"The Lake Baikal rift system is a modern analogue for formation of ancient Atlantic-type continental margins. It tells us the first chapter in the story of how continents separate and ultimately develop into ocean basins like the Atlantic Ocean."
Dr. Deborah Hutchinson
U.S. Geological Survey
"Lake Baikal is a unique, nearly pristine environment for the study of global change. Nowhere else in the world can we go to study so long a record of such an important, but little known, part of the global climate system."
Dr. Steve Colman
U.S. Geological Survey
THE MASS MEDIA have been reported that the unique ecosystem of Lake Baikal is under threat of destruction. The demands from scientists, ecological experts and environmental activists for the closure of production at the Baikal Pulp and Paper Mill, the main culprit for the pollution of the lake, have been ignored by the Russian authorities.
On the 26th October 2010, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin signed the order for the Baikal Pulp and Paper Mill to change to a closed-loop water circulation system, to end the pollution of Lake Baikal. This was tried before in September 2008, but the production of unbleached cellulose was stopped the next month and the mill closed as the system made production unprofitable.
The Baikal Pulp and Paper Mill, until the Autumn of 2008, was the main producer of pollution in the lake. The annual amounts of pollutants in the form of sewage were nearly 100,000 cubic metres. The volume of the annual emissions of atmospheric pollutants exceeded 30,000 tons. Production wastes contained significant concentrations of chlorines, phosphates, sulphates, nitrates, sulphur substances, phenols, heavy metals and other toxic substances.
The Baikal Pulp and Paper Mill was founded in 1966. From the start, the operation has changed its orientation from its strategic purpose to full industrialisation. The actions of the authorities led some to regard the factory and its purpose with irony and occasionally sarcasm.
Prime Minister Putin visited the mill in the summer of 2009. He has not said anything certain about the future of the mill, but has admitted the possibility of re-opening the plant. This will undoubtedly have a negative effect on the flora and fauna of the Baikal region.
There have been numerous protests by the inhabitants of the region demanding the closure of factories harmful to the environment. Approximately 2,000 people from the city of Baikalsk (population 15,000) work at the pulp and paper mill. As yet, the problem of unemployment has no answer, but the closure of the mill is a necessity understood by everyone. The serious effect on the ecosystem of Lake Baikal and its environs is one of the principle arguments of the opposition to this enterprise.
To draw attention to the serious environmental problems, the all-Russia movement "The Coalition for Baikal" was formed. This has the support of almost fifty non-governmental and ecological associations in Russia. The Coalition gave the Russian government an expert analysis of the projected federal target programme for the protection of the lake and the social and ecomonic development of the region. They specified a number of essential defects which, in the opinion of the ecologists will negate all the positive concepts contained in this very important document.
The proprietors of the Baikal Pulp and Paper Mill are the Federal Agency for State Property Management (Rosimushchestvo), 49%; and holding 51% is Oleg Deripaska. The media were informed at the beginning of 2010 that Mr Deripaska had offered to transfer 25.2% of his share holdings to the administration of the city of Baikalsk.
Lake Baikal is in the southern part of Eastern Siberia. It is the largest and deepest fresh water lake on the planet with a unique flora and fauna.
The network mass-media have reported that, on the 17th June 2010, Judge Vladimir Zajtsev of the Russian Supreme Court, after a few minutes deliberation, passed the governmental order of Russia of 13th January 2010. According to this document the Baikal Pulp and Paper Mill can dump industrial waste into Lake Bailkal. It is business as usual and confirms that the fate of the mill was decided in advance between Mr. Putin and Mr. Deripaska. But the case of the mill is not closed. The Russian Federal Antimonopoly Service was satisfied by the petition of the Cypriot company "Galibi Limited" for the purchase of 49.9% of the holdings of the Baikal Pulp and Paper Mill.
