Should Russia give Baikal to friendly China? Will Russia sell Baikal to China? They want to give Baikal to the Chinese

Russia sold Baikal to China. The water of the world's largest freshwater lake is pumped into the Celestial Empire by pipeline.

The sharp rapprochement between Russia and China increases the chances of implementing the project of transferring Baikal water to the northern regions of this country. The development of such a project by Chinese scientists was reported by the British The Guardian. Russia sees the economic benefits of such cooperation, but there are political risks, experts say.

According to the newspaper, we are talking about laying a pipeline over one thousand kilometers long from the southwestern tip of Lake Baikal, through Mongolia, the Gobi Desert to the city of Lanzhou, the capital of Gansu province. The authors of the project are specialists from the Institute of Urban and Rural Planning from Lanzhou.

The technology of pumping water "is not a problem," the media writes, and now the success of the idea depends on politicians. "Once the technical issues are resolved, diplomats should get together and talk about how each side could benefit from this kind of international cooperation," said development team leader Academician Li Luoli.

to lay the pipe, last year only 380 mm of precipitation fell.

It should be noted that the Russian authorities have long and eagerly been talking about the possibility of trading the country's water resources. In 2015, the head of Buryatia, Alexander Nagovitsin, offered to sell bottled Baikal water "at a price higher than gasoline." In addition, the Ministry of Agriculture of the Russian Federation declared its readiness to pump water "surplus" from the Altai Territory to China. It is this fact, as a precedent, that specialists from Lanzhou now refer to.

As Shi Weixin, the main developer of another Chinese project, “Turning Chinese Rivers from South to North”, explained, the weak points of the Baikal pipeline are the ecological consequences for the lake, as well as the transportation of water in winter. There is also a moral factor. Thus, every fifth inhabitant of Russia (19%) considers Lake Baikal to be a visiting card of Russia and this is the second most popular response after the Kremlin (36%).

Andrei Ostrovsky, Deputy Director of the Institute of Far East Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, confirmed that China's needs for water resources are very high, and water import is one of the ways to get out of the situation.

- In terms of water supply, China is divided into two parts: the northern and northeastern parts, and the rest of the country. It is no coincidence that a project is being carried out there to transfer water from south to north. There is excess water in the areas south of the Yangtze River. We are talking about the province of Sichuan, near Tibet, where the sources of the largest rivers are located: the Yangtze, the Yellow River, the Brahmaputra, the Mekong, etc. And in the north there is barely enough for domestic and industrial needs. The issue of water supply is especially acute in large cities, primarily in Beijing, where there are no large rivers.

There are theoretically two ways to solve the water problem. Internal sources are just the transfer of rivers, and the import of water from outside. But so far, there is no water in the structure of China's imports.

In turn, the Putin regime has long dreamed of making money by selling fresh water. At the same time, the Russians are being hanged, promising that the money will allegedly go "for the development of Siberia." The only question is who will own the lands that they plan to develop. All the same Chinese.

Recall that in 2015, the Chinese company Huae Xinbang, which is located in Zhejiang province, signed an agreement with the Putin administration of the Trans-Baikal Territory to lease 115,000 hectares of land for 49 years. The Chinese will grow rice and other agricultural products there, naturally for their own needs.

After the signing of the agreement, worth only $ 28 million, there was a massive deforestation, which was completely exported to China. The felling continues.

In addition, the Chinese are demanding a stake in Rosneft, which pumps oil in Siberia. China wants to get special rights in the management of this oil company.

In addition, according to local sources, the Kremlin has given the go-ahead to the Chinese experts for an intensive study of Siberia. The Chinese are choosing new territories "for rent" for tens and decades of years.

The small village of Listvyanka, located on the shores of Lake Baikal, has become the focus of Russian media attention. It started after Baikal was sold to the Chinese. Many newspapers claim that Chinese investors are looking to buy land and make the area a province of China.

For a long time they have maintained not only partnerships, but also friendly relations, especially in recent years. This was confirmed by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Chinese Empire himself, during a visit to the Russian capital in December.

Putin has decided on mutually beneficial cooperation, which will significantly raise the level of the country's economy after its decline as a result of conflicts with Ukraine. Chinese partners have invested not only in the Russian economy, but also in other European countries, in order to create a single infrastructure. This project received a special priority and affected the pride of many Russian citizens.

Land lease

It is known that back in 2015, one of the Chinese companies located in the city of Zhejiang entered into an agreement on the lease of Baikal lands. The agreement provided for the sale of land for 49 years in advance, an area of \u200b\u200b115,000 hectares, which the Chinese plan to use for their own purposes - for growing rice and other agricultural products.

