Lake Baikal, in Siberia, is also suffering the consequences of the war in Ukraine

With the diversion of Russian trade flows from Europe to China, Moscow needs to upgrade the railway lines near Lake Baikal.Thus, it gives the green light to deforestation.The threat of mass tourism also looms over the large lake.

• The State Duma has extended by almost ten years  legislation allowing deforestation around Lake Baikal, Siberia.
• The objective is to expand the Trans-Siberian and Baikal-Amur (Bam) railways, which became even more strategic after the war in Ukraine.
• But the real danger for Baikal is the proposed amendment to the law on the protection of the lake.

In the end the bulldozers are winning.On 23 July 2024, the State Duma, the lower house of the Russian parliament, approved the third and final reading of the bill which extends by almost ten years, until 31 December 2033, the legislation that allows the deforestation around the lake Baikal, LThe enormous lake in southern Siberia contains twenty percent of the planet's unfrozen fresh water reserves.The objective is to clear the forests to expand the railway network and establish new trade routes with the China. 

But if the extension of this regulation, which was supposed to remain in force until December 31, 2024, is undoubtedly harmful to the environment, the real danger for the large Siberian lake is another:that is, the package of amendments to the law "On the protection of Lake Baikal" which, if it were to be definitively approved, would have devastating effects on the entireecosystem. 

The Baikal, sacred lake for indigenous peoples, in danger

Lake Baikal, located in the Siberia southern, north of the Russian border with Mongolia, it is the deepest and oldest lake in the world.With its maximum depth of 1,642 meters and an estimated age of 25 million years, it is a true treasure chest of biodiversity:it is home to more than 1,700 species of plants and animals, many of which are endemic, such as the Baikal seal and the omul fish.

In addition to its ecological importance, the lake has a great spiritual significance for people populations indigenous of the region, like the Buryats, who consider this body of water and its surroundings sacred places, full of legends and centuries-old traditions.On its banks and in particular onOlkhon Island, In fact, pilgrimages still take place today shamanic rites.This is why the protection of these places is fundamental not only to conserve the ecosystem, but also to protect the cultural heritage of these populations.

However, with the recent approval at the last reading of the bill that allows the abatement of the nature around Baikal, the fragile ecosystem is increasingly in danger. The legislation, in force since 2020, allows the deforestation of the territory in the central ecological zone of Lake Baikal to expand the railways Trans-Siberian And Baikal-Amur (Bam, Baikal Amur Magistral', of which this year marks the fiftieth anniversary of the start of construction).

The increasingly strategic role of the Bam railway line

The Bam, which with its over 4,200 km of length runs north of the Trans-Siberian Railway, was the most expensive (and suffered) project ever carried out by the Soviet Union.Started at the time of Stalin with the exploitation of tens of thousands of prisoners, and completed only two years before the collapse of the USSR, the BAM had the aim of connecting the Russian Far East to the rest of the country.Today, with the diversion of Russian trade flows from Europe to China following the war in Ukraine and of sanctions, is acquiring increasingly strategic importance.

During his speech dedicated to the fiftieth anniversary of BAM, the Russian president Vladimir Putin defined this railway as a crucial transportation corridor globally.“This year the line's transportation capacity reached almost 42 million tons.In the last 12 years it has tripled and the volume of goods transport on the Bam continues to grow", he has declared. 

In the surrounding areas, among other things, there are several deposits of mineral resources, some of which have not yet been exploited.“This line is important for the Russian economy both in terms of transportation of extracted raw materials and for the development of regions adjacent to the railway,” remember Pavel Ivankin, president of the National Transportation and Infrastructure Research Center.

With Russia increasingly orienting itself towards Asian markets, BAM therefore acquires an even more crucial importance, as underlined Oleg Pudovikov, head of the “Electric Trains and Locomotives” department of the Russian Transport University.However, according to Pudovikov, the current infrastructure does not allow the railway's potential to be fully exploited:this is why it is necessary to expand the line.

Thus, it is expected that by 2030 the BAM and the Trans-Siberian can transport up to 210 million tons of goods every year:37 million tons more than today. In this context, aimed at strengthening the two lines that run respectively north and south of Lake Baikal, the losers will be the large centuries-old woods that surround the immense basin of water.

Mass tourism also threatens Lake Baikal

What scares activists most, in addition to the extension of the deadline to expand the railway network around Lake Baikal, is actually the package of amendments to the law “On the protection of the lake”.Last year the State Duma approved this at first reading bill authorizing the deforestation massive over an area of ​​several thousand kilometers around the lake, to build roads, hotels, bars and restaurants.“The law approved at third reading on July 23 is undoubtedly harmful.But for Baikal it is harmful to a limited extent, since the disfigurement of the landscape can occur in a strictly limited area along the railways, where there are currently no significant natural assets,” he explained to LifeGate the environmental activist Yevgeny Simonov, project coordinator Rivers without boundaries (RwB).

According to Simonov, the real danger for Baikal is instead represented by another project, the one it wants amend the lake protection law.“If finally approved, this initiative would allow deforestation and development of natural areas in thousands of places on the banks of Baikal,” Simonov explained.“This bill allows the felling of over ten thousand hectares of forests to create roads and resorts, expand population centers and strengthen coastlines.But the most frightening thing is that it would pave the way for the massive construction of infrastructure and tourist complexes on the shores of the lake, leading to the destruction of ecosystems on thousands of hectares of land along the entire perimeter of the body of water.This would also cause increased wastewater discharge and contamination levels.Lobbyists promoting this law threaten protesting activists with criminal prosecution, and say they may recognize them as foreign agents.They are rushing to pass the law before July 31, when the Duma will suspend its work for the summer recess."

If these amendments were to be approved, Simonov argues, it is very likely that Baikal, the "pearl of Siberia", will be included in the list of world heritage sites in danger by 2025 according to theUNESCO.