Dear Friends! Since 1996 the Heinrich Boell foundation (Germany) has provided financial aid to the Baikal Environmental Wave, an info-educational organisation in Baikal region; as of January 2006, the funding has come to an end.

Thanks to the German taxpayers and the work of the coordinated Russian team, which includes among its members, volunteers, and employees of the non-governmental organisation Baikal Envi-ronmental Wave, for helping to create this unique ecological information and education centre:

• It is the only ecological library and video library in the region
• It has published and distributed the popular and much loved journal ‘Volna’ (Wave), among other printed productions in the forms of books, brochures, booklets and plac-ards
• A video studio which produces films, shorts and news reports on ecological themes.
• A press service which works actively with the media.
• An education centre which conducts training seminars for sustainable development.
• The ecotourism department, which advances the principles and practice of a bond with nature and protecting the environment.
• A department that works with the authorities and business in order to promote the ac-ceptance of socially conscious decision making.
• A volunteers’ centre.

Such are the conditions of the Heinrich Boell foundation, that any project, even the most successful, cannot receive financial support for more than 10 years. From January 2006, the task arose before Baikal Environmental Wave to preserve the ecological information and education centre in its unique form, which had been created in the Baikal region for the provision of information and edu-cation services to the widest possible range of groups (students, school children, teachers, journal-ists, scientists, representatives of governmental and non governmental organisations, businessmen, local associations, workers etc.)

The Infocentre represents itself not only in structure with the types of activity enumerated above, but also in an independent premises of 150 square meters, acquired with the financial support of the Heinrich Boell foundation as a contribution to the development of ecological education and enlightenment in the Baikal region. With what means will the Infocentre’s work be fulfilled?

We foresee the continuation of the Infocentre’s work through a number of financial sources. The first of these is funds to be raised from its own productions and services, and also its own creative activities (organizing seminars, ecological excursions, a summer ecological school etc.). The sec-ond, from the donations of the citizens and organisations, and the third from combined projects with different partner organisations, both governmental and non governmental (scientific institu-tions, foundations, business associations).

We believe everyone who provides us with charitable support, and will provide it in the future, will be interested to know about how their donations are spent. Therefore every month we will publish on the Baikal Environmental Wave website an account of receipts and expenditures and a summary of work that has been undertaken in the month concerned.

If you want to deposit your contribution for the protection of the environment, and would like to assist the activities of our organisation, solving its tasks and problems, you can become a donor and provide help to the Baikal Environmental Wave info-education centre.

Your help could go towards the setting up of an activity for the organisation or for the continuation of established work (a specific donation).

For example, you may want your money to go towards the solution of the of the rubbish problem on Baikal, or to the publishing of the journal Volna. In such an instance, if your donation is not enough for the fulfillment of a task, we will transfer it to the organisation account and, having col-lected the necessary sum, we will complete the project. You can find out about this from our re-ports which are published on the website http://www.baikalwave.eu.org/Eng/reports/peports.html

Such is it our mission, we invite other organisations to collaborate with us in order to create com-bined projects of environmental protection.

We would be happy to hear your comments and suggestions.

To give a donation, you can transfer it directly into our account:

We will regularly inform you of the work we have undertaken with the help of your donation.

At the current moment in time the Infocentre has been given the following donations, accounted for below:
1. Private donation from an individual US citizen- $2500
2. Donation from the British organisation Francis Green- $1500 + 9027.04 rubles ($330)
3. Donations from Russian citizens- 11165.22 rubles ($406)
4. Own means (income from the sales of productions and services)- 44559.12 rubles ($1620).

Total: 64345.38 rubles ($2340) + $4000

In January 2006 the Info-centre incurred the following expenditure:

1.Administrative costs- 4613.70 rubles ($167): telecommunications 2000 rubles, office repairs 2444 rubles, office supplies 128.50 rubles, postal services – 41.20 rubles.
2.Transport costs- 220 rubles ($8)
3.Bank charges- 12 rubles ($0.43)
4.Wages with tax for 7 employees- 11616.86 rubles ($422).

