U.S. Water News Online
MOSCOW -- Russia has boosted funding for the protection of Siberia's Lake Baikal, the earth's oldest and deepest lake, the ITAR-Tass news agency has reported.
More than $3.2 million, or one-third more money than last year, will be spent on conservation efforts for the lake in 2001, said agency spokesperson Valery Molotov, head of the Lake Baikal water resource management committee.
Molotov said his committee was planning to draft legislation that would regulate water levels and fishing and prohibit certain activities around the lake, ITAR-Tass said.
Lake Baikal, which UNESCO has named a world heritage site, has been plagued by pollution from a paper mill on its shores. Rampant poaching threatens its trademark inhabitant, the world's only species of freshwater seal. Last year, local authorities announced plans to drill for gas around the lake, angering environmentalists.
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