tvorogova, president of the youth charitable foundation "Revival of the Siberian Land".

Baikal is a world, all-Russian heritage. But no matter what you take on, for a specific place or topic, no one is responsible for anything. Example: when the question arose about algae, it turned out that none of our research centers dealt with shallow water, and it was there that the problem of eutrophication and the growth of spirogyra was revealed.

When we began to think about what to do with what Baikal throws ashore, the question also arose - who is responsible for the cleanliness of the coast? There is no one responsible. The level of ecological knowledge among the people living on Baikal, especially those who simply arrive, a guest or a tourist, is catastrophically low. Who is responsible for making sure people know and understand this? Until now, there have not been developed uniform rules for the behavior of tourists on Baikal, and during our expedition we constantly come across this.

What to do?

A large amount of pollutants are introduced into Baikal through rivers, especially as a result of uncontrolled mining of metals and minerals. In this regard, Mikhail Kolobov notes, in order to prevent the growth of toxic substances, attention should be paid to industries working with land, soil, and the development of minerals.

If these are large enterprises, environmental services will probably work there, but questions arise for small enterprises. What is washed into Baikal as a result of uncontrolled development is a question. This must be registered, without this the further life of Baikal and the people who live near it is impossible.

The ecological problems of Lake Baikal were fully formulated as early as 1998 at a meeting of the scientific council on biosphere problems at the Presidium of the Academy of Sciences of the Russian Federation. Scientists at that time gave an exhaustive list of not only sources and types of pollution, but also suggested ways to solve them.

The deepest lake on the planet, containing almost 20% of all fresh water reserves in the world, is located in the Asian part of Russia on the border of the Irkutsk region and Buryatia. It stretches for 690 km in the shape of a crescent and has a width of up to 79 km. The bottom of the Bakal is 1167 m below the level of the World Ocean, and the surface is 455 m higher in terms of the area of ​​the water surface, it ranks seventh in the world. The maximum depth is 1642 m, the average is about 744 m, the volume of water in Baikal is 23 thousand km3. The exact number of its tributaries is unknown. In the 19th century there were 336 of them. The largest of the existing ones are Selenga, Upper Angara, Barguzin, Turka, Snezhnaya and Samara. Only one river flows out of the lake - the Angara.

How the lake was formed is still a matter of scientific controversy. The etymology of the origin of its name is equally ambiguous.

According to one version, it was formed more than 35 million years ago and refers it to the ice age lakes. If so, then such a long period of existence of such a water body is unique, and its ecosystem requires increased attention and caution. However, there is a theory that Bakal is much younger and no more than 150 thousand years old. Only one thing is absolutely certain, that changes in the lake are still taking place. Very high seismicity in the area of ​​its location. Earthquakes are regular here. It is increasing at a rate of 2 cm per year, which is typical for the oceans. There is an assumption that Baikal is the future ocean. But we are unlikely to know.

The thickness of Baikal's bottom sediments suggests that in its place there were mountains over 7,000 meters high.

In its basin there were special climatic conditions. Winters are mild, summers are cool, and autumns are long. There are as many sunny days in a year as on the Black Sea coast. Winds have a special influence on the climate in the lake area. Their role is such that they received their own names among the people - Barguzin, Sarma or Kultuk.

The name of the lake refers to the languages ​​of the peoples who inhabited its shores in the past. These are Barguts, Buryats and others. In the 17th - 18th centuries, the first Russian settlers appeared here, who called it Lamu or the sea in Evenki. The Buryat name "Baigal" is most consonant with the current one.

Natural resources

Baikal is included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. The main natural resource is water. Its qualities practically correspond to the characteristics of distilled water. It contains very few minerals and organic impurities and a lot of oxygen. The temperature is quite cold and generally does not exceed +10 0 C. At a depth it is even lower. The temperature can reach its maximum in the bays. The recorded record is +23 0 C. The water transparency in the lake is also unique. Visibility can be up to 40 m in depth.

