Status of the Lake Fund of the Arctic Zone of the Russian Federation

Abstract

In the context of the active development of the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation (AZRF), it is extremely important to analyze the status of its lake fund and potential changes in the ecological state of lake ecosystems that are expected in connection with the existing plans for the development of the northern territories. This analysis will make it possible to form a program for studying and monitoring lakes aimed at the rational use of their natural potential, including providing the population with water of adequate quality and preventing water-caused environmental disasters, which could be fraught with negative environmental changes and a decrease in biodiversity. The AZRF contains ∼2/3 of the country’s bodies of water. The regional evaluation of the status of the lake ecosystems of the Russian Arctic indicates that significant changes currently cover no more than half of the lakes and only some water bodies can be characterized as extremely dangerous. However, as the Arctic is being developed, the number of regions with a deteriorating ecological situation is steadily growing, and many problems arising in water ecosystems are not solved because of a lack of data. Proposals are put forward by the authors of this article that seem to them of paramount importance in forming the AZRF development program. It is emphasized that its implementation without the proper environmental component will lead to a significant expansion of the pollution geography of Arctic water bodies.