Baikalsky

The Baikalsky zapovednik was established in 1969 on the southern shore of Lake Baikal, in Buryatia, and protects a sector of the Khamar-Daban range, which rises directly above the lake. Its area is around 200,500 hectares.

The range intercepts the moisture coming off the lake and creates a marked climatic contrast between its two slopes: the northern one, facing Baikal, receives very heavy precipitation and supports a dark, dense taiga of fir and Siberian pine with abundant mosses and ferns, while the southern is markedly drier. That difference makes the reserve a reference site for the study of climatic gradients in southern Siberia, and its flora preserves relict elements from warmer periods.

The fauna is that of the Siberian taiga, with brown bear, sable, wolverine, musk deer, elk and forest reindeer, and in the waters of the lake the Baikal seal, the only exclusively freshwater pinniped on the planet. In 1986 the territory was incorporated into the Lake Baikal Region Biosphere Reserve under UNESCO's MAB programme, and in 2000 it was recognised as an independent biosphere reserve. Since 1996 it has formed part of the natural property Lake Baikal on the World Heritage List.