of gobies. The omul salmon is heavily fished; also important are the grayling, lake whitefish, and sturgeon. Unique to the lake is a fish called the golomyanka, of the family Comephoridae, which gives birth to live young.
• There are more than 320 bird species in the Baikal area.
Biophysical interactions: Climate, Temperatures and Water clarity
• Baikal’ s climate is much milder than that of the surrounding territory. Winter air temperatures average −21 ° C, and August temperatures average 11 ° C. The lake surface freezes in January and thaws in May or June.
• The water temperature at the surface in August is between 10 and 12 ° C and reaches 20 ° C in the offshore shallows. Waves can be as high as 4.6 metres.
• The water is very clear; from the surface one can see to 130 feet( 40 metres). Its salinity is low, and it contains few minerals.
Explain why this ecosystem needs protection( refer to linkages, biodiversity, location and / or extent).
The Committee inscribed Lake Baikal as the most outstanding example of a freshwater ecosystem on the basis of natural criteria( vii),( viii),( ix) and( x). It is the oldest and deepest of the world ´ s lakes containing nearly 20 % of the world ´ s unfrozen freshwater reserve. The lake contains an outstanding variety of endemic flora and fauna, which is of exceptional value to evolutionary science. It is also surrounded by a system of protected areas that have high scenic and other natural values.
The world’ s oldest and deepest body of freshwater, Lake Baikal, is turning into a swamp, Russian ecologists warn. They say that tons of liquid waste from tourist camps and water transport vehicles is being dumped into the UNESCO-protected lake. A recent scientific expedition discovered that 160 tons of liquid waste are produced every season in Baikal’ s Chivyrkui Bay, said the head of