Lake Baikal

• Gas and oil pipeline project across the World Heritage property in 2006 (issue resolved)
• Management Systems/Management Plan (lack of adequate management system)
• Legal framework (uncertain legal protection)
• Pollution from paper mill and domestic wastewater
• Illegal activities (timber harvesting, construction on the lake shore, sale of land)
• Impacts of tourism/visitor/recreation (tourism development)
• Fire (wildfires in the Baikal region in 2015)
• Upstream planned and existing dam infrastructure in Russia and Mongolia

N/A

On 31 January 2022, the State Party submitted a report on the state of conservation of the property, available at https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/754/documents. Additional information was shared by the State Party on 30 December 2021, 28 January 2022, 24 February 2022 and 27 June 2022 in view of the Reactive Monitoring mission, which was planned for February 2022. An updated report on the state of conservation of the property was submitted on 27 January 2023 and is also available at the above-mentioned link. The State Party reports the following:

• Renewed regulations issued in 2022 continue to permit the increased range of water level in Lake Baikal between 455.54 m and 457.85 m above sea level (a 2.31 m variation) for the period until the end of 2023 to enable hydropower dam regulation, temporary legislation in place since 2016. Scientific research will study the environmental and socio-economic impact of changes in the water level of Lake Baikal, with a completion date set for 2023;

• The federal regulatory authorities together with the Governments of the Republic of Buryatia and the Irkutsk Region are taking joint measures to identify and demolish illegal buildings, as well as prevent unauthorized building development;
• Following a preliminary assessment of the proposed options to eliminate accumulated environmental damage on the territory of the former Baikalsk Pulp and Paper Mill (BPPM), an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) was stated to be due in 2022. Appropriate technologies to dispose of the industrial waste accumulated at the BPPM and potential contractors to implement the clean-up were selected in 2022, following a competitive selection process. Works will begin in 2023;
• A strategic master plan for the integrated development of the Baikalsk Municipality, including the territory of BPPM, was approved, and a specific concept for the development of the former territory of BPPM elaborated. A draft federal order to approve the Programme for Social and Economic Development of the Baikalsk Municipality has been submitted for approval, and measures taken to harmonise the processes of the BPPM remediation and the development of the site;
• A report was commissioned to analyse the impact of legislative changes that may weaken the existing regulatory framework and entail a potential threat to the property. The completion date was extended from February 2022 to the end of 2023, while amendments to legislation on EIAs were made, and the list of prohibited activities and standards for allowable impacts were issued in 2020 and 2021;
• Special Economic Zones (SEZs) are a set of legal provisions providing investors special tax, customs and other preferential conditions for development, and are not required to undergo EIAs, as they are not development projects in and of themselves. However, specific individual projects, including those within the SEZs, are subject to environmental assessments in accordance with the procedures established by law;
• Whilst the area affected by large fires has decreased, including as a result of improved detection and suppression of fires, they remain a significant threat to forests in the property. Investments have been made in reforestation and fire management, and an assessment of the impact of fires on the forest and lake ecosystems is underway;
• Substantial effort is underway to improve waste and tourism management within the property, with a comprehensive plan for wastewater treatment plants and landfill management, alongside federal investments to strengthen ecological monitoring, research, conservation and sustainable development of the property;
• Through the joint Russian-Mongolian working group, the two States Parties have agreed to collaborate on the assessment of the impacts of all planned energy and dam projects in Mongolia and their impact on the Selenga River, its tributaries and Lake Baikal, in accordance with the relevant provisions of the 1972 World Heritage Convention and the 1971 Ramsar Convention on Wetlands.

On 10 November 2021, the World Heritage Centre sent a letter to the State Party of Mongolia requesting additional information on the transboundary Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) of the proposed Shuren and Orkhon hydropower projects, and on the impact study of the Egiin Gol hydropower plant project (EGHPP). On 31 January 2023, the State Party of Mongolia sent the additional study on biodiversity impacts of the planned EGHPP to the World Heritage Centre for review by IUCN, followed by the 2014 detailed EIA amendment and the 2017 summary report on the EIA of the EGHPP, both received on 17 February 2023.

On 4 April 2022, the World Heritage Centre transmitted third-party information to the State Party of the Russian Federation, requesting verifications regarding a proposed coal mining project and associated road construction in the vicinity of the property, water level regulations, illegal constructions, remediation processes for the BPPM, legislative framework for the protection of the property, developments and impact assessments in SEZs, wildfires and planned hydropower projects in Mongolia. At the time of writing this report, no response has been received from the State Party.

On 14 February 2023, the World Heritage Centre sent a letter to the State Party conveying third-party concerns over the levels of harmful substances and their regulation in the wastewater entering Lake Baikal. No response has been received from the State Party at the time of writing this report.

On 30 March 2023, the World Heritage Centre sent a letter to the State Party requesting further information in response to third-party concerns over legislative amendments to weaken environmental regulations in order to facilitate clearcut logging and further development of infrastructure projects, including tourism projects and transport infrastructure; pollution from the remediation of the BPPM; and threats from hydropower development in the Russian Federation and Mongolia. No response has been received from the State Party at the time of writing.

