On 6 April, 2013 a volunteer outreach campaign
“Pure ice of Lake Baikal” aimed at cleaning the ice and the coast
of the lake took place for the second time in the Barguzin region
of Buryatia within the framework of “Baikal Fishing”.
Action “Pure ice of Lake Baikal 2013” has been initiated by the
organizing committee of “Save Baikal”, the Fund for Protection of
Lake Baikal (FPLB) has become a general partner. The action was
supported by the United Nations Development Program, the
International Baikal shore Voluntary Service, the administration of
the Republic of Buryatia, and a number of public and commercial
organizations.
The solemn opening ceremony was attended by President of the
Republic of Buryatia Vyacheslav Nagovitsyn, Vice-President of the
FPLB Bair Tsyrenov and other officials.
The volunteers were divided into several groups; each of them was
responsible for cleaning a certain area. All the instructions were
done by experienced coordinators of the International Baikal shore
Voluntary Service, who at Lake Baikal has gained considerable
experience for 11 years in effective nature conservation
activity.
During the action the volunteers are engaged not
only in garbage collection, but also in conducting educational work
with the guests and participants on the rules of conduct in the
wild, fire safety in the forest and the waste management. In
addition, the organizer held a survey in order to determine the
degree of awareness of the technology for separate garbage
collection and recycling.
Approximately 50 volunteers who had collected 40 bags of garbage
took part in the action at the Buryat coast.
This is the second stage of the action “Pure ice of Lake Baikal
2013”. The first stage took place on 30 March in the Irkutsk
region, at Listvyanka village. In total, the action was attended by
over 300 volunteers, which is 2 times more than in 2012. 150 bags
of garbage were collected. Organizers note that during the campaign
the valuable information material, which is necessary to continue
the development of models of long-term preservation of purity in
protected natural areas frequently visited by tourists, has been
collected.
Head of the Republic of Buryatia Vyacheslav Nagovitcin opens “Baikal Fishing 2013”
Vice-President of the FPLB Bair Tsyrenov
Participants and volunteers welcome Bair Tsyrenov and project managers of “Save Baikal” Maksim Tokarev and Milana Petrova
Volunteers - the participants of “Pure ice of Lake Baikal 2013”