In winter, the waters of Lake Baikal turn into an ice cover up to 2 meters thick. Only a small section of the water surface in the area of ​​the source of the Angara River does not freeze. Under the influence of low temperatures, the ice cracks. The length of such cracks can reach tens of kilometers and up to 3 m wide. These cracks are formed, as a rule, in the same places. Such a natural phenomenon enables the water to be enriched with oxygen, which is favorable for the existence of all organisms living in the water. In addition, the Baikal ice is so transparent that the sun's rays easily penetrate through it and supply the algae with enough energy to continue the process of photosynthesis.

Such quality of water in liquid and solid state became possible thanks to a unique microscopic crustacean - epishur, found only in Lake Baikal. It purifies water by passing it through itself. The size of this copepod planktonic crustacean is up to 1.5 mm. it makes up nearly 90% of the lake's biomass. Baikal epishur is the main food for the Baikal omul. The flora and fauna of the lake contains many more species of living organisms that are not found anywhere else.

In total, about 2,600 species of animals live in Baikal, half of which are exclusively "Baikal". This species diversity has developed due to the high oxygen content in the water.

Of exceptional interest is the viviparous golomyanka fish, which consists of 30% fat. In addition to it, omul, grayling, whitefish, sturgeon, burbot, pike, taimen and other fish species are found in Baikal.

Freshwater sponges live in the depths of the lake, also one of the “miracles” of the lake.

Problems and their sources

After the Presidium of the Academy of Sciences of Russia drew attention to the environmental problems of Lake Baikal, in 1999 a special federal law "On the protection of Lake Baikal" was adopted. He established a special regime of economic activity and introduced some prohibitions.

The unique nature of Baikal has not been studied enough to responsibly state what exactly can cause it the greatest damage. But there are three main, absolutely well-established sources of such problems. These are the waters carried into the lake by the Selenga River, hydraulic structures on the Angara River and the Baikal Pulp and Paper Mill. There are other ecological problems of Baikal. For example: poaching, illegal logging, untreated effluent discharges by businesses, settlements and water transport, household waste, and unorganized tourism. The maximum allowable concentrations of some types of substances have been exceeded. However, this cannot be compared with the damage caused to the lake's ecosystem by the plant.

Combine

The Baikal Pulp and Paper Mill has existed since 1966. It is a complex source of environmental pollution. Its emissions of dust and waste gases led to the drying of the forest. For a long time, the plant used lake water for its technological needs, and dumped waste back into Baikal. Bottom sediments were significantly affected by this, which did not fail to tell on the animal and plant world of nearby places. The plant stores products and materials, and disposes of waste directly on the banks. The main struggle was with wastewater and this part of the production activity was not under control and therefore led to the fact that substances contained in raw materials and production waste began to enter the water. The plant was stopped and again allowed to work, removing all restrictions. The closed water circulation system, put into operation in 2008, was supposed to remove the problems with the ingress of toxic substances into the lake. But the measurements carried out showed a 40-50 times excess of the concentration of dioxins in the water in the area of ​​the plant. In 2013, the BPPM was stopped by the Government of the Russian Federation. It was announced that it would be closed. Stopped does not mean eliminated. Now nature has outweighed the economic benefits. But will it continue like this?

River

The largest tributary of the lake is the Selenga River. A tributary, that is, with the waters of the river, everything that enters the river upstream flows or enters Baikal. In a year, the Selenga brings 30 km 3 of water, into which such cities as Ulaanbaatar and Ulan-Ude dump waste and waste. Pollutants enter the Selenga, and with it the Baikal, from gold and other mining enterprises, industrial and construction enterprises, leather processing factories and steel mills in Mongolia and the Republic of Buryatia in Russia.

The settlements located along the banks of the tributaries of Lake Baikal, for the most part, do not have a sewer system, and all waste enters the rivers without any treatment. And where there are sewage treatment facilities at the enterprises of the housing and communal sector, they have not been adequate for a long time and cannot cope with their functions. Not only household and industrial waste, but also oil products and pesticides, mineral fertilizers and other substances used in agriculture get into the water.

