IAGLR cautions against proposal to increase nutrient loads to Lake Baikal

Apr 4, 2019

The Russian Federation's Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment proposes changes to discharge permissions that would increase nutrient loads in Lake Baikal, the world's deepest freshwater lake (see The Moscow Times story for further information). IAGLR has written to the ministry, urging reconsideration of these proposed changes. Below is the full text of the letter from IAGLR President Michael Twiss, or download a copy.

To: Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment of the Russian Federation

Re: The relaxation of Russian Federation laws regulating nutrient disposal into Lake Baikal

Dear Madame or Sir,

Kindly accept this letter as the opinion of the Board of Directors of the International Association of Great Lakes Research (IAGLR) on an issue of global importance to surface freshwater security.  IAGLR was established in 1967 and we represent 800 members primarily from North America but with increasing membership world-wide.  In fact, in 2021 we are co-hosting with the Northern Water Problems Institute an international conference (the European Large Lakes Symposium-IAGLR conference) in Petrozavodsk.

Much of the research activity in the Laurentian Great Lakes of North America centers on the impacts of nutrient enrichment (eutrophication).  Several regions of these great lakes are adversely affected by enrichments of phosphorus and nitrogen, with associated increases in hypoxia (which decreases subsistence fishery productivity), increases in toxigenic Cyanobacterial productivity (which leads to restrictions in source water use), and the prevalence of nuisance benthic algae in nearshore areas (which decreases aesthetic value of beaches and nearshore regions that most visitors to a lake shore encounter).

Given the complexity of issues that result from eutrophication any regulations that reduce control of nutrients into fresh water resources will be fraught with myriad impacts.  Moreover, these impacts can be long lasting for large lake systems due to the carrying capacity of these systems and their inherent inertia such that once ecological thresholds to adverse responses have occurred (also called tipping points) then return to stable conditions can take long to re-attain, if indeed the original state is achievable.

Our scientific association has an annual research conference and we would welcome a delegation from your ministry in the Russian Federation to visit and see examples of how Canada and the United States are currently struggling with a legacy of past practices that led to eutrophication.  Restoration of great lakes is expensive and any opportunity to prevent this ­occurring will reap long-term benefits for communal good.

In closing, we hope that your ministry will heed the well intentioned advice from numerous organizations, including that of IAGLR, and re-consider any initiative to increase nutrient and related toxic contamination of Lake Baikal.

Yours truly,

Michael R. Twiss, PhD