Tourism on the south-west coast of lake Baikal as a factor of aggravating environmental problems

Tourist activity poses a serious threat to the ecological safety of Lake Baikal, since a large number of local mass recreation sites are located on the coast. The article presents data on tourist flows and changes in the environmental conditions on the territory of the settlements of Listvyanka and Bolshoe Goloustnoye (south-west coast of Lake Baikal). The article reveals that in the soil cover the destruction and compaction of the upper horizons occurs, there is an abundant inclusion of rubble and gravel with a deficit of fine-grained soil, which leads to its degradation (acceleration of erosion processes, dehumification). The low resistance of the soil to the anthropogenic impact is promoted by its light grain size and low thickness of the humus horizon. The authors have determined the connection between high content of suspended substances in water and the transformation of catchments, floodplain-valley complexes and channels of watercourses. The watercourses of the villages experience an anthropogenic load of varying intensity, and the current state of the rivers flowing into Baikal is characterized by a change in the flow of water, flooding and delta retreat, a decrease in the number of deltaic branches...