Hydraulic facilities

The ecological problems of Lake Baikal, like any other lake ecosystem, are greatly influenced by water exchange, that is, the volume of incoming and outgoing water. Since 1956, Baikal has become part of the Irkutsk reservoir. As a result of the commissioning of a cascade of hydraulic structures, the water level in the lake rose by 1 m. According to scientists, this was the strongest blow to the natural system of Baikal. The retaining dam of the Irkutsk hydroelectric power station contributed to an even greater rise in the water level. As a result, more than 500 km 2 of land was flooded. But the most detrimental effect on the ecosystem of the lake basin has fluctuations in water levels. Spawning grounds for fish and nesting birds are being destroyed.

A unique animal lives on the lake, called the Baikal seal. Her cub - white pup - is the embodiment of gullibility, vulnerability and insecurity. His poaching, and there was no other, fishing is incredibly cruel. A small and completely white creature with trusting black eyes was killed with a blow to the head with a pickaxe. They didn’t even spend cartridges on the pup. The fur of the seal, because of its color, was very much appreciated, and the extraction was not difficult. The cub couldn't run away. He lay, crying plaintively, and waited for his blow to the head. Isn't it reminiscent of Baikal and what people do with it? The lake cannot answer, but lies so clean and defenseless before the "king of nature" and is waiting for a blow.

The ecological problems of Lake Baikal are a litmus test by which it is easy to determine the relationship of man to nature. Scientific and technological progress brings us new discoveries and opportunities every day. The much-needed paper, which the plant produced by destroying the forest and the lake, was replaced by electronic systems. Trees, with a great desire, can be grown, but will it be possible to at least restore the unique flora and fauna of Baikal, the purity of its water and the bizarre landscapes of its ice?

Video - Baikal without borders

There are not many places in the world where people can build an industrial plant, thereby condemning hundreds of varieties of plants and animals to death. One of such places is the Siberian Lake Baikal.

A 1995 report by the Institute of Biology at Irkutsk State University concluded that the unique ecosystem in the southern part of the lake is likely to be destroyed by human activity by 2010. The report says that if the flows of pollution entering the lake from industrial, agricultural and municipal human activities are not radically reduced, then about a thousand endemic - i.e. not existing anywhere else - varieties of plants and animals will perish.

These and similar results prompted UNESCO in 1996 to include Lake Baikal in the "List of World Heritage". But this event, which recognizes the preservation of the lake in its natural state as one of the priority tasks of mankind, did not affect the opinion of Russian industrial lobbyists. And Russian President Boris Yeltsin was not impressed, who in July 1997 vetoed the law "On the protection of Lake Baikal", drawn up in accordance with the recommendations of UNESCO and received almost unanimous approval from the Russian parliament. As a result, the lake's advocates are now leading a new campaign to include Baikal on the UNESCO World Heritage in Danger list.

Lake Baikal is the place where the vocabulary of superlatives is exhausted. Part of the system of cracks that form the basin of the lake, which, according to some geologists, is the nascent ocean, appeared 25 million years ago. This is the oldest lake in the world and the deepest - its depth reaches 1637 meters. Baikal contains 23,000 cubic kilometers of water, which is 22.5% of all fresh water on the Earth's surface.

A striking feature of the biology of the lake is the endemicity of most plants and animals, reaching 80 percent according to some studies. Flora and fauna are quite distinctly divided into two ecosystems: the widespread Eurosiberian system that inhabits the coastline and shallow waters, and the unique Baikal system that lives in open waters. The last community has evolved over many millions of years in unique conditions of exceptionally clear water with a poor but finely balanced set of nutrients.

It is this chemical composition of the aquatic environment, and the organisms that have developed in it, that have made Baikal what it is: Baikal is much more than just a cold lake in the northern hemisphere. While most of Baikal is still amazingly clean by ordinary standards, relatively small chemical changes can affect endemic organisms with the most negative consequences.

