On December 5, 2016, TASS held a press conference and announced the beginning of the activities of the private Foundation.
For three years, the Foundation has worked on the task of ensuring the sustainable development of lake Baikal: it promoted environmental thinking and natural-scientific and humanitarian projects and initiatives for the preservation and development of the Baikal natural territory, supported research on the study and overcoming of environmental problems of the lake. During this time, the Foundation won 3 Presidential Grants, supported and implemented more than ten projects on its own, attracted 5 Trustees and 7 pro bono partners, involved the expert community and intellectual volunteers in systemic initiatives to study and preserve the lake and the Baikal natural territory.
The Foundation helps a project of unique monitoring of lake Baikal, the longest in the world, to continue its existence; regularly supports the initiatives of young scientists in the field of applied environmental research and development: projects range from assessing the nature of symbiotic relationships of actinobacteria — producers of modern antibiotics — with endemic amphipods of lake Baikal to monitoring birds in conditions of prolonged low water and preservation of the Baikal vole on Olkhon island. The Foundation initiated the creation of a scientific program for the study of the Baikal seal, conducts minimally invasive studies of the endemic and shares their results in the public domain. The Foundation implements separate waste collection in specially protected natural areas and is engaged in various modern projects in the field of environmental education for children. All projects are implemented in cooperation with leading scientists from the institutes of the Russian Academy of Sciences, specialists of protected areas, international non-governmental organizations. We develop partnership in a non-profit environment, do not compete for projects and strive for synergy of efforts of all parties interested in the preservation of the Baikal natural territory.
Today representatives of the Foundation are members of the expert Council of the Agency for strategic initiatives, the expert Council of the national project «Ecology» under the Ministry of natural resources and ecology of the Russian Federation, the Basin Council of the Angara-Baikal Basin District. The Foundation regularly raises issues of Baikal conservation at the international level: at the Summit on sustainable development of the World Economic Forum, at specialized working sessions in the EU countries, at Russian business events at the Federal and regional levels.
The Foundation aims to be a center of knowledge and expertise on the Baikal natural territory, our tasks are to accumulate knowledge and share it, to promote competent water resources management, to build a comprehensive work on the formation of a system of charity in the field of ecology.
We thank all those who support the work of the Foundation, our partners and private donors, of whom the Foundation has more than 700, taking into account those who help under the campaign «Ruble a day» initiated by «Nuzhna Pomosch» charitable foundation. We present the results in figures and facts and hope for continued cooperation!