Who's Enemy of Baikal No.1 of 13.01.2010?
In Moscow climbers hung a huge banner on the gates of the White
House, the seat of Prime Minister Vladimir Putin who, on 13 January
2010, signed governmental decree No.1 permitting toxic discharges
into Lake Baikal, a World Heritage site since 1996. The banner
asked, "Who's Enemy of Baikal No.1 of 13.01.2010". The White House
security appeared 2 minutes after the action started and ripped off
one of the slings fixing the banner to the gates. Although none of
the climbers was detained, the banner was destroyed before it could
fully unfold.
In St. Petersburg activists brought around 200 toilet paper
rolls to Vladimir Putin's community liaison office. The toilet
paper was collected at the rally "For Baikal" held in March. "If
the Government needs paper and the officials are ready to kill the
lake for it, we will give them this paper", says one of the
activists.
Greenpeace and other non-governmental organisations in Russia
have repeatedly appealed to the President, the Prime Minister and
other branches of government to prevent the start-up of the
Baikalsk Pulp and Paper Mill, which has come to symbolize the
threat to this unique lake. So far, there has been no adequate
response. Today's Greenpeace action is another attempt to force the
Prime Minister and President of the Russian Federation to reverse
the ill-conceived and criminal decision to allow the mill to
discharge sewage into one of Russia's greatest natural
treasures.
Lake Baikal was listed as a World Natural Heritage Site by
UNESCO in 1996, and its security ought to be internationally
guaranteed. To this end, a group of Russian NGOs recently formed
the coalition 'For Baikal!' and appealed to the Director-General of
UNESCO for help.
"Russia has been a member of the Convention for the Protection
of World Heritage since 1988, and the international community
subsequently has the right to require her to fulfil her obligations
in line with this commitment. UNESCO should at the very least
communicate to our government the inadmissibility of the re-opening
of the plant and the need to develop alternative types of industry
in the region. This authoritative organization must take action to
help reverse the situation", said the head of Greenpeace Russia's
Baikal programme Roman Vazhenkov.
It has been two months since the government decree allowing the
resumption of work at the Baikalsk Pulp and Paper Mill came into
force. This period has been long enough to show that the decree is not justified. So
far not a single piece of admissible evidence has been presented
which proves otherwise. Attempts to claim the important role of the
enterprise in solving Baikalsk's socio-economic problems, or in
terms of the country's defence capacity, merely look
ridiculous.
Handed over along with the letter to UNESCO were documents
proving that the opening of the mill will not only fail to solve
existing problems, but will create new ones. This is particularly
demonstrated by a recent study, conducted by leading Russian
experts on Lake Baikal from the Siberian branch of the Russian
Academy of Sciences. Their findings are unequivocal: the Baikalsk
Pulp and Paper Mill has no place on the shores of the lake.
Scientific evidence proves both the threat to the environment
and the economic unsoundness of the plant. An objective analysis
shows that Baikalsk's problems should be addressed through the
redevelopment of the Baikalsk mill as well as the development of
new industries. Investment possibilities, like tourism based on
local natural resources or the manufacturing of silicon solar cells
and modules, have the potential to release the Southern Baikal
region from its dependence on the paper mill.
The Russian authorities are currently acting perfectly in line
with the entire 'dirty history' of the Baikal Pulp and Paper Mill,
which contains a long list of outstanding judgments, neglected
orders, and unfulfilled promises. As long as 10 years ago, the then
President Vladimir Putin promised to stop sewage pollution from the
plant. Later, in 2006, he famously declared: "If there is even the
slightest chance of polluting Lake Baikal, we must do everything
possible not to minimize this danger, but to eliminate it." As
ever, words have failed to be matched with deeds.
'For Baikal!', a coalition comprising of 45 NGOs from different
regions of the country, considers a situation where the government
refuses to respond to such public outcry to be absolutely
unacceptable. Statements from environmentalists, scientists, and
the participants of numerous rallies and pickets, calling for a
civilized solution, are ignored. The Coalition intends to
persistently and conscientiously pursue this solution to the now
long-standing problem of the Baikalsk Pulp and Paper Mill.
Contacts
+7 495 988 74 60 - Roman Vazhenkov, head of Greenpeace Russia's
Baikal programme or Evgeny Usov, press-officer
Notes to editor
We continue to collect signatures on separate petitions to the
head of UNESCO and President Dmitry Medvedev. The
letter to UNESCO has been signed by more than 30,000 people;
the letter to the President
by more than 44,000.
Broadcast-quality videos and photos linked to the issue:
- video on
the Baikal Pulp and Paper Mill and alternatives
- Interview
with academic M. Kuzmin
- An ice
bath - a popular tourist attraction in Baikalsk
- Entrepreneur
Galina Chermyaninova: the small business alternative.