Employees of the Russian branch of Greenpeace presented the results of their expedition to Lake Baikal. In a short documentary the experts talk about current environmental problems and ways to solve them.

Experts from the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences and the International Socio-Ecological Union took part in the shooting of the film. Researchers tell about the impact of uncontrolled development of the shores, plastic garbage and wastes of the Baikal pulp and paper mill (BPPM) on the ecological condition of the lake.

This is not the first time the organization attracts attention to the condition of the deepest lake in the world. For instance, earlier Greenpeace drew attention to the fact that absence of centralized sewerage system at camping sites and some settlements of the region results in pollution of the lake with sewage.

Besides, wastes, accumulated within the period of BPPM functioning, cause much concern. According to the scientists and state bodies this is about 6.5 mln tons of solid and liquid wastes. At present they are stored in 14 accumulators near the lake.

Environmentalists believe that in order to preserve Baikal it is necessary to provide state ecological monitoring not only of the lake, but also of its coast, to completely ban sewage discharge into the lake, to evaluate and introduce regulated restrictions on the number of tourists coming to the lake. In addition, they believe that the gradual replacement and prohibition of plastic and disposable dishes and the use of phosphates in detergents will contribute to the ecological well-being of the region.