Unfortunately, most of the new deputies elected at that time to represent sound environmental thinking, at either a national or regional level, betrayed their electorate. The disenchantment and economic hardship that followed actually broke the Baikal Movement until only a few stubborn fighters were left.   Amongst them, the scientist that had spoken out fearlessly against the building of the Baikalsk mill at a time when this could have cost him his career and perhaps even much more.  His name was Grigory Galazii, first director of the Baikal Limnological Station, later to become the Limnological Institute of the Soviet Academy of Sciences that was set up to study the lake.  I am greatly sorry to say that Grigory Galazii died last year, a great loss to the environmental movement.  However, he did live to see the passing of a law that he had done his utmost, as a elected Deputy to the Russian Federal Duma, to have enacted: the law «On the Protection of Lake Baikal».  Unfortunately, this law, like the others, has its share of loopholes.  By-laws to support and complete it are still in the process of being passed and being delayed. Galazii also lived to see Lake Baikal entered onto the UNESCO list of World Natural Heritage Sites in 1996. So his role had been played: he had, as it were, handed the lake over to the world community, having fought to convince everyone that Baikal is no ordinary lake, but a natural heritage of planetary significance.

The Present Situation: NGOs and their role in conservation in the Baikal region:  Of course, we have learnt more than that from Galazii's example.  Probably most important of all - that you have to be stubborn, if you want to get things changed for the better. However good the laws are, without citizens' awareness, and without their active support and involvement, and without the alertness and stubbornness of NGOs, all the governments I know have a tendency to 'turn a blind eye' and side with corporate and commercial interests, taking the easy way for the moment, instead of working hard in cooperation with all parties to find a way of preserving our natural heritage.   NGOs, one could say, are the motors of positive change.  I would rather say - they are the cart horses.   There is nothing new in this. It has always been relatively small groups of spirited citizens that have led the way to progressive change, standing up for human rights, common sense, wisdom and gentleness.  I believe it is a love of and respect for life itself that is their strength. 

So, what are and who are the NGOs in the Baikal region and what are they doing to preserve Lake Baikal and all our natural heritage?   

To be quite honest, the environmental movement in the Baikal region today is not strong and is financially dependent of western foundations for support.  But the movement in the Baikal region is stronger than in many other regions in Russia today, largely for historical reasons as I have explained.  It is important to understand that the breakdown of the Soviet system, economic and psychological depression, and the integration of Russia into the global economy has been a shocking experience for the people.  In many ways it has left people completely disorientated.  

The «Baikal region» is administratively divided into three sections: two «Oblasts» (Regions) - Chita and Irkutsk, and the Republic of Buryatia.  (This slide will give you some idea of the size of territory we are talking about).

Apart from numerous small groups based in schools and a few colleges that generally limit their action to education, there are a small number of environmental NGOs, independent and officially registered,  that are acting to develop awareness of the crisis that is facing mankind on everyone's doorstep, and to take different kinds of action to avert it.

The names of these organisations will not tell you much, nevertheless, here is a list of some of the most active NGOs in the region:   (Table of NGOs of the three territories)

There are, of course, different levels of action.  Though they are all interconnected in one way or another.

At a national level in the mid '90s, the Russian branch of the international organisation Greenpeace, that has a Baikal Campaign, organised the process of assessment and nomination of lake Baikal for its inclusion in the list of World (Natural) Heritage Sites  (Inclusion confirmed - December 1996),  Apart from this, Greenpeace (Russia) maintains links with the region and its environmental issues through contacts in the mass media, volunteers and a few NGOs, in order to undertake one or other project action.  Greenpeace has organised two expeditions on Baikal's ice to make a count of the seal population. 

The bulk of regional environmental grassroots action, however,  is carried out by regional NGOs. 

