Lake Baikal Faces Environmental Threats Worsened by Ukraine War, Say Photographers

Lake Baikal, the world's largest and oldest freshwater lake, is experiencing severe environmental degradation that has been exacerbated by the war in Ukraine, according to photographers Gabriela Bulišová and Marek Isaac who spent a year documenting the region. The ancient Siberian lake faces multiple threats including widespread deforestation, illegal hotel construction along its shores, and pollution of its waters. The photographers' year-long documentation project has captured the mounting environmental pressures on the UNESCO World Heritage site, which contains about 20% of the world's unfrozen freshwater. The ongoing conflict in Ukraine has apparently intensified some of these environmental challenges, though the photographers did not specify the exact mechanisms through which the war has affected the lake's ecosystem.