Significant impact of people on Baikal began about 45 years ago. At present, the once pure waters of the southern coast of Lake Baikal are unsuitable for the existence of endemic organisms and they are forced to leave them. Not only phytoplankton are affected, but also fish, whose taste buds and therefore behavior have been severely altered by the pollutants. Other victims of anthropogenic changes include the unique Baikal freshwater seal. In May and June 1997, sections of the coastline, like a "battlefield", were littered with the corpses of seals.

The first serious pollution of Lake Baikal began in the mid-1950s due to industrial development and population growth in cities and towns on the Selenga, the largest river flowing into the lake. Later, in the mid-1960s, the construction of a hydroelectric dam on the Angara River, which flows out of Baikal, led to a rise in the lake's water level, flooding of the shoreline and increased pollution. In the following decades, logging also played a negative role.

The most significant impact, however, was the Baikal Pulp and Paper Mill (BPPM), built in 1966 near the city of Baikalsk on the southern shore of the lake. BPPM, which employs about 3,300 people, produces pulp for the production of tires, paper and cardboard. In recent years, up to 80 percent of its products were exported.

The production of pulp and paper was perhaps the worst choice for placement on the shores of Lake Baikal. The plant's discharge, more than 200,000 cubic meters of sewage per day, is equivalent to that from a city of half a million people. BPPM uses an outdated process that uses chlorine to bleach pulp. The waste from this process contains organochlorides, substances that do not occur naturally, many of which are extremely dangerous. Among them, the most dangerous are dioxins, which are durable chemical compounds that, even in very small quantities, suppress the immune and reproductive systems of living organisms. Wastewater from BPPM also includes lignin, phenols, sulfates, nitrates and mercury.

From the very beginning, the sewage treatment plants were not able to cope with waste treatment. According to the Committee for Nature Protection of the Irkutsk Region, the plant's discharges in 1996 exceeded the permissible limits for 12 out of 19 indices - in the case of organochlorides by 84000 times, in the case of organic sulfur compounds by 1300 times. An additional problem was the poisoning of Lake Baikal through a huge lens of polluted groundwater.

In the early 1960s, Soviet biologists were outraged by plans to build a plant. In the 1970s, the threat to Lake Baikal gave a strong impetus to the growth of the environmental movement in the country. In 1987, pressure from environmentalists forced the Soviet government to make the decision to convert the plant to produce harmless products over the next five years.

However, nothing was done. In 1992, the government of the Russian Federation confirmed the decision to convert the plant. But in December 1992 BPPM was privatized. With 51 percent of the shares nominally in the hands of the workers, the mill was now run by managers. Under such conditions, it has become much more difficult to change the type of product or production process.

By this time, after more than 25 years of operation, much of the plant's equipment was morally and physically obsolete. Unwilling to repurpose the plant, which could have unpredictable economic consequences for them, and lacking sufficient capital to modernize, the managers opted for a third path: to continue operating as before under the protection of their supporters in the state bureaucracy. In the meantime, emergency discharges of sewage due to worn-out equipment have become more and more frequent.

This time, BPPM grossly violated even the Russian legislation on environmental protection. The plant's managers, however, after working with the Irkutsk regional administration, were able to convince the "reconciliation committee" to minimize fines. A more serious threat to the management of the plant appeared at the end of 1995, when the government commission on Baikal was supposed to discuss the future of the plant.

The mill's directors weathered the storm with the help of the United Nations Industrial Development Commission (UNIDO). Composed almost entirely of representatives of the logging and pulping industries, the UNIDO commission stated in its final report: "Due to the fact that at present no harm has been done to Baikal by the Baikal Combine, we recommend modernization ...".

The directors of the plant, however, could not prevent UNESCO from adding Baikal to the "World Heritage List" in 1996. At the same time, the UNESCO agency submitted six recommendations to the Russian government, which the Russian authorities agreed to implement. These measures included the adoption of the law on Lake Baikal, the conversion of the BPPM, the cessation of logging near Lake Baikal, and improved control.