The joint World Heritage Centre/IUCN Reactive Monitoring mission scheduled to take place from 28 February to 5 March 2022 had to be postponed due to logistical constraints. Following World Heritage Centre’s letter to the State Party of 25 July 2023 indicating its readiness to undertake the mission together with IUCN in August, the State Party replied on 18 August with a proposal to conduct the mission at any time starting from 25 November 2023.

Lake Baikal continues to be negatively affected by numerous factors that significantly impact the property’s ecological condition. The legislation issued in 2022 for the 2022-2023 period continues to allow an extended range of 2.31 m water level variation of Lake Baikal for hydropower dam regulation. This temporary legislation, renewed for the fourth time, contradicts the Committee’s request since 2016 (Decision 40 COM 7B.97) not to allow such changes before their impact on the property are assessed. Higher water level variation can negatively affect the property, notably the nearshore areas that underpin the lake biodiversity, therefore having the potential to directly impact on its Outstanding Universal Value (OUV). The State Party should no longer extend the use of increased limits beyond the established 1 m water level range until the impacts of all existing water use and management regulations on the OUV of the property are fully assessed and the requirements for its protection are set. The ongoing impact study due in 2023 should be submitted to the World Heritage Centre for review by IUCN.

It is regrettable that the State Party has not yet finalised the study on the impact of the numerous proposed and approved legal amendments, including those already issued on requirements for EIA, the list of prohibited activities, and the standards for allowable impacts on the Lake Baikal ecosystem along with levels of pollutants. It is recalled that the Committee has previously considered that ‘the scale of this weakening of the regulatory provisions, at the time when the property’s ecological conditions continue to deteriorate, is such that, if all proposed changes proceed, the property would face potential danger in line with Paragraph 180(b) i) and iv) of the Operational Guidelines’. Therefore, the State Party should be reminded not to approve any changes that weaken the protection regime of the property and expedite the above-mentioned study and submit it to the World Heritage Centre upon completion in 2023, for review by IUCN. It is recommended that the State Party critically reviews the findings of the study and strengthens the Law on the Protection of Lake Baikal and its effective implementation. Upon resumption, the postponed Reactive Monitoring mission should consider whether the existing regulatory framework and management system adequately address the threats to the OUV, and whether the conditions for including the property on the List of World Heritage in Danger are met.

The reported investment of significant federal funding to support research, conservation and sustainable development of the property is welcome, as are the measures taken by the State Party to identify and demolish illegal buildings, prevent illegal construction in the property and improve waste and tourism management. However, the land use pressure in the property remains high based on the number of illegal constructions and the proposals to relax legislative restrictions. The State Party should develop the Integrated Management Plan (IMP) for the property, as requested by the Committee, as well as a detailed land use plan. Building on the experiences of past strategic action plans and ongoing federal funding programmes, the IMP should include management objectives, an implementation strategy and a monitoring plan with clear performance and environmental indicators, focused notably on the nearshore areas most at risk.

Also in view of the multiple existing and proposed development projects in the SEZs, within the property and its wider setting, the State Party should clarify the third-party information formally submitted to it relating to these developments, provide a comprehensive list of all projects and ensure that they are subject to rigorous EIAs, in accordance with the Guidance and Toolkit for Impact Assessments in a World Heritage Context. A comprehensive assessment of the potential cumulative impacts of such projects across the property should be undertaken and inform the development of the above-mentioned IMP. While acknowledging the specificities of national legislation, it is recalled that impact assessments are a requirement under the World Heritage Convention and the Operational Guidelines for its implementation.

It is regrettable that the EIA requested to ensure an assessment of both the impacts of the remediation of the former BPPM and the possible options and impacts for future uses of the site was not submitted to the World Heritage Centre prior to the reported selection of contractors and commencement of implementation in 2023. The State Party should be requested to urgently submit the EIA and Master Plan for the Baikalsk Municipality to the World Heritage Centre and to suspend further implementation of activities that may have a negative impact on the OUV until the mission has provided recommendations in relation to the project.

The improvements over the past five years in fire detection and suppression, as well as the plans to undertake the proposed assessments on the impact of fires on forest and lake ecosystems, as previously requested by the Committee, are welcomed.

The submission of the additional study on the impacts of the EGHPP on the biodiversity of the property, as well as the documents linked to the EIA, are noted with appreciation, and the IUCN review of the documents will be communicated separately. However, considering the multiple proposed and existing hydropower projects in Mongolia and the Russian Federation, it is essential that the cumulative impacts of individual projects to the property’s OUV are assessed in this context. It is therefore regrettable that no updated information has been provided on the progress towards the transboundary SEA for the existing and planned hydropower and water management projects, nor the Regional Environmental Assessment (REA) for the Shuren and Orkhon hydropower projects. The Committee should request the State Party of Mongolia to clarify the status of the REA process and undertake the study as a matter of priority, in order to inform an assessment of the potential cumulative impacts of such projects on the OUV of the property, to be undertaken jointly by the States Parties of Mongolia and the Russian Federation prior to approving any further individual hydropower projects which may have the potential for negative impacts on the OUV of the property.

The joint World Heritage Centre/IUCN Reactive Monitoring mission to the property could not yet take place at the time of writing the report; its organization is being discussed with the State Party.