According to one of the project leaders of the Chinese side, all the details about the benefits for all partners will be resolved after the technical side of the issue is settled. However, after the first investment of about US $ 28 million, intensive deforestation began. All timber was imported to China in full, and deforestation work continues to this day.

In addition, Chinese investors have demanded that Putin contractual cooperation with a Russian oil company producing oil in Siberia. After that, the leaders of the Kremlin approved the right to use the Siberian lands for the study of fossil resources. And according to local media reports, the Chinese are buying up territories for future development and are doing it for several decades in advance.

Rent of water

The main task of the Chinese Baikal project is the installation of a water pipeline on the lake, across Mongolian lands, and then through the Gobi Desert. The final destination is the capital of Gansu province - the Chinese suburb of Lanzhou. This project was included as the main point of the 2015 agreement.

The project was developed by Chinese specialists from the Lanzhou District Government Planning Institute. From a theoretical point of view, this development is quite real and no difficulties should arise.

For China, this is a very important project that will help solve the problem with the shortage of fresh water in the country. The Chinese intend to use about seven percent of water resources, which is an unacceptable figure, given that China occupies 20% of the world's population.

Beijing's investors are planning to take a leading position in market relations, implying the sale of drinking water transported from Lake Baikal. In the future, they are going to pump about 2,000,000 tons of water per year. And the “Well of the Earth” trademark has already been patented in many European countries in two languages.

Putin expects to receive a good percentage of the sale of water, arguing that the funds received will go to the restoration and development of infrastructure in Siberian regions. However, the factor that the Chinese are deliberately buying up the lands of Siberia suggests otherwise.

Outcome

Many Russians and residents of Baikal settlements express their dissatisfaction with the sale of Siberian lands to China. Some are sure that they were not given away deliberately, and argue that the Chinese purposefully and openly want to buy up Russian lands, which were once allegedly the territory of the great Chinese dynasty.

According to many journalists of the newspaper "Komsomolskaya Pravda", in addition to water and forests, the PRC plans to invest in the following activities:

processing industry;
oil production;
international tourism.

From the point of view of ecology, the forests and the coast of Lake Baikal can be severely damaged. This is facilitated by the constant destruction of forests, the laying of pipelines and other communications. These places are the habitat of many rare animals and birds, which may disappear during construction and progress. However, neither the Kremlin nor the Chinese government cares about this. If Chinese investors buy most of the land, it will be almost impossible to control the situation.

Local authorities convince residents that the resources consumed by the Chinese Baikal will not cause significant damage, since the indicators of deforestation and transportation of fresh water do not exceed environmental standards. And a share of the profit will pay off the damage and part of the funds will be invested in the restoration of living resources of Siberia, especially taiga. Moreover, the authorities no longer plan to sell their territories and are doing everything possible to preserve the environment.

According to Nikita Isaev, the leader of the New Russia party, Russian politicians make a reasonable assessment of the situation on Lake Baikal and will not allow an environmental crisis. Moreover, the Chinese promised not to compensate for the damage caused, but also to contribute to other Siberian projects that are very beneficial for Russia.

Increases the chances of implementing the project for the transfer of Baikal water to the northern regions of this country. The development of such a project by Chinese scientists was reported by the British The Guardian. Russia sees the economic benefits of such cooperation, but there are political risks, experts say.

The technology of pumping water "is not a problem," the media writes, and now the success of the idea depends on politicians. "Once the technical issues are resolved, diplomats should get together and talk about how each side could benefit from such international cooperation," said development team leader Academician Li Luoli.

According to representatives of the PRC, both sides will benefit from the implementation of the project. China can solve the problem of water scarcity. With 20% of the world's population, it has only 7% of its water reserves. So, in the province of Gansu, where the pipeline is supposed to be laid, only 380 mm of precipitation fell over the past year. In turn, for Russia, the export of Baikal water will become a source of stable financing for the development of Siberia.

Note that the Russian authorities have long and eagerly talked about the possibility of trading the country's water resources. In 2015, the head of Buryatia, Alexander Nagovitsin, offered to sell bottled Baikal water "at a price higher than gasoline." In addition, the Ministry of Agriculture of the Russian Federation declared its readiness to pump water "surplus" from the Altai Territory to China. It is this fact, as a precedent, that specialists from Lanzhou now refer to.

