Russia's leading environmental organizations are planning to hand over on Tuesday an appeal to President Dmitry Medvedev asking him to reverse a government resolution to reopen a controversial pulp and paper mill on the shore of Lake Baikal.
The resolution, which excludes the production of pulp, paper and cardboard from the list of operations banned in the Baikal territory, was signed by Prime Minister Vladimir Putin in mid-January.
"This document... endangers both Lake Baikal and Russia's reputation because the lake is a UNESCO World Heritage Site," director of the Baikal program at Greenpeace Russia Roman Vazhenkov said.
Lake Baikal, the world's largest freshwater lake, is known for its natural beauty and biodiversity. Over 80% of the animals living in the lake are endemic.
Russian environmentalists managed to amass 45,000 signatures in an appeal to stop further pollution of the lake from the mill, which was reopened after being suspended for 16 months due to ecological concerns.
The environmentalists claim that the closure of the mill would not negatively affect the lives of local residents or cause social unrest.
"The town of Baikalsk [where the mill is located] does not need the mill. The future of the town [population of around 14,000] lies in alternative industries and tourism. There are plenty of opportunities for the development of these industries here," the appeal says.
A public campaign to close or convert the Baikal Pulp and Paper Mill, built in 1966, became a symbol of Glasnost, the policy of "openness" policy followed by Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev in the late 1980s.
It involved some of the nation's leading statesmen and literary figures and forced the Soviet government to promise to halt production by 1993.
The collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 delayed the decision, and it was only in October 2008 that the plant switched over to a closed water cycle, preventing the discharge of waste into the lake.
In late December 2009, the Baikal mill started testing its new equipment and is expected to go into full production, including disposal of waste products into the lake, in late May.
MOSCOW, May 17 (RIA Novosti)