The organisation I represent, «Baikal Environmental Wave». I will call us «The Wave».  We started up as a small group of concerned citizens in1990.  The Wave was officially registered at the level of Irkutsk Oblast, but we work with other organisations at all levels - local, regional, national and international. We are an associate member of a national environmental NGO, the Socio-Ecological Union (Moscow).

What are we doing to conserve Lake Baikal and its surrounding territory?

Environmental Information and Education Centre for the Baikal Region - (6 years, supported by the German Heinrich Boell Foundation). This is an 'umbrella' project that forms the structural backbone of the organisation.    Other sub-projects fit into this. The guiding principle of this project and the organisation itself is the development of "healthy" democratic traditions within the organisation itself and the involvement of people in decision-making processes for sustainable development.       

For this we pay special attention to the conscious organisational development with internal workshops, analyses and planning.   In our experience, this is often neglected by many organisations that take on traditional 'given' forms of management with little thought as to the results of this approach.  However, organisational development based on democratic principles gives more opportunities than other forms of management to help give experience to young staff and volunteers, and to give every chance to each individual participant to fulfil his or herself creatively, take responsibility, show initiative, and work in a team.   It is not easy management, but it is very satisfying and enriching.

Slowly, we are trying to pass on our experience to our branches by means of workshops and joint action.  We have also started to conduct workshops with groups of local people to help them develop a sense of how it is possible to work together to achieve common aims. To help them find a clear vision of how they would like to see their locality develop, what they would like to preserve, what changes they would like,  to understand the consequences of their choices, what is necessary to ensure a healthy environment, and how their own action or lack of it will determine the future.   

This is a long process that requires a great deal of work with individuals and target groups including local authorities and enterprises in different towns and villages of the region.   All this is essential for the development of a sustainable community. For this sort of action the main limiting factor is a lack of human resources: there are few suitable people with the necessary training to carry out this work in the environmental movement in the region, and only two such in the Wave.    

The enormous size of the region is another limiting factor.  It is not enough to 'move in' as an outsider to a village, it is first necessary to find local people that can form the beginnings of an initiative group and who can undertake organisational work in preparation for workshops and for follow-up.  We have found that without much time and energy devoted to preparative work, and without supportive follow-up, a workshop can fail to have long-term results.  

Baikal - World Heritage Site is one sub-project that involves work with local people in the towns and villages close to Lake Baikal.  This has involved seminars and workshops on the problems of Baikal and environmental education, on the problem of municipal waste, rubbish left by tourists, local people themselves, and fishermen, and on the dangers of burning rubbish.  We have coordinated volunteer clean-ups, and this year action was taken to reduce unlawful dumping in the Ol'khon district, including the island of Ol'khon.   For this, work was carried out with local authorities, citizens, school groups, volunteers, and a private company in Irkutsk that deals in waste plastic.  The slogan used for this and a similar clean-up on the other side of Baikal at a tourist centre (Kultushnaya) was - «Baikal - no place for rubbish!».   In general, of course, there should be a regional plan for the disposal of municipal and other waste, especially in the central zone of the Baikal World Heritage Site.  This is something that will have to be lobbied.  By means of preparation for this,  we have published and distribute an information booklet on the dangers of dumps and landfills to develop awareness.

Local initiative groups can grow out of such projects.  Response at a local level shows that in most places there are people who are aware of problems and would like to see improvements but they are not organised.

A project has just begun, in conjunction with the Irkutsk Energy Systems Institute and a British energy consulting firm, at the town of Sliudyanka at the southernmost tip of the lake, where there is a particularly bad problem of air pollution caused largely by the town's 40-odd boiler houses for districting heating.  While the Institute's scientist-engineers will be working on improving operating conditions at a few model district heating boiler houses, Wave staff will be working with local citizens to spread energy-saving propaganda and to conduct a case study at one dwelling house, to illustrate the savings that can be made in energy and money by developing elementary energy-saving habits.  At the same time, our staff will be introducing the concept of sustainable development in the context of improvements to the town's boiler houses.  The  sustainability of our way of life, or rather the lack of it, is something that is hardly ever mentioned let alone discussed.

