Ecological problems of Lake Baikal. The impact of tourism on the ecology of Lake Baikal

Baikal is one of the most attractive places for tourism in Russia. However, a traveler going to this largest freshwater lake on the planet must remember that it is fraught with a lot of dangers both in summer and winter.

Water

Today, environmentalists paint a bleak picture of the not-so-distant future of Baikal, namely, they believe that the lake may soon turn into a swamp. And there really is a reason for such a forecast. Every year, an increasingly large area of ​​the lake is covered with spirogyra, an algae characteristic of standing warm reservoirs. The situation on the coast in the Severobaikalsk region is of particular concern - about 1,400 tons of deposits of these algae have accumulated there. The growth of Spirogyra is facilitated by household wastewater, which treatment facilities can no longer handle.

The overgrowth of Baikal with algae threatens many negative consequences. One of them is the danger of drinking unboiled Baikal water. Alas, as environmentalists state, the once crystal clear water is no longer worth drinking without some purification if you take it from the shore. Doctor of Chemical Sciences Vadim Annenkov notes that some bacteria that have settled in the lake produce toxins, although you can be poisoned not only by some kind of nerve agent, but you can simply contract dysentery.

In addition, irreparable damage to Baikal water is caused by increasing shipping traffic every year. The press service of the Buryatia Prosecutor's Office emphasizes that none of the 30 Baikal mooring facilities, including ports, are equipped with waste collection points. As a result, more than 400 tons of oil-containing dirty water drains directly into the lake. This threatens with inevitable environmental consequences, in particular, for Baikal endemics.

Pollution of the lake affects, first of all, its inhabitants, in whose bodies harmful substances are deposited. Thus, in 2000, the poison dioxin was discovered in the tissues of two main representatives of the Baikal fauna - omul and seal. This poison, which accumulates in the bodies of fish, enters animals and humans through the food chain.

Ice

Every year in March, thousands of lovers of ice walks come to Baikal - on foot, on skates, skis, bicycles and various types motor transport. And some of them take this view lightly active rest. Numerous car tracks crisscrossing the transparent Baikal ice create the illusion of safety. However, one should not delude oneself, warn the Ministry of Emergency Situations. The treacherous March ice can present an unpleasant surprise at any moment.

According to official data from the Baikal search and rescue team of the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations, over the past ten years, 63 people have died on the frozen lake (half of them remained lying at the bottom), and 203 people were on the verge of death, and only timely help saved them from the tragic fate. Figures show that people die more often on the ice of Lake Baikal than when climbing the highest peak on the planet, Everest.

March ice on Lake Baikal is, of course, much more dangerous than December ice. Old ice, under the influence of the sun's heat, begins to crystallize and crack, and the water on top of it, which could reveal its melting, usually goes into cracks. Moving on such ice, even if it is still quite thick, is an extremely risky undertaking even for pedestrians.

Flame

Recently, forest fires have become noticeably more frequent in the area around Lake Baikal. In 2015, because of them, several of the most popular places to visit had to be closed during the peak tourist season. According to media reports, more than 1,200 fires were registered that year. The fire came so close to Sandy Bay that several dozen tourists were evacuated from the area.

The smoke from this fire was so strong that it crossed Lake Baikal at its widest point and covered Olkhon Island. The Chairman of the Baikal Center for Ecology and Ethnography “Real Siberia” Dmitry Govorukhin even addressed the President of the Russian Federation, saying that 10 thousand local residents and more than 30 thousand tourists are suffocating from the smoke.

In the summer of 2015, the area of ​​forest fires was also record-breaking. If on the side of the Irkutsk region forests burned over an area of ​​more than 40 thousand hectares, then on the side of the Republic of Buryatia the situation was even worse - 75 thousand hectares of taiga were burning. It was real ecological catastrophy, accompanied by the migration of wild animals, which, fleeing fires, came out to people.

Experts say dry thunderstorms are the main reason for the increasing frequency of forest fires around Lake Baikal. high temperature air and human factor. It turns out that people not only carelessly make and poorly extinguish fires, but also set off Chinese lanterns in the forest.

Another factor favoring the spread of fires was the gradual decrease in the water level in the lake. This was caused, first of all, by the damming of the Irkutsk hydroelectric power station of the Angara River, which feeds Lake Baikal.
Scientists predict that the day is not far off when the water level in Lake Baikal may drop 13-16 cm below the limit. And as a result, wells in villages will become shallow, and this, in the event of a fire, will limit the ability to refuel fire engines with water and, accordingly, extinguish fires.

