Baikalsk Pulp and Paper Mill in 2003, still producing, still bleaching with chlorine
Statement by the Coalition of Non-Governmental Organizations "For Baikal!"
June 3, 2010. Two days before the World Environment Day and in development of the idea expressed by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev at the recent session of the State Council, the Coalition of NGOs "For Baikal!" suggests that the Russian leaders make a present to the whole world and cancel the Russian Government's Resolution No.1 of 13 January 2010 that permits discharges of industrial waste into the unique lake of enormous universal value.
On June 5, the Coalition "For Baikal!" will close its international campaign of collecting signatures under a petition to the UNESCO Director General to protect Lake Baikal. Over 80,000 people have signed their support of the demand to cancel the dangerous decision to re-launch the Baikalsk Pulp and Paper Mill with renewed toxic discharges into the lake. Russians as well as people from other countries agree toxic wastes being dumped into Lake Baikal threaten the future of the unique lake, while re-launch of the Baikalsk PPM will not only fail to address the already existing social and economic issues, but also create additional challenges for the whole Southern Baikal area.
There are over a dozen realistic and efficient projects that can contribute to the development of this region of Russia. Nevertheless, the Russian Government, apparently led by the nose by the mill owners, chooses the most unfortunate and dangerous development scenario clearly leading into a dead-end. Along with social and environmental problems, this scenario will result in additional budget losses as the Government will have to maintain a bankrupt company. Experts calculate that in the years to come the Baikalsk Pulp and Paper Mill will make only losses amounting to millions of rubles.
Wasting lots of money, the mill will dump into the lake millions of cubic meters of industrial waste a year. This will definitely result in growing negative impact on the unique ecosystem of the Baikal. For instance, today the polluted area on the bottom of the lake reaches over 130 square kilometers. More discharges will be making this area wider.
The light-minded attitude towards Lake Baikal, disregard of Russian and international laws do not make the reputation of the Russian authorities any better. In fact the Russian Government's reputation and international image have already suffered greatly. This situation will deteriorate further if "the Baikal story" is not resolved in a civilized way in accordance with the national priorities and Russia's international pledges.
The NGO Coalition "For Baikal!" calls on the Russian state leaders to hear the concerns of the public, as well as the environmental and scientific community and make an urgent decision to close down the Baikalsk Pulp and Paper Mill while taking steps towards efficient, socially and environmentally sound development of the Southern Baikal area.
Additional information:
The Appeal to the President of the Russian Federation singed by over 45,000 people was handed over to the Presidential Administration on May 18, 2010.
Up to June 5, you can leave your signature under a petition to UNESCO Director General Irina Bokova at the Coalition web-page www.savebaikal.ru This petition has been singed by over 80,000 people from 52 countries.
In mid-June the Petition and the signatures will go to UNESCO. However, this will not mark the end of the Coalition's activities. For example, June 15 will see a session of the Russian Supreme Court that will decide on cancellation of Governmental Resolution No.1. In late July the Coalition "For Baikal!" will submit to the session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee documents illustrating violations of the World Heritage Convention by the Russian authorities.
Association of small indigenous peoples of the Irkutsk region - Irkutsk
Russian Association of Indigenous peoples of the North - Moscow
Journalists-environmentalists Association of the Russian Union of Journalists- Moscow
Baikal Environmental Wave - Irkutsk
Baikal Movement - Irkutsk
Baltic Fund for Nature of the Saint-Petersburg Naturalist Society - Saint-Petersburg
Bureau of Regional Public Campaigns - Vladivostok
Buryatian Regional Association for Baikal- Ulan-Ude
WWF Russia - Moscow
Greenpeace Russia - Moscow and Saint-Petersburg
Movement of Civil Initiatives - Saint-Petersburg
Movement against Seizure of Lakes - Saint-Petersburg
Tikhomirov Druzhina (Team) for Nature Preservation of the Biology Department of the Moscow State University - Moscow
Green Wave - Saint-Petersburg
Green World - Serebriany Bor, Saint-Petersburg
Kamchatka League of Independent Experts - Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky
Karelian Regional Non-Governmental Organization "SPOK" - Petrozavodsk
Karelian Republic Animal Welfare Society - Petrozavodsk
International Social and Ecological Union - Moscow
Ecowiki Project - Moscow
Siberian Environmental Center - Novosibirsk
Bird Conservation Union of Russia - Moscow
Biodiversity Conservation Center - Moscow
Expert Center ECOM of the Saint-Petersburg Naturalist Society - Saint-Petersburg
Northern Caucasus Environmental Watch - Maikop
Sakhalin Environmental Watch - Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk
Dront Ecological Center - Nizhny Novgorod
Bellona Environmental Rights Center - Saint-Petersburg
Gebler Environmental Society - Barnaul
Alliance for animals rights - Moscow, Petrozavodsk
Balakovo branch of the All-Russian Society for Nature Protection - Balakovo
«Let's save Yuntolovo» Movement - Saint-Petersburg
Druzhina (Team) for Nature Preservation «Lower Amur Environmental Inspection» - Komsomolsk-on-Amur
Druzhina (Team) for Nature Preservation «Service of Nature Protection» of the Kazan State University - Kazan
Druzhina (Team) for Nature Preservation of the City of Kharkov - Kharkov (Ukraine)
Druzhina (Team) for Nature Preservation IATE Atom - Obninsk
Druzhina (Team) for Nature Preservation «Growth Point» - Vladimir
Karelian Republican Council of the All-Russian Society for Nature Protection - Petrozavodsk «Firn» Club - Ulan-Ude
Kola Biodiversity Conservation Center - Apatity
Krasnoyarsk Regional Public Association «Krasnoyarsk Regional Environmental Union» - Krasnoyarsk
MOOL «Town of Oranienbaum» - Saint-Petersburg
Society of Volunteer Forest Firemen - Saint-Petersburg
ROEO «Triglava» - Gorno-Altaisk
«ECOperestroyka» Environmental Group - Saint-Petersburg
Bashkirian Druzhina (Team) for Nature Preservation «Region 02» - Ufa
Druzhina (Team) for Nature Preservation «Berkut» («Golden Eagle») - Birobidzhan
ROO «Council for Marine Mummals» - Moscow
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