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
• Illegal activities (timber harvesting, construction on the lake shore, sale of land)
• Impacts of tourism / visitor / recreation (tourism development)
• Water infrastructure (lack of mechanism to control waste water discharge)
• Fire (wildfires in the Baikal region in 2015)
• Water infrastructure (Shuren Hydropower Plant and Orkhon River Reservoir complex projects (in Mongolia))

On 1 February 2018, the State Party submitted a report on the state of conservation of the property, which is available at http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/754/documents and reports the following:

• An Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) has only been partially completed within the framework of research conducted by the Federal Agency for Water Resources on the water level regime of Lake Baikal. The State Party considers that the increased limits on fluctuation between minimum and maximum water levels of Lake Baikal are not expected to negatively impact its Outstanding Universal Value (OUV).;
• Ongoing monitoring has shown a decrease in fish stocks and crustaceans in various regions, which may be attributed to changes in the productivity of coastal ecosystems caused by the marked increase in algae biomass near well-frequented recreational sites and possibly also due to climatic and hydrological shifts;
• The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment has developed an Action Plan for the remediation of the site of the former Baikal pulp and paper mill and public consultations have been held to inform an EIA on remediation action;
• Several, mostly natural fires have affected more than 400ha each, in addition to one larger fire in the Baikalo-Lensky Reserve affecting 13,409ha;
• Public consultations in the Slyudyansky, Orkhon and Irkutsk regions, organized with support from the Implementation Group of the hydropower development project (MINIS), have shown that public opinion opposes the implementation of hydropower projects on the Selenga River in Mongolia. Identification of alternative solutions is recommended. Furthermore, it is reported that the Implementation Group recommended against developing feasibility studies for Shuren and Orkhon projects, until SEA, Regional Environmental Assessment (REA) and EIA procedures have been completed; and that the SEA is conducted jointly with the Russian Federation prior to undertaking REAs or EIAs.

On 14 November 2017, the World Heritage Centre also received information on a draft resolution by the government of the Russian Federation extending the use of increased limits on the fluctuation of water levels of Lake Baikal in 2018-2020. On 23 April 2018, the World Heritage Centre sent a letter to the State Party requesting clarifications with regards to the recently adopted reduction of the water protection zone of Lake Baikal, as well as concerns expressed by third parties regarding water level management.

On 31 January 2018, the State Party of Mongolia informed the World Heritage Centre that an additional study on the impacts of the Egiin Gol hydropower plant project (EGHPP) on Selenga River and on the biodiversity of the property is planned to commence in 2018. Referring to an EIA on EGHPP, submitted in May 2017, the State Party of Mongolia expects negligible impacts on the water volume of Lake Baikal and further reports that a joint Mongolian-Russian working group has been established to address issues concerning hydro-power facilities planned in the Selenga River basin.

While it is reported that a comprehensive study preceded the draft resolution extending the use of increased limits to fluctuation of water levels, this study has not been submitted for review to the World Heritage Centre. Furthermore, the EIA, which was requested in Decision 41 COM 7B.6, was reportedly only partially completed. Hence, the concern about potential impacts on the OUV of the property remains and it is recommended that the Committee urge the State Party to refrain from any further changes to the legislation regulating the fluctuation of water level of Lake Baikal until the impacts of all existing water use and management regulations on the OUV of the property are fully understood through a complete and comprehensive EIA, in line with IUCN’s World Heritage Advice Note on Environmental Assessment, and that the EIA is submitted in due course to the World Heritage Centre, for review by IUCN.

It is of significant concern that latent eutrophication near recreational areas is found to be one of the drivers for algal blooms and decreasing fish stocks. While the existing monitoring and research programmes aimed at identifying stressors to the ecosystem are noted, it is recommended that the Committee reiterate its request to the State Party to develop a property-wide ecological monitoring system in order to identify the scale and causes of such changes and the responses required to preserve the ecological integrity of the property. In this regard, the recently adopted reduction in area of the water protection zone of Lake Baikal raises serious concerns as this might potentially increase pressures on already disturbed ecosystems. It is therefore recommended that the Committee urge the State Party to provide detailed information on the adopted changes, including an EIA containing a specific assessment of potential impact on the OUV of the property. Similarly, it is regrettable that the World Heritage Centre neither received the results of the EIAs for the Special Economic Zones (SEZ) located within or overlapping with the property, nor any information on a Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) on the cumulative impacts of existing and future developments, as requested in Decision 41 COM 7B.6. Therefore, it is recommended that the Committee urge the State Party to undertake these assessments and to submit them to the World Heritage Centre, for review by IUCN.

Concerning the site of the former Baikal pulp and paper mill, it is appreciated that an Action Plan for its remediation has been developed and that public consultations on a planned EIA have been held. Recalling previous decisions of the Committee, it is recommended that the Committee request the State Party to include in the EIA an assessment of possible options for the future use of the site and their possible impacts on the OUV of the property to be submitted to the World Heritage Centre, for review by IUCN.

While wildfires have been successfully contained and their extent has been limited compared to the major outbreak of 2015, their frequent occurrence demonstrates the persistent high risk of fire. It is recalled that forest management and forest fire control measures were planned to be reformed in 2017-2018. In its Decision 40 COM 7B.97, the Committee had urged the State Party to assess the impacts from the fires on the lake ecosystem and encouraged it to elaborate new guidelines for future management plans in order to develop an Integrated Management Plan for the entire property, which should also include a fire management and prevention plan. It is recommended that the Committee request the State Party to provide an update on these matters.

It is welcome that, according to information publically available on the official website of the federal agency responsible for issuing licenses for mineral resource extraction, the license for Kholodninskoe deposit has been revoked. It is recommended that the Committee request the State Party to confirm this information given that it has not reported on this matter.

Concerning potential hydro-power projects in the Selenga River system, the planned additional study on the impacts of EGHPP on the biodiversity of the property is welcome. To be in line with the findings and recommendations of the 2015 mission, this study should especially take into account impacts on the habitats of endangered migratory species of the Selenga/Lake Baikal complex and be submitted to the World Heritage Centre, for review by IUCN. The enhanced cooperation between the States Parties of Mongolia and the Russian Federation through a joint working group for issues related to hydro-power projects is likewise welcome. It is recommended that such cooperation supports the implementation of the 2015 mission recommendations and feeds into the development of a joint transboundary SEA, which should precede and guide the elaboration of EIAs for any specific hydropower and water management projects, including the planned Shuren hydropower and Orkhon river project, as repeatedly requested by the Committee.