Wind

The huge area of ​​Lake Baikal has a significant influence on the climate of the windward slopes of the eastern ridges of the Baikal region, thanks to which precipitation falls there. great amount precipitation. First of all, this applies to the Khamar-Daban ridge, in the central part of which the amount of precipitation reaches a record value for the entire country - 1,443 mm per year, and the thickness of the snow cover is 2-3 times higher than the average values ​​in other areas and sometimes exceeds three meters.

A slow increase in air temperature in spring leads to long-term “preservation” of snow and creates an increased threat of avalanches over a long period of time. For example, on May 3, 1985, a great tragedy occurred on Lake Baikal - 17 students of the Irkutsk Pedagogical Institute were killed in an avalanche on the slope of Babkha Peak. However, desperate tourists still continue to conquer the Baikal peaks.

Rescuers also draw the attention of travelers to this climatic features region, as the cyclicality of winds, as a result of which there is a sharp change in the situation even in summer, especially after hot days. At the end of June 1971, on the Devil's Gate pass (1700 m), tourists were overtaken by a real snowstorm - the height of the snow cover reached the level of the knees of an adult. In July of the same year, as a result of a sharp cold snap and snow storm, which replaced the fine days, part of the Angarsk group of climbers, who were climbing the peak named after the Siberian Branch of the Academy of Sciences, died.

Experts strongly do not recommend high-altitude trekking at the end of August, when snow begins to fall in the alpine zone. During this period, storms with significant wind strength sometimes last for several days. You need to be extremely vigilant during ski trips in winter: the health and life of a tourist can be threatened not only by widespread wet ice, but also by large polynyas and treacherous gullies covered from above by snow bridges.

Forest

The Baikal taiga is fraught with the same dangers as other Siberian forests. Potentially aggressive animals include bear, wolf, and wild boar. However, subject to certain rules behavior, the risk of encountering them is small. Much more problems Vacationers are plagued by ticks and especially midges. Clouds of blood-sucking creatures live in the swampy eastern and northeastern Baikal territories. Without mosquito net you can't survive there.

Another “surprise” of the Baikal forests is prepared for lovers of hiking routes. We are talking about dwarf cedar - a half-tree, half-shrub, climbing to heights of up to 1700 meters and descending all the way to the lake. Its thickets cover extended areas like a fur coat, making it difficult for people to move. Elf branches can reach 6 meters in height and 25 centimeters in thickness. Intertwined with neighboring plants, they create almost impenetrable thickets.

“In the Kunerma valley, not yet leaving the forest zone, we encountered thickets of elfin wood two to three meters high,” wrote geographer S. G. Sargsyan in the book “Baikal”. “The branches of this tree were so closely intertwined that it was simply impossible to walk on the ground - we had to move by climbing the branches-trunks on all four limbs. Such climbing with a backpack turned out to be so slow and tiring that we crossed a significant part of the Kunerma valley directly along the river bed, often knee-deep in cold water - this turned out to be both faster and easier.”

Let us add that dwarf cedar is highly flammable and burns out quickly. This applies not only to dry, but also to young plants. Thus, a tourist stuck in difficult-to-pass dwarf elfin thickets finds himself in a death trap during a fire.

The environmental problems of Lake Baikal were fully formulated back in 1998 at a meeting of the scientific council on biosphere problems at the Presidium of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Scientists at that time provided an exhaustive list of not only sources and types of pollution, but also proposed 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 is crescent-shaped and stretches for 690 km and is up to 79 km wide. The bottom of Bakal is 1167 m below the level of the World Ocean, and the surface is 455 m higher in terms of water surface area, 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 km 3. The exact number of its tributaries is unknown. In the 19th century there were 336 of them. The largest 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 debate. 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 classifies it as an Ice Age lake. If this is so, then such a long period of existence of such water body is unique, and its ecosystem requires increased attention and caution. However, there is a theory that Bakal is much younger and is no more than 150 thousand years old. The only thing that is absolutely certain is that changes in the lake are still ongoing. Very high seismicity in the area where it is located. 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 the bottom sediments of Baikal suggests that in its place there were mountains more than 7 thousand meters high.