As Shi Weixin, the main developer of another Chinese project, “Turning Chinese Rivers from South to North”, explained, the weak points of the Baikal pipeline are the environmental consequences for the lake, as well as the transportation of water in winter. There is also a moral factor. Thus, every fifth inhabitant of Russia (19%) considers Lake Baikal to be a visiting card of Russia and this is the second most popular response after the Kremlin (36%).

In terms of water supply, China is divided into two parts: the northern and northeastern parts, and the rest of the country. It is no coincidence that a project is being carried out there to transfer water from south to north. There is excess water in the areas south of the Yangtze River. We are talking about the province of Sichuan, near Tibet, where the sources of the largest rivers are located: the Yangtze, the Yellow River, the Brahmaputra, the Mekong, etc. And in the north there is barely enough for domestic and industrial needs. The issue of water supply is especially acute in large cities, primarily in Beijing, where there are no large rivers.

There are theoretically two ways to solve the water problem. Internal sources are just the transfer of rivers, and the import of water from outside. But so far there is no water in the structure of China's import.

"SP": - Apparently, it will appear soon, since we are talking about the transfer of Baikal water ...

This topic has been discussed for a long time. There is even an old Chinese anecdote about how the construction of a pipeline from Lake Baikal is endlessly postponed. In general, this is a very expensive and time consuming project. Although the Chinese are known for their large-scale hydraulic structures. Even before our era, the Great Canal was built - from Beijing to Hangzhou. By the way, it is still partially valid now.

Researcher of Lake Baikal, member of the Russian Geographical Society Leonid Kolotilo proposed to evaluate the possibility of taking water from Baikal by solving a simple arithmetic problem.

To assess the consequences of water intake, one must first of all know the estimated capacity of the pipeline. The amount of cubic meters of water per second that will leave through the pipeline must be compared with the amount of water leaving Baikal through the Angara (Angara is the only river flowing out of the lake - author). For the Angara, this is about 1800 tons of water per second. In addition, seasonal fluctuations and fluctuations over several years must be taken into account. It's like a school pool puzzle. First, the mechanics of the process are calculated. And only then ecologists will have to calculate more subtle things. After all, any ecosystem has parameters of sustainability.

Mikhail Grachev, director of the Limnological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, does not see a big problem in water withdrawal.

It should be understood that 60 cubic kilometers of water flows from Baikal to the Arctic Ocean every year. To convert to liters, you need to add twelve more zeros. This is a huge figure. Many can be drunk.

However, what really causes concern is that there are no treatment facilities, sewerage, etc. At first glance, this is not very scary. Baikal is huge. Even if all people on Earth are drowned in Lake Baikal, its level will rise by only three centimeters. But now, we see that an ecological crisis begins on the lake. Algae, not typical for the lake, grew here - spirogyra. In addition, Baikal sponges are sick, new bacteria have appeared. The state has just begun to turn to the topic of real salvation of Baikal.

"SP": - That is, the environmental hazard is more important than the withdrawal of water for the pipeline to China?

It is not clear to me why exactly to China. We also have a colossal water shortage in the Chita region. Or, for example, in Central Asia. Let engineers and politicians decide where to ship. There is a problem in the Chinese direction - you will have to drive water through the mountains, where there is permafrost. Apparently, the pipes will have to be heated with electricity. All this still needs to be discussed.

Maksim Vorontsov, an employee of the Baikal Interactive Environmental Center, fears both the environmental consequences of laying the pipeline and, in general, the high activity of China in the Baikal direction.

Information about such projects appears from time to time. But so far, thank God, things have not gone beyond statements of intent. In addition to diplomatic procedures and the technical difficulties of laying such a long pipeline through the hills of Transbaikalia and Mongolia, one must also take into account the environmental consequences and economic profitability.

The fact is that after a long transportation, Baikal water will lose its unique qualities. There will be just industrial water suitable for irrigation of fields, but not for use as drinking water. Given the costs of building and maintaining the pipeline, water may be too expensive.

SP: What can be the environmental consequences for the area through which the pipeline will pass?

From the point of view of ecology, it is necessary to take into account the damage to the taiga and the coast of Lake Baikal from the construction of the pipeline: clearing of clearings, laying of roads and power grids, construction of housing, etc.

Baikal is very large and it will be difficult even for the Chinese to pump it through the pipe. But one must not forget about the water level in Lake Baikal. If you take a layer of water 1 cm thick from the entire surface of Lake Baikal, you get more than 3 million tons. Is it a lot or a little? It is necessary to see what the throughput of the pipeline will be. In recent years, Chinese business has been actively looking at Lake Baikal. Both as a tourist attraction and as a resource - water, gas, minerals, earth. China has its own vision of the development of this territory. But, now, does Russia have its own vision?

