UNESCO, International Union for Conservation of Nature gear up for Lake Baikal mission

photo by Kirill Shipitsin/TASS PARIS, February 17. /TASS/. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) is preparing a mission to Lake Baikal together with the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) in order to assess the ecological condition of the lake, UNESCO Paris headquarters representative told TASS Thursday. "This is a joint mission of two organizations, which will be sent to Russia on February 28 in order to assess the condition of Lake Baikal, which is a Natural World Heritage Site," the representative said, adding that the "mission is being carried out under the World Heritage Committee, who made this proposition during the last annual session." "The participants will visit the natural reserve’s main areas. They will also meet with all interested parties in order to review all key aspects," the representative said, adding that "this mission’s results will become the foundation of a new report that will be reviewed at the upcoming session in June 2022 in Kazan." The spokesman noted that UNESCO "expressed its concerns over expanding construction along the lake’s shoreline, even in protected areas." The specialists also sounded the alarm over Lake Baikal’s growing level of environmental contamination and low water level. Previously, UNESCO speculated that the freshwater lake reserve might be included on the List of World Heritage in Danger. Lake Baikal is the world’s deepest lake (maximum depth 1,642 meters), and world’s largest drinking water reservoir, containing about 20% of the globe’s drinking water. Lake Baikal and its coastal areas feature a unique diversity of flora and fauna. There are about 2,600 species and subspecies of aquatic animals, and over half of them are endemic (living only in this area). Over 300 rivers feed the lake, while only one - the Angara - starts there. The lake was included in UNESCO World Heritage List over 25 years ago. Read more