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Lake Baikal, the sacred sea of Siberia is a

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national gem located in southern Russia

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The crystal-clear water is considered to

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be among the cleanest and clearest in

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the world. This pristine and unique

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environment contains around 2,000

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species that can be found nowhere else

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in the world. The Baikal seal is the only

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seal species that exclusively lives in

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freshwater. This cute creature also has

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the title of one of the smallest true

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seals weighing in at around 140 pounds

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Lake Baikal is inhabited by around 80 to

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100 thousand of these seals

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Unfortunately for the Baikal seal Lake

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Baikal's special ecosystem is threatened

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by the increased warming of the lake and

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pollution. Since 1946 the top layer of

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water in Lake Baikal has warmed 2.1

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degrees Fahrenheit. The ice's thickness

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has decreased by an average of 30 inches

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and in the past 150 years the length of

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the ice-free season has been extended by

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three weeks. With these changes in the

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lake's temperature comes shifts in the

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food web. During the spring diatoms

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which are an energy rich plankton grow

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in abundance due to the lakes ice

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coverage and lack of snow however since

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the lake is warming and the ice is

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melting sooner the smaller and less

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nutritious plankton are growing in

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excess. Baikal oil fish, the seals main

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source of food, are eating less diatom

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and thus Baikal seals are having trouble

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getting the energy they need being

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forced to eat more fish. The ice melting

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affects the Baikal seals reproduction

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process. The adult seals need to mate and

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give birth on top of the ice. This

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process takes place in early spring and

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the seals are being forced into the

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water by the melting ice. Molting, an

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important reproductive stage, is not

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being completed and female fertility is

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decreasing by 60%. This coupled with

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shifts in the food web has caused a

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decline in Baikal seal population. This

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increase in temperature can be seen as

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an effect of worldwide global warming

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however it is not the sole reason for

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the deterioration of Lake Baikal's

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ecosystem: local pollution also plays a

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role

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The former Baikal

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pulp and paper mill used an intense

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system of chemical and biological

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processes to clean their waste before it

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went into the lake. However studies

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showed that the Baikal seal was still

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being impacted. Tissue samples from the

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seals showed mutagenic activity due to

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the waste from the paper mill. Because of

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this the paper mill was shut down in

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2013 after efforts by international

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groups such as Greenpeace

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and the UN. In the year 2001 the East

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Siberia Pacific Ocean oil pipeline was

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proposed to be built within half a mile

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of the Lake Baikal shoreline. After many

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protests to the pipeline's route

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Vladimir Putin agreed to change the

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route to avoid damaging the lake which

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has been proven to have a higher

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sensitivity even to crude oil levels

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deemed as safe for other bodies of water

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Putin stated in the summit with German

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Chancellor Angela Merkel if there is

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even the smallest, the tiniest chance of

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polluting Baikal then we must think of

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future generations we must do everything

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to make sure this danger is not just

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minimized but eliminated. The pipeline's

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first phase was finished in 2009. The law

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of the Russian Federation called on Lake

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Baikal protection protects the lake and

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its region from pollution and calls for

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extra care when dealing with economic

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issues in the lake region. It is a very

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unique environmental legislation on the

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part of the Russian government. Still the

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laws that are set in place aren't always

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enforced. Many tourism infrastructures

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are able to fall through the cracks and

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large infrastructure such as the

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Trans-Siberian Railway are hard to undo

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Although the current legislation is not

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sufficient to preserve Lake Baikal

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progress has been made. Due to the work

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between the Russian government and NGOs

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there has been a reduction in hazardous

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waste dumped into the lake. Air

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pollutants from factories have been

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reduced and there is now monitoring of

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the fragile ecosystem of the lake. A

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recent influx of tourism has angered

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local natives who want to preserve the

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ecological importance of the lake. Recent

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efforts to promote sustainable tourism

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has become more popular as foreigners

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begin to travel to Lake Baikal doing

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home stays, cultural exchanges, native

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guides, and Leave No Trace activities

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like hiking and kayaking

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It is not easy to discern whether or not

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this kind of tourism can lead to

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improvements in the area or continue to

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impact it negatively. With swift action

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to reduce our heat trapping emissions

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international efforts to preserve the

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lake and reduce the industrial legacy of

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pollution in its surroundings could

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minimize harmful changes to lakes' unique

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ecosystems. Because heat trapping

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emissions are rising as we continue to

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burn coal, oil, gas, and trees temperature

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in the Siberian region are projected to

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increase significantly in the future

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Climate models project that region will

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still warm by seven point two degrees to

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nine degrees Fahrenheit by the end of

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the century. As the climate warms ice

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cover will likely continue to shrink

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with implications for creatures great

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and small that call Lake Baikal home

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