Its basin has special climatic conditions. Winters are mild, summers are cool, and autumns are long. There are as many sunny days 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 among the people proper names– 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 the Barguts, Buryats and others. In the 17th – 18th centuries, the first Russian settlers appeared here, who called it Lamu or the sea in Evenk. 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. There is very little in it minerals and organic impurities and a lot of oxygen. The temperature is quite cold and generally does not exceed +10 0 C. At depth it is even lower. The temperature can reach its maximum in the bays. The recorded record is +23 0 C. The transparency of the water in the lake is also unique. Visibility can be up to 40 m deep.

In winter, the waters of Lake Baikal turn into an ice sheet up to 2 meters thick. Only doesn't freeze small area water mirror in the area of ​​the source of the Angara River. Under influence low temperatures the ice is cracking. The length of such cracks can reach tens of kilometers and a width of up to 3 m. These cracks are formed, as a rule, in the same places. This natural phenomenon allows the water to be enriched with oxygen, which is beneficial for the existence of all organisms living in the water. In addition, Baikal ice is so transparent that Sun rays they easily penetrate through it and supply algae with sufficient energy for them to continue the process of photosynthesis.

This quality of water in liquid and solid states was made possible thanks to a unique microscopic crustacean - epishur, found only on 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 almost 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 species of living organisms not found anywhere else.

In total, Baikal is home to about 2,600 species of animals, half of which are exclusively “Baikal”. This species diversity developed due to the high oxygen content in the water.

Of exceptional interest is the viviparous fish golomyanka, consisting of 30% fat. In addition to it, Baikal is home to omul, grayling, whitefish, sturgeon, burbot, pike, taimen and other types of fish.

In the depths of the lake live freshwater sponges, also one of the “miracles” of the lake.

Problems and their sources

After the Presidium of the Russian Academy of Sciences drew attention to ecological problems Lake Baikal, in 1999 a special the federal law“On the protection of Lake Baikal.” He established a special regime economic activity and introduced some restrictions.

The unique nature of Lake Baikal has not been studied enough to responsibly state what exactly can cause the greatest damage to it. But there are three main, absolutely precisely 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 environmental problems of Lake Baikal. For example: poaching, illegal logging, discharge of untreated wastewater from enterprises, settlements and water transport, household waste, as well as unorganized tourism. The maximum permissible 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 been in existence since 1966. It is a complex source of pollution environment. Its emissions of dust and exhaust gases led to the drying out of the forest. For a long time the plant used lake water for its technological needs, and discharged the wastewater back into Baikal. Bottom sediments suffered significantly from this, which did not fail to tell on the animal and flora nearby places. The plant stores products and materials, and also disposes of waste directly on the shores. The main struggle was with sewage and this part production activities was not under control and therefore led to the fact that substances contained in raw materials and production waste began to leak into the water. The plant was stopped and allowed to operate again, all restrictions being lifted. Closed system water circulation system, put into operation in 2008, was supposed to eliminate problems with toxic substances getting into the lake. But the measurements carried out showed that the concentration of dioxins in the water in the area where the plant operated was 40-50 times higher. In 2013, the BPPM was stopped by the Government of the Russian Federation. Its closure was announced. Stopped does not mean liquidated. Now nature has outweighed economic benefits. But will it continue to be like this?

River

The largest tributary of the lake is the Selenga River. An influx, that is, with the waters of the river, everything that entered the river upstream flows or enters Baikal. The Selenga brings 30 km 3 of water per year, into which cities such as Ulaanbaatar and Ulan-Ude discharge sewage and waste. Pollutants from gold and other mineral extraction enterprises, industrial and construction companies, leather processing factories and steel mills in Mongolia and the Republic of Buryatia in Russia.

Settlements located along the banks of Baikal tributaries, for the most part, do not have sewer system, and all waste ends up in rivers without any treatment. And where housing and communal services enterprises have treatment facilities, they have long been inadequate and unable to cope with their functions. Not only household and industrial waste, but also petroleum products and pesticides, mineral fertilizers and other substances used in agriculture.

Hydraulic structures

The environmental problems of 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 most swipe according to the natural system of Lake Baikal. The retaining dam of the Irkutsk hydroelectric station contributed to an even greater rise in water levels. As a result, more than 500 km 2 of land were flooded. But the most destructive impact on the ecosystem of the lake basin is due to fluctuations in water levels. Fish spawning and bird nesting sites are being destroyed.