Nikita Isaev, head of the New Russia social and political movement, hopes that Russian politicians will refrain from the Baikal project with China, as Beijing's focus on Russian natural resources becomes more and more obvious.

I believe that Russia will be very cautious about any projects of deep integration with China, since in three years of "turning to the East" we have not received any clear economic and political bonuses from Beijing that could compensate for the partial rejection of the Western vector in politics. We counted not only on gas sales through the Power of Siberia and Chinese investments in this project, but also on the substantial use of Chinese financial resources without trying to influence economic and political processes in Russia.

In fact, all Chinese investments are aimed only at pumping out our resources. For example, in the timber industry complex in the border regions. But Beijing did not participate in the construction of a bridge across the Lena for political reasons. When the sale of a 19% stake in Rosneft was discussed, China hoped to get special rights in the management of our company. There are other examples as well. The same can be expected in the case of the Baikal project. Of course, China is interested in receiving Russian water, but the benefits to Russia are not so obvious.

The technology of pumping water "is not a problem," the media writes, and now the success of the idea depends on politicians. "As soon as the technical issues are resolved, diplomats should get together and negotiate how each side could benefit from such international cooperation," said the leader of the development group, Academician Li Luoli.

It should be noted that the Russian authorities have long and eagerly been talking about the possibility of trading the country's water resources. In 2015, the head of Buryatia Alexander Nagovitsin offered to sell bottled Baikal water "at a price higher than gasoline." In addition, the Ministry of Agriculture of the Russian Federation declared its readiness to pump water "surplus" from the Altai Territory to China. It is this fact, as a precedent, that specialists from Lanzhou now refer to.

As explained by the main developer of another Chinese project - "Turning Chinese rivers from south to north" Shi WeixinThe weak points of the Baikal pipeline are the ecological consequences for the lake, as well as the transportation of water in winter. There is also a moral factor. Thus, every fifth inhabitant of Russia (19%) considers Lake Baikal to be a visiting card of Russia and this is the second most popular response after the Kremlin (36%).

Andrey Ostrovsky, Deputy Director of the RAS Institute for Far Eastern Studiesconfirmed that China's water needs are very high, and water imports are one way to get out of the situation.

"SP": - Apparently, it will appear soon, since we are talking about the transfer of Baikal water ...

- This topic has been discussed for a long time. There is even an old Chinese anecdote about how the construction of a pipeline from Lake Baikal is endlessly postponed. In general, this is a very expensive and time consuming project. Although the Chinese are known for their large-scale hydraulic structures. Even before our era, the Great Canal was built - from Beijing to Hangzhou. By the way, it is still partially valid now.

Explorer of Baikal, member of the Russian Geographical Society Leonid Kolotiloproposed to evaluate the possibility of taking water from Baikal by solving a simple arithmetic problem.

- To assess the consequences of water withdrawal, you must first of all know the estimated capacity of the pipeline. The amount of cubic meters of water per second that will leave through the pipeline must be compared with the amount of water leaving Baikal through the Angara ( Angara is the only river flowing out of the lake - ed.). For the Angara, this is about 1800 tons of water per second. In addition, seasonal fluctuations and fluctuations over several years must be taken into account. It's like a school pool puzzle. First, the mechanics of the process are calculated. And only then ecologists will have to calculate more subtle things. After all, any ecosystem has parameters of sustainability.

Director of the Limnological Institute RAS Mikhail Grachev does not see a big problem in water withdrawal.

- You have to understand that 60 cubic kilometers of water flows from Baikal to the Arctic Ocean every year. To convert to liters, you need to add twelve more zeros. This is a huge figure. Many can be drunk.

However, what really causes concern is the fact that there are no treatment facilities, sewerage systems, etc. on the shore of Lake Baikal. At first glance, this is not very scary. Baikal is huge. Even if all people on Earth are drowned in Lake Baikal, its level will rise by only three centimeters. But now, we see that an ecological crisis begins on the lake. Algae, not typical for the lake, grew here - spirogyra. In addition, Baikal sponges are sick, new bacteria have appeared. The state has just begun to turn to the topic of real salvation of Baikal.

"SP": - So the environmental hazard is more important than the withdrawal of water for the pipeline to China?

- I don't understand why exactly to China. We also have a colossal water shortage in the Chita region. Or, for example, in Central Asia. Let engineers and politicians decide where to ship. There is a problem in the Chinese direction - you will have to drive water through the mountains, where there is permafrost. Apparently, the pipes will have to be heated with electricity. All this still needs to be discussed.