The Law on Baikal was adopted by the lower house of the Russian Parliament by 393 votes against 1 in June 1997. Soon it was approved by the upper house of parliament. The law created a new basis for Russian environmental legislation by introducing the principle of ecological zones; in the central zone, all environmentally hazardous activities were to be banned. President Yeltsin vetoed the law on July 21, saying it was in conflict with existing legislation. Roman Pukalov, Greenpeace Russia's Baikal Campaign Coordinator, told reporters: "In our opinion, the same industrial lobbies that have hindered the drafting of this law for years are responsible for the presidential veto." The law was revised and the new version passed its first reading in Parliament in November 1998.

In other areas where UNESCO called for change, progress was either poor or the situation continued to deteriorate. Real funding for nature reserves and national parks near the lake has declined by about 50 percent in recent years. The BPPM continues to operate, and the number of accidents has increased.

Active logging on the northern and eastern shores of Lake Baikal continues, and the amount of pollution entering the lake along the Selenga River has increased. According to the Russian branch of Greenpeace, the control system used in Lake Baikal by the Russian Committee of Hydrometeorology is "virtually destroyed due to insufficient funding."

Although data on pollution control have become scarcer, it is clear that the situation of endemic Baikal organisms is deteriorating. Hazardous pollutants have already reached high concentrations in animals near the top of the food chain. According to the Russian branch of Greenpeace: "One of the most disturbing factors, which shows that the lake's ecosystem is close to disaster, is the discovery of high concentrations of organochlorides in the bodies of Baikal seals." The level of dioxins in the tissues of the Baikal seal is now the same as in the tissues of the seals of the extremely polluted Baltic Sea. Although the immediate cause of the mass death of seals in 1997 was a viral infection, Roman Pukalov believes that the main reason was probably damage to the immune system of seals by pollutants.

Over the past months, Russian environmentalists have focused their efforts on getting Baikal listed as a UNESCO World Heritage in Danger. With the help of the Russian State Committee for Environmental Protection, Viktor Danilov-Danilyan from the Committee for the Protection of Nature of the Irkutsk Region filed a lawsuit against BPPM in the arbitration court. This lawsuit is based on legislation under which polluters can be forced to pay for the damage they cause to the environment. A hearing in the case was scheduled for April.

The amount of damage from the work of the BPPM over the past four years was estimated at 3.5 billion US dollars. A win in environmental court would be tantamount to bankruptcy for the plant. As a bankrupt enterprise, the plant would again be under state control, and its re-profiling would be much easier.

With the campaign to put Lake Baikal on UNESCO's "World Heritage in Danger" list, environmentalists are seeking to increase international pressure on Russian authorities. The World Heritage Committee discussed the issue of adding Baikal to this list at a session in Japan in early December. Due in large part to the fact that the Baikal law was in the Russian Parliament, the Committee agreed to defer a decision until the following June.

Even if the World Heritage Committee recognizes that Baikal is under threat, there are no guarantees that the Russian authorities will try to convert the BPPM to produce environmentally friendly products. Environmental concerns have never weighed down the minds of Russian bureaucrats, and BPPM managers have the backing of what Russia's Greenpeace calls the "fancy quadrangle of love" consisting of the Irkutsk regional administration, the State Forest Service, various federal agencies, and representatives of academic science.

The victory over this opposition would be much easier if the defenders of Baikal could find a source of funds needed to re-profile and save thousands of jobs. Waiting for funding from the Russian government is almost certainly pointless. This means that if Western governments take environmental protection and World Heritage seriously, they have an obligation to find directed loans.

Note: This text is available for unlimited reproduction. Please refer to Green Left Weekly, Australia.

The killing of Lake Baikal
Renfrey Clarke

"Baikal is a miracle of nature" - Baikal was included in the UNESCO Natural Heritage List. Angara. Nature of Baikal. Baikal water. Epishura crustacean. Enjoy the pristine nature. Baikal seal. Fishing. Baikal. Opportunity to watch wild animals. Explore Lake Baikal. Waves and wind. Origin of name. What is Baikal.