A reduction in fuel consumption by the introduction of better operating conditions at the boiler houses will bring about a reduction in air pollution. With time, it is hoped, increased energy-saving awareness amongst the local population will eventually reduce demand.   This is a project aimed at encouraging local authorities around Baikal to undertake low-cost improvements to municipal facilities, thereby reducing pollution in the central zone.  The present economic and political situation makes it highly unlikely that any more substantial changes will be made to the energy supply system in the near future.    This is the first time the organisation will be working in conjunction with a group of specialists to take the first steps towards actually reducing the load on Baikal, if only by a little bit.    

 Follow-up to the project will involve developing pressure on local authorities to expand and implement boiler house operating conditions in this and other towns. An impending energy price rise in Russia is motivation for environmentally-friendly action. 

In the city of Irkutsk, we have set up a 'Hot Line' run by Wave staff and volunteers to fight the problem of burning rubbish in the streets of the town.   Potentially, such projects could be organised in the larger towns and settlements around the lake.   The open burning of rubbish is actually practised widely despite the fact that it is actually against the law in towns. However, this is a major source of dioxin pollution and there should be a definite non-burning policy for sustainability. To fight this problem we have been running a campaign in Irkutsk itself, the large industrial towns where our branches are situated, and in the towns and villages around the lake for the past two years or more.  It is a long-term campaign, as bad habits dye hard, as we say.    

Information:  Only well-informed citizens can defend their rights and fully participate in processes that determine their future.   For this reason the Wave produces a quarterly journal for a wide reading public on regional and global environmental questions.  Three thousand copies of  this are distributed to target groups, organisations and individuals throughout the region.  Since the first journal was produced in May 1995, the organisation has built up a network of teachers, youth workers, students, staff of state environmental and nature conservation organisations, scientists, NGO activists, administrations, and libraries.  A survey carried out in 1999 showed that for some people, especially in outlying areas, the Wave's journal, «Volna», was practically the only source of environmental information they received.

The organisation works closely with Irkutsk scientists and its staff collects information on local problems.

We also produce separate publications, pamphlets and leaflets with different kinds of information on a variety of topics, usually in connection with one or other project.  For example, when it was discovered by local scientist colleagues that there was a high level of dioxins and PCBs in the Lake Baikal food web, our staff began a study of the question of these most dangerous toxins.  We translated into Russian and published studies on this problem for distribution to target groups not only in the Baikal region but to the whole of Russia.  This was a relatively newly discovered problem and poorly understood, if at all.  I think one can fairly say that by our publications high quality and scientifically sound information on the subject was brought to all levels from the staff of state environmental agencies to concerned members of the public.   It is quite fair to say that in terms of informing people about environmental questions, in Russia NGOs are way ahead of state agencies that do not have the resources to fulfil this task adequately.

Thanks to the organisation's press-centre with a professional journalist-coordinator the Wave has good relations with mass media agencies.  This, of course, does not mean that they all support our position, but that we usually get good coverage at a local level and, at times, national level.  We produce video material for news reports,  social video clips on environmental themes to develop awareness of how ordinary people can damage their environment by thoughtless behaviour and how they can, on the contrary, improve the situation significantly.  Topics such as the dangers of burning rubbish, throwing away used car batteries, pouring used motor oil onto the earth, and using leaded petrol have been covered.  These have been repeatedly shown free of charge on local TV stations.  I'm told they are more interesting than the advertisements!  The Wave's video films and other material is distributed to schools. The Wave has built up a specialised (environmental) library and video library that is particularly popular with students and teachers, but that is open to everyone.  This is probably unique in the region. We also run 4 small specialised mobile libraries for other towns and rural areas in the region.

