Natural Resources Ministry: no okay to lower Lake Baikal water level to refill Angara reservoir
MOSCOW. Oct 21 (Interfax) - The Natural Resources and Environment Ministry will not alter the regime for regulating flows to and from Lake Baikal, the ministry said in a statement.
"The water management situation in Russia remains stable," water management agency Rosvodresursov chief Maria Seliverstova said. "However, in a number of regions the trend toward lower river water levels persists. In particular, an initiative from energy industry officials in Irkutsk to lower the level of Baikal due to low water levels in the Angara reservoir was mentioned," she said.
However, Natural Resources and Environment Minister Sergei Donskoi rejected an alteration to the water management regime because "Baikal is a priority resource and a model territory for implementation of the principle of sustainable development and harmonizing interactions between people and nature in the interests of future generations."
"The problem of protecting a unique natural resource, Lake Baikal, is a problem of preserving the freshwater resource of global significance," Donskoi said.