"Baikal" - Pollution of Lake Baikal with air emissions. Pollution of Lake Baikal by domestic settlements of the coastal zone. Baikal needs special care. Major environmental issues. Baikal contains 20% of the world's surface fresh water reserves. Baikal is located in Eastern Siberia and is rightfully considered one of the wonders of nature.

"Sagan-Zaba" - Sagan-Zaba cliff - one of the most beautiful places on the planet. Cliff "Sagan-Zaba". The drawings in the lower part have been smoothed over by waves, other compositions have been destroyed by vandals. In the summer, in the rays of the rising sun, Sagan-3aba is especially beautiful. The drawings are world famous. The figures are made with dotted stuffing, scratched on the stone or painted with paint - ocher.

"Nature of Baikal" - Uniques and problems. Plan for studying the topic. Baikal in the works of poets and artists. Lesson goals. Stage 1. Baikal - "A miracle of nature in every respect" L.S. Berg. Geology and relief. "Baikal is a priceless gift of nature - may it be eternal on Earth." Sinkwain - Lake Baikal. Climate. Baikal Animal and plant world.

"Geography of Lake Baikal" - Spring on the coast of Lake Baikal. Baikal is the pearl of Siberia. Golomyanka is a viviparous fish. Topic: "Baikal - the pearl of Siberia." Barguzinsky Reserve. Wind Sarma. Geography Biology. Cultivate respect for natural resources. Introductory speech of the teacher of geography. subject areas. Barguzinsky sable.

"Lake Baikal" - Every year, the Baikal ecosystem reproduces about 60 cubic kilometers of clear, oxygenated water. Lesson - geography. The climate of Baikal. The only river flowing from Baikal is the Angara. "Animal world of Baikal". Wind intensification to a maximum is observed during the first hour. Izubr. The age of the lake is usually given in the literature as 20-25 million years.

There are 15 presentations in total in the topic

- the oldest freshwater reservoir on our planet. According to rough estimates by geologists, the history of the lake is more than 30 million years old. Despite such an impressive age, the reservoir itself is unusually clean and transparent. However, due to the nature of modern production processes, the waters of the lake and its coastal areas are under the threat of an ecological disaster. The state of the Baikal ecology is described below.

Ecological situation on Lake Baikal

The ecology of Baikal is characterized by the presence of a unique ecosystem. If you look at the reservoir from top to bottom, then at a depth of 50 meters the bottom will be clearly visible. The water is so clear that even in winter you can see the stones lying on the bottom of the lake through the ice. In the midst of winter, the thickness of the ice can exceed one meter, but due to its transparency it is scary to walk on it, as the ice seems very thin. With warming, the ice begins to melt and break noisily. Large and small pieces of ice are pushed towards the coastal zone.

An interesting fact: during the Russo-Japanese War (early 1900s), the Russian army laid a temporary railway track on the ice of Lake Baikal, along which 65 trains successfully passed.

The water of Lake Baikal has gained wide popularity not only due to its purity, but also due to oxygen oversaturation over the entire area of ​​the water surface. The high oxygen content makes possible the existence of diverse forms of underwater life.

Ecological problems of Baikal

In order to understand what the pollution of Lake Baikal is connected with, it is necessary to trace the increase in human impact on the Baikal territory, which led to negative consequences for the local ecosystem. The ecological situation on Lake Baikal is influenced by various sources of pollution, among which the industrial enterprise of the Baikal Pulp and Paper Mill is considered to be the most significant.

At the end of 2013, at the request of the government, the plant officially stopped its work. However, by that time, the enterprise had managed to dump 40 million tons of hazardous chemical waste into the waters of Lake Baikal. As a result of a general inspection by Rosprirodnadzor at the end of 2007, it was found that the concentration of runoff pollutants exceeded the norms by 12 times.

Although this major source of lake pollution has already been eliminated by now, devastating consequences for the ecology of Lake Baikal are, unfortunately, inevitable.