Employee of the Baikal Interactive Environmental Center Maxim Vorontsov fears both the environmental consequences of the pipeline and the overall high activity of China in the Baikal direction.

- Information about such projects appears from time to time. But so far, thank God, things have not gone beyond statements of intent. In addition to diplomatic procedures and the technical difficulties of laying such a long pipeline through the hills of Transbaikalia and Mongolia, one must also take into account the environmental consequences and economic profitability.

SP: - What can be the environmental consequences for the area through which the pipeline will pass?

- From the point of view of ecology, it is necessary to take into account the damage to the taiga and the coast of Lake Baikal from the construction of the pipeline: cutting of clearings, laying of roads and power grids, construction of housing, etc.

Head of the social and political movement "New Russia" Nikita Isaevhopes that Russian politicians will refrain from the Baikal project with China as Beijing's focus on Russian natural resources becomes more evident.

- I believe that Russia will be very cautious about any projects of deep integration with China, since in three years of "turning to the East" we have not received any clear economic and political bonuses from Beijing that could compensate for the partial rejection of the Western vector in politics. We counted not only on gas sales through the Power of Siberia and Chinese investments in this project, but also on the substantial use of Chinese financial resources without trying to influence economic and political processes in Russia.

In fact, all Chinese investments are aimed only at pumping out our resources. For example, in the timber industry in the border regions. But Beijing did not participate in the construction of a bridge across the Lena for political reasons. When the sale of a 19% stake in Rosneft was discussed, China hoped to receive special rights in the management of our company. There are other examples as well. The same can be expected in the case of the Baikal project. Of course, China is interested in receiving Russian water, but the benefits to Russia are not so obvious.

500,000 liters of Baikal's purest water will be bottled every day and exported to China. And three-kilometer pipelines will be stretched across the lake, blocking access to the lake for fishermen.

The plant will be built in a unique place on the lake - in the Slyudyansky district. Many rare birds come here every year. This “bird's crossroads”, as scientists call it, deserves protection and recognition as a natural monument. But not building a plant.

“The first larks have already appeared here. And most likely the last time. They are unlikely to arrive at the plant on the coast ... ".

The Chinese company will export the water of Lake Baikal to the Middle Kingdom. Beijing investors expect to become the leaders in the Chinese drinking water market due to the Baikal water. The design capacity of the enterprise is 2 million tons of water per year. The Earth Well trademark is already registered in Chinese and english in 12 countries.

Investors intend to reach the design capacity of 2 million tons of water per year by 2020. The enterprise will be built on the shore of the lake in the village of Vydrino. The agreement on the sale of Baikal water to the Chinese was concluded by Beijing entrepreneurs and the government of Buryatia in the spring of 2015.

Literally a couple of months after the world's largest freshwater lake began to shallow on record. The water level decreased by 40 cm compared to 2013, such a dry period was noted for the first time in 60 years.
About 6 centimeters remained until the critical point, after which the power supply, water supply and heat supply of social facilities and industrial enterprises of the region would be disrupted.

Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev signed a decree "On the limiting values \u200b\u200bof the water level in Lake Baikal in the autumn-winter period of 2014-2015", according to which the use of the lake's water resources below the established minimum value for economic and other activities is allowed. The maximum levels of Lake Baikal are limited by the requirements of the RF government decree of March 26, 2001.

The document established the minimum permissible water level at 456 meters (Pacific mark - TO), the maximum - 457 meters (TO). Already in mid-March, the water level in Lake Baikal was 455.95 m. By May, the water level dropped by another ten centimeters. The shallowing of the lake led to the fact that water disappeared in the wells of coastal villages and peat bogs dried up. This caused numerous fires in the region in the spring and summer. The authorities of Buryatia have prepared for the introduction of a state of emergency.

The authorities of Buryatia claim that the intake of water for sale in the PRC in the volumes declared by investors will not harm the ecology of the region. "According to the conclusion of scientists, without damaging the ecosystem of Baikal, it is possible to extract up to 400 million tons of water per year - this is 0.5% of the expenditure part of the lake's water balance," explained the Regional Development Fund of the republic. For businessmen from China, the Federal Agency for Water Resources has allocated a quota for the production of up to 3.5 million cubic meters of water.

In the region, work has already begun on the design of the water intake and production workshops. Issues related to power supply, construction of a railway line for shipping products for export to China are being resolved. The entire project is estimated at 1.6 billion rubles. The company will employ about 500 people, 70% of the staff will be local residents.