Citizens' Monitoring and Inspection is a project that started up a year ago specifically to deal with the development of a large gas field in the north of Irkutsk region and the construction of a 3,000 kilometre pipeline that would pass through the Baikal watershed over the territory of Buryatia and Chita Oblast. If the project is to go ahead, the team's work will aim at pressing for the highest operational standards to reduce impact to a minimum.  The same team will be monitoring a similar oil pipeline project that threatens to cause even more disturbance to the environment.  Both these projects require coordinated efforts with NGOs in other territories of the region and will involve the organisation of  public hearings, independent environmental impact assessments, and actual inspection.  If these projects must go ahead, though in our opinion they are inadvisable, it is our job to maintain constant pressure on the operators to keep standards to the highest level.  Otherwise they could only bring much damage to local communities and to the natural environment.  If the pipelines do go ahead, our aim would be to have compensatory protected territories created to ensure restoration of ecosystems in the long term.  That will not be in our lifetime, as the projects could adversely impact some of the richest Siberian pine forests of the region that would take four-hundred years to re-establish themselves all things being equal.  Of course, the oil and gas supplies will last much less time.

Citizens' inspection is now to be extended to include Lake Baikal itself as funds have been allocated for a project that will deal with violations of the law by boats using the lake but not observing the rules of waste disposal.  This will also concern violations by tourist centres,  poaching, and bad fish-breeding practices.   It is hoped that this project will lay the foundations of an on-going project to see that the law is observed and pollution caused by these two types of enterprise is reduced.    Here, we will be closely coordinating our efforts with state inspection agencies as far as possible.  At present they do not have the resources to carry out their duty to the full, and state inspectors need the moral support of NGOs to combat bribery and corruption that is rife today.   This work requires professional skills and will be supervised by a staff member with many years experience in state inspection organisations.  He will also be responsible for the training of volunteers to participate in this work.  There is, in fact, a tradition of such voluntary support for law enforcement in Russia. Perhaps at no time before the present has it been so necessary. 

Yesterday I spoke about the problem of the Baikalsk Pulp Mill as being one of the main motivations for the rise of the grassroots environmental movement in the region.   The story of the struggle to put a stop to the damage being caused by its operation is really the subject of a long talk.  And probably not one. Many NGOs have been involved in pressing and lobbying for a solution.  Perhaps the only results of this so far have been some measures to reduce pollution on the part of the mill and increased annoyance on the part of the Irkutsk authorities in reaction to the constant  continuing  protests.  The argument always used by the authorities against the «uncaring» environmental lobby is «What will happen to all the employees and their families if we close the mill?»  However, the only projects put forward to 'improve' the situation have proposed modernisation. At the same time, nothing has been done by either the town's or Irkutsk regional authorities to retrain local Baikalsk people or to stimulate the development of alternative enterprises.  Things have been left to go their own way.  Perhaps sometimes with the hope that some kind outside 'uncle' will step in and save the situation.  For these authorities the best way to 'save' it would be with another money-spinner...

In order to counter the old-aged arguments about environmentalists allegedly not caring for people, in 1999, the Wave assisted its branch in Baikalsk to set up a Business Incubator to help local people learn about setting up and running small businesses.   This, of course, is, first and foremost, in the  interests of the local government.  This is something they should have done at least at the beginning of the '90s. However, they could only give support to our Incubator in word but not in deed.  In other towns in Russia where similar business incubators have been set up with the help of foreign funds and know-how, enterprising local authorities do their best to assist in giving the incubators a start, at least by providing no-rent or low-rent premises.  In Baikalsk, apparently, this was impossible.  Many buildings went unused in the period after the practical collapse of the Russian economy after 'perestroika' and the break up of the Soviet Union, but in Baikalsk these were all sold off cheaply, largely to people who were only interested in making money from trading.  Even a small clothing enterprise that had been assisted by the Baikalsk Business Incubator is forced to rent a room at one of the local schools.  I think this aptly characterises the extent the regional and local authorities are prepared to go in order to create alternative, environmentally friendly, employment for the people of this company town on Baikal - World Heritage Site.