A unique animal called the Baikal seal lives on the lake. Her cub, the Belek, is the embodiment of gullibility, vulnerability and insecurity. His poaching industry, and there was no other way, 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 any ammunition on the squirrel. White squirrel fur, because of its color, was highly valued, and prey was not difficult. The cub could not escape. He lay there, screaming pitifully, and waited for his blow to the head. Doesn't this remind you of Baikal and what people do with it? The lake cannot answer, but lies so clean and defenseless in front of the “king of nature” and waits for a blow.

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

Video - Baikal without borders

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

What's happening to Baikal?

The lake consists of two parts: the “core” and the coast. Inner part inhabited by Baikal flora, the coast - Siberian flora, what can be found in rivers. Further coastal zone it doesn't fit. Biologists are primarily concerned about the “core.”

Baikal still remains a very clean lake, says Mikhail Kolobov. However, the impression of general condition Experts remain ambiguous about the reservoir - processes occur in it that did not exist before. Scientists have yet to find out what this depends on.

The danger is that when environmental conditions change, the central endemic part becomes capricious, says the candidate of science. - If they (endemics - editor's note) die, there is nowhere for new ones to come from. As a result, the site is quickly occupied by other, non-endemic species. Ultimately, this could lead to Baikal and its internal flora and fauna dying, that is, ceasing to exist in such large numbers as they do now.

Is spirogyra dangerous?

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

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

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, there is no need to fight this algae. Attention should be paid to the creation of treatment stations, teaching tourists and local residents to use phosphate-free products.

What's "new" in the lake?

On east coast 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 carried into the lake and mixed with water; they are present in fairly high concentrations, even exceeding the maximum permissible limits, which is sad. And the current carries it to the Angara,” the specialist notes.

An increased concentration of ammonium was detected in the area of ​​the Ushkany Islands. The attention of scientists was also attracted by the increase in the content of silicates in water - sand and silicic acids. In the area of ​​the Barguzin Bay, increased concentrations of potassium and ammonia were found, not critical, in some places they do not exceed the maximum permissible concentration, but they are higher than the background values ​​for the rest of Lake Baikal. In some places, a change in background radiation has been noted, although the radiation level is still tens of times lower than normal.

What is the maximum permissible concentration level and why is exceeding it dangerous?

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

There are maximum permissible concentrations for fishery reservoirs. These are the most sensitive standards; here the concentration of substances should be 10 times less than in water used for drinking. The maximum permissible concentration is calculated from the relationships that influence the weakest link of the ecosystem: phytoplankton, the smallest algae, zooplankton, says Mikhail Kolobov.

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

If the upper link of the ecosystem - phytoplankton, zooplankton - collapses in Baikal, this will become a point for further collapse of the ecosystem. There are endemic species in the lake that will never recover. For example, Baikal epishura - the basis of nutrition for fish fry, makes up up to 90% of all zooplankton.

Who is to blame for everything?

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

Maybe the pollution didn’t come from there, but something is affecting us here,” he argues. - The presence of ammonia is an indicator that fresh rotting processes are occurring somewhere. Or, for example, potassium in the water indicates that timber harvesting or woodworking has intensified in the immediate vicinity of the lake. Exceeding the level of heavy metals in the Selenga delta region may indicate the extraction of metal ores.

Where did the radiation come from? They dug up something somewhere. Substances contained in ores and soil got into the water. It's all washed away. You can see across Lake Baikal where they “stirred things up”. We looked at the concentration of silicates in water. In Baikal there were initially a lot of them, but in comparison with the background values, an excess was revealed. A sign that active excavation work is taking place near the lake.

What happened to the omul?

Experts name many reasons that could influence the decline in the omul population in Lake Baikal. The main version is considered to be excessive uncontrolled fishing that 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:

Link the decline in the omul population with exceeding the indicators for heavy metals I don't want to, one can only assume. There are normal natural cycles, population decline or increase. There are always races. They can last for a year or two, or for decades and even centuries.

If you fantasize, you can talk 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 have happened both due to emissions and tectonic shifts - there was a release of chemicals. Finally, it could be overfishing, and it was.

Why are seals dying?

Similar natural processes could have caused the mass death of seals. In particular, infections that could spread due to too large a population. The infection can be either human-introduced or internal, says Mikhail Kolobov.

There is such a thing when too many animals are born into a population, they, firstly, begin to compete with each other, he says. - But this hardly happens with seals - the density is not so high. Secondly, there is a risk of internal epizootics (widespread infectious disease among animals. - Ed.). The higher the density, the higher the incidence.

