Assessment of the Impact of Planned Construction of Hydropower Plants in Mongolia on the Transboundary Basin of the Selenga River in the Russian Federation

The decision of Mongolia’s Government to implement the projects for the construction of hydropower plants (HPPs) in the transboundary basin of the Selenga River caused the need to study their possible impact on the Russian part of the basin and Lake Baikal. To assess the impact of planned in Mongolia HPPs on the territory of the Russian Federation (water resources and ecosystem), we have studied the expected changes in the yearly hydrological regimes due to flow regulation. A methodology developed at the Melentiev Energy Systems Institute (MESI) allows integrating various models (hydrological, energy, environmental, etc.) into a single system. We have employed this system to model the parameters of the planned HPPs reservoirs and their regulation modes, as well as the deviations of hydrological regimes of Selenga River due to the HPPs construction from those under natural conditions. The concept of “environmental flow” is used to assess changes in the intra-annual hydrological regime of a river. We determine the boundaries of the environmental flow for each month based on an analysis of a variety of biotic and abiotic restrictions for the entire river bed from the border of the Russian Federation to the Selenga River delta.

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Provision of expert status for scientific institutions while making decisions on protection of Lake Baikal

Orlova

2019

IOP Conf. Ser.: Earth Environ. Sci.

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Creation of international and Russian legal basis of Lake Baikal preservation and examples of prevention of its ecosystem threats are determined by professionalism and consolidation of scientific community, joint actions of Russian and international experts and NGOs. The examples of inclusion of Lake Baikal into the World Heritage Site list, adoption of the federal law “On protection of Lake Baikal” and transfer of the “Eastern Siberia - Pacific Ocean” oil pipeline, show the central role of subjective factor in decision making by authorities and consideration of opinion of scientific and expert community. Interests and actions of authorities in regards to global threats to the Lake Baikal ecosystem are studied. Having defined scientific community as the only institution that is capable to find ecologically safe solutions for development of Baikal region, it is necessary to integrate functions of the science as an expert body in decision making by authorities. The article includes a set of measures for achieving of common positions of scientific community based on the Scientific council on Lake Baikal problems, and for achieving of legal support of the council’s status as an expert body which position is considered in governmental decision making for Lake Baikal.

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Assessment of the Impact of Planned Construction of Hydropower Plants in Mongolia on the Transboundary Basin of the Selenga River in the Russian Federation

Cited by 5 publications

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Runoff Passing Simulation Model for Assessing the Efficiency of the Water-Power Conditions of an HPP Cascade

Runoff Passing Simulation Model for Assessing the Efficiency of the Water-Power Conditions of an HPP Cascade

An assessment of environmental flow for modelling the operating conditions of Mongolian hydropower plants in the transboundary basin of the Selenga River

Provision of expert status for scientific institutions while making decisions on protection of Lake Baikal

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