Report of work undertaken:

1. There has been a continuation of the ‘Baikal is worth more than oil’ campaign against the construction of the Eastern Siberian- Pacific pipeline by Transneft. The exchange of informa-tion and support with other regional organisations which are backing the campaign has contin-ued (Regional Council of Trade Unions, the Siberia-Baikal Tourism Association, NGO ‘Re-vival of Siberian Land’), public information through the media (including an appearance on the radio station, ‘Moscow Echo in Irkutsk’ and an interview in the newspaper “Rossijskaya Ga-zeta”) and the BEW website about the results of the state ecological assessment project and possible development events. As a result of the social campaign together with the other organi-sations and the presentation of information to the state ecological experts, on 24th January 2006, 43 out of 52 scientists on the state research project gave a negative conclusion for the proposed route of the pipeline and stated that the pipeline cannot run through the watershed of the lake. This conclusion was not ratified by the Rostekhnadzor as a result of pressure from Transneft on the management of Rostekhnadzor, and the State environment assessment commission is now forming new staff and the experts will continue the investigation into the Eastern Siberian- Pa-cific pipeline.
2. Preparations for BEW‘s participation at the international exhibition of ecotourism in Hannover in February 2006, have been completed. A presentation on the development of ecotourism in the Baikal region has been prepared, and a meeting on the issue with a German organisation has been arranged.
3. The youth energy efficiency competition for the Siberian federal region has come to an end. Five nominated projects have been entered into the national competition, ‘Energy and the environment’. The competition supports the United Nations development programme (UNDP) and Norwegian society of the protection of nature. The competition is coordinated by a number of the participating countries’ charitable organisations (SPARE) in collaboration with environ-mental protection organisations, educational and scientific institutions, authorities and business structures. Information about the winners of the competition is available in Russian on the BEW webpage http://www.baikalwave.eu.org/projects/energo/energo.html
4. Preparations have been undertaken for a series of seminars for teachers and pupils, which will take place 17-20 February 2006. In detail, a series of meetings and discussions about the participation of regional educational organisations in the seminars along the framework of the Russian-British project, ‘The creation of a network of effective approaches to the stable devel-opment of education in Russia’, which is being carried out by ‘EKO’ a St. Petersburg charity promoting ecological education in partnership with British and Russian colleges. In Irkutsk the regional coordinator of the project is the Baikal Environmental Wave, which is organizing seminars in collaboration with the institute of higher qualification of workers’ education, the Irkutsk state pedagogical college No.1 and with the establishment of supplementary education. 300 copies of a booklet have been prepared and distributed on the series of seminars, ‘From ecological education to education for stable development. The booklet has been distributed through a network of educational institutes around the city, region and state.
5. The administration of the Irkutsk region supported the initiative of the Baikal Environmental Wave, the agency of independent ecological rating and the Eastern Siberian chamber of trade and industry by the creation of the ratings of social and ecological responsibility of Irkutsk re-gions’ enterprises. Work has started with the enterprises of Irkutsk (support of the city town hall had been received before, in December 2005).
6. In March 2006 the BEW will start the project, ‘The Cost of Energy’. In connection with this have been talks with partner organisations: Centre of Innovation “Energy Efficiency”, and Irkutsk Pedagogical College No.1. Information about the project can be found on the website.
7. Correspondence with foreign volunteers concerning the partnerships with European youth or-ganisations. Participation in the preparation of a youth exchange which will take place this summer in Poland. This project is a continuation of the collaboration between Polish and Rus-sian volunteers who organized a Fire Show on Baikal Day 2005 in Irkutsk in the framework of European Voluntary Service Programme. Two official invitations have been sent to the Ger-man volunteers who will be working for BEW.
8. The final edition of the journal ‘Volna’ N43 (December 2005), was distributed.
9. The BEW press office prepared the monthly edition of the Digest of ecological information for January 2006, and posted two newsletters on the website.
10. The BEW film ‘Tomorrow starts yesterday’ has been prepared and 50 sample DVDs are being distributed.