What's happening near the BPPM?

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

The sludge storage tanks of the BPPM are overflowing, and people are threatened by chemical flows. - It has not been reclaimed, it has not undergone conservation hazardous substances. There was no closure project. Even while the plant was operating, pollution seeped underground and accumulated. Previously, there were constantly working wells that pumped out this pollution, and it was sent to treatment plants.

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

Who is responsible for the cleanliness of the lake?

The main drivers for studying the problems of Lake Baikal remain public initiatives and scientific and educational projects. It was with their help that work began for several years on the shortcomings in organizing the protection of the lake, says Elena Tvorogova, president of the youth charitable foundation “Revival of the Siberian Land”.

Baikal is a worldwide, 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 were working in shallow waters, and it was there that the problem of eutrophication and the growth of Spirogyra emerged.

When we began to think about what to do with what Baikal washes up on the shore, the question also arose - who is responsible for the cleanliness of the shore? There is no single person responsible. The level of environmental knowledge among people living on Lake Baikal, especially among those who simply arrive, as guests or tourists, is catastrophically low. Who is responsible for making sure people know and understand this? Uniform rules for the behavior of tourists on Lake Baikal have not yet been developed, and during our expedition we constantly come across this.

What to do?

Large amounts 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, to prevent the growth of toxic substances, attention should be paid to industries working with land, soil, and mining.

If this 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.

“Baikal is a miracle of nature” - Baikal was included in the UNESCO Natural Heritage List. Angara. Nature of Baikal. Baikal water. Epishura crustacean. Enjoying 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 by air emissions. Pollution of Baikal by household settlements in the coastal zone. Baikal needs especially careful treatment. Main environmental problems. 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 most beautiful places on the planet. Cliff "Sagan-Zaba". The drawings located in the lower part have been smoothed over by waves; other compositions have been destroyed by vandals. IN summer period, in the rays of the rising sun Sagan-3aba is especially beautiful. The drawings gained worldwide fame. The figures are made with dots, scratched on stone or painted with ocher paint.

“Nature of Baikal” - Uniques and problems. Topic study plan. Baikal in the works of poets and artists. Lesson objectives. Stage 1. Baikal - “A miracle of nature in all respects” L.S. Berg. Geology and relief. “Baikal is a priceless gift of nature - may it be eternal on Earth.” Sinkwine - Lake Baikal. Climate. Baikal Fauna and flora.

“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. Foster a caring attitude towards natural resources. introduction geography teacher. Subject areas. Barguzin sable.

“Lake Baikal” - Every year the Baikal ecosystem reproduces about 60 cubic kilometers of clear, oxygenated water. Lesson - geography. Climate of Baikal. The only river flowing from Baikal is the Angara. " Animal world Baikal". The wind increases to its maximum during the first hour. Red deer Usually in the literature the age of the lake is given as 20-25 million years.

There are 15 presentations in total

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

In the report of the Institute of Biology at Irkutsk State University from 1995 concluded that the unique ecosystem in the southern part of the lake was likely to be destroyed by human activity by 2010. The report says that unless the flow of pollution entering the lake from industrial, agricultural and municipal activities person, then about a thousand endemic - i.e. species of plants and animals that do not exist anywhere else will die.

These and similar results prompted UNESCO to include Lake Baikal in the World Heritage List in 1996. But this event, which recognizes the preservation of the lake in its natural state as one of humanity's priorities, did not influence the opinion of Russian industrial lobbyists. And I wasn't impressed Russian President Boris Yeltsin, who in July 1997 vetoed the law “On the Protection of Lake Baikal,” drawn up in accordance with UNESCO recommendations and received almost unanimous approval from the Russian Parliament. As a result, lake defenders are now waging a new campaign to include Baikal on UNESCO's list of World Heritage in Danger.

Lake Baikal is a place where the vocabulary of superlatives is exhausted. Part of the system of cracks forming the lake basin, which some geologists believe is an incipient ocean, dates back 25 million years. 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 lake’s biology is the endemicity of most of the plants and animals, reaching 80 percent according to some studies. The flora and fauna are quite clearly divided into two ecosystems: the widespread Euro-Siberian system, inhabiting the coastline and shallow waters, and the unique Baikal system, living in open waters. The latter community evolved over many millions of years in the unique conditions of exceptionally clean water with a poor but finely balanced set of nutrients.