Another leader in pollution of the lake is the seemingly harmless Selenga River - the largest source of replenishment of Baikal's water reserves. A large number of tourist and industrial vessels go along the river, which pollute the running water that enters the lake. Effluent from Russian and Mongolian industrial enterprises in large volumes enters the riverbed, which in turn carries all the garbage into the lake. A lot of oil products will get into the Selenga River, the harm of which to the Baikal environment is undeniable.

Criminal encroachments on the ecological safety of the environment were recorded during the illegal felling of trees and shrubs; illegal hunting and fishing; clogging of waters and violation of the basic rules for combating diseases of agricultural crops, etc.

Baikal is located in a seismically hazardous zone. This situation is exacerbated by deforestation.

One cannot ignore such a problem as poaching on Baikal. More than half of all Baikal fish species are subject to illegal hunting. Endangered is the Baikal endemic omul, which poachers, despite the prohibition of the federal authorities, catch tens of tons. Fortunately, law enforcement officers are successfully fighting against malicious violators.

Since the mid-1950s, Baikal has been used in hydropower as one of the components of the reservoir. As a result, the water level in the lake rose and the coastal forests were flooded, rocks were destroyed and the coastal zone retreated hundreds of meters from its natural location.

The above environmental problems are only a part of the factors that are associated with the deterioration of the Baikal ecology. Recently, many parts of the lake have become especially carefully protected by the relevant organizations. For example, on the part where the infamous pulp and paper mill used to be located, now there is an exhibition expo center "Reserves of Russia".

The current state of Lake Baikal

The tourism industry has undoubtedly made an invaluable contribution to the development of the economy. But unfortunately, the reverse side of the coin is the pollution of the coastal zones of the lake by visiting tourists. Many recreation centers operate illegally and, accordingly, do not have a license to carry out certain works, for example, to abstract groundwater or discharge sewage. All of the above actions cause huge damage to water and land resources.

Only a small proportion of industrial and domestic waste is recyclable. Due to the use of low-quality cleaning filters, many chemical elements of an increased level of danger (nitrogen and phosphorus compounds) enter the waters of Lake Baikal.

In the early 2000s, the construction of the Eastern Siberia - Pacific Ocean oil pipeline began, a significant part of which was supposed to pass through the territory of Lake Baikal. If the project had been carried out according to the original plan, this would have meant an imminent ecological catastrophe on Baikal, since the pipeline had to pass very close to the coastal zone. After rallies and protests, it was decided to redevelop the location of the oil pipeline. As a result, the oil pipeline runs at a distance of 350-400 km from the shores of the lake.

The result of anthropogenic activity was the eutrophication of the lake. In practice, this means that the ecology of Lake Baikal has become vulnerable to the invasion of microalgae, which unnaturally increased the productivity of biomass in the lake. Definitely, this has negative consequences for the flora and fauna of Baikal, as the main endemic species of the animal and plant world are being suppressed. The consequence of eutrophication is also the growth of plant species unusual for the lake and a strong decrease in water quality and its basic natural properties.

Ecology of Baikal: hope for salvation

Today, not indifferent citizens of our country create new and continue their activities old public organizations, the main goal of which is to protect the ecology of Lake Baikal. Some of the most famous conservation communities are:

• Foundation for Assistance to the Preservation of Lake Baikal;
• Irkutsk public organization "Baikal Ecological Wave";
• the largest international organization "World Wildlife Fund";
• non-governmental society "Greenpeace Russia";
• Association "Let's Defend Baikal Together"

A significant problem of these organizations is insufficient funding and, as a result, the availability of minimal funds to restore the damage to which the Baikal ecology is exposed.

The life and death of all water bodies depends on natural cycles and on human activity, which is not only creative, but unfortunately, especially in recent years, destructive. Despite the rather sad statistics, there are undoubtedly certain successes in the struggle for pure nature, which inspires hope for a meaningful and bright future for the invaluable heritage of Lake Baikal.