This one chemical composition aquatic environment, and the organisms that developed in it, 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 normal standards; relatively small chemical changes can affect endemic organisms with very negative consequences.

Significant human impact on Lake Baikal began approximately 45 years ago. Currently, the once clean waters of the southern shore of Lake Baikal are unsuitable for the existence of endemic organisms and they are forced to leave them. The impact is not only on phytoplankton, but also on fish, whose taste buds and therefore behavior was severely altered by pollutants. Other victims of anthropogenic changes include the unique Baikal freshwater seal. In May and June 1997, sections coastline like a “battlefield” they were strewn with the corpses of seals.

First serious pollution 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 from Lake Baikal, raised the lake's water level, flooding the shoreline and increasing pollution. In subsequent decades, logging also played a negative role.

The most significant impact, however, came from 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 past years, up to 80 percent of its products were exported.

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

From the very beginning, wastewater treatment plants were unable to cope with waste treatment. According to the Committee for Nature Protection of the Irkutsk Region, discharges from the plant in 1996 exceeded permissible limits for 12 of 19 indices - in the case of organochlorides by 84,000 times, in the case of organic compounds sulfur 1300 times. An additional problem was the poisoning of Lake Baikal through a huge lens of contaminated groundwater.

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

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

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 necessary for modernization, managers chose a third option: continue to operate as before, under the protection of their supporters in the state bureaucracy. Meanwhile, emergency wastewater discharges due to worn-out equipment have become more and more frequent.

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

The plant's directors weathered the storm with the help of the United Nations Industrial Development Commission (UNIDO). Composed almost entirely of representatives from the logging and pulping industries, the UNIDO panel stated in its final report: “Because no harm has been caused to Baikal by the Baikal Mill at this time, we recommend modernization...”.

The directors of the plant could not, however, 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 Russian authorities agreed to comply. These measures included the adoption of the Lake Baikal Law, the repurposing of the BPPM, the cessation of logging near Lake Baikal, and improved controls.

The Law on Lake Baikal was adopted by the lower house of the Russian Parliament by a vote of 393 to 1 in June 1997. It was soon 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 prohibited. President Yeltsin vetoed the law on July 21, saying it was in conflict with existing legislation. Roman Pukalov, coordinator of the campaign to protect Baikal Russian branch Greenpeace told reporters: "In our opinion, the same industrial lobbies that for many years obstructed the preparation of this legislation are responsible for the presidential veto." The law has been revised and a new version passed its first reading in parliament in November 1998.

In other areas where UNESCO has called for change, progress has been either meager or the situation has continued to deteriorate. Real funding for nature reserves and national parks near the lake has decreased by last years by approximately 50 percent. The BPPM continues to operate, and the number of accidents at it 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 monitoring system used at Lake Baikal by the Russian Committee of Hydrometeorology "has been virtually destroyed due to insufficient funding."

Although pollution control data has become more sparse, it is clear that the situation of Baikal's endemic organisms is deteriorating. Dangerous 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 alarming 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 cause was probably damage to the seals' immune systems by pollutants.

During last months Russian environmentalists are focusing their efforts on getting Baikal on UNESCO's list of World Heritage in Danger. With the help of the Russian State Committee for Environmental Protection, Viktor Danilov-Danilyan from the Committee for Nature Protection of the Irkutsk Region filed a claim in the arbitration court against BPPM. The lawsuit relies on legislation that could force polluters to pay for 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 victory in court for environmentalists 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 a campaign aimed at adding Lake Baikal to 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 including Lake Baikal on this list at a session in Japan in early December. Largely due to the fact that the Baikal law was pending in the Russian Parliament, the Committee agreed to postpone a decision until the following June.

Even if the World Heritage Committee recognizes that Baikal is under threat, there is no guarantee that the Russian authorities will try to repurpose the BPPM to produce environmentally friendly products. Environmental concerns have never weighed on the minds of Russian bureaucrats, and BPPM managers have the support of what Russian Greenpeace calls a "quadrangle of love" consisting of the Irkutsk regional administration, the State Forestry Service, various federal agencies and representatives of academic science.

Defeating this opposition would be much easier if the defenders of Lake Baikal could find the source of funds necessary to repurpose and save thousands of jobs. Waiting for funding from outside Russian government almost certainly meaningless. This means that if Western governments take environmental protection and World Heritage seriously, they have an obligation to find targeted loans.

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The killing of Lake Baikal
Renfrey Clarke