Different Paths

Many at Baikal, who in principle support ecotourism as an alternative to industry and resource extraction, worry about the destruction and litter left behind by increased numbers of tourists. The Great Baikal Trail (GBT) Association, according to its organizers, works to increase tourism while decreasing its impact through the construction of ecotrails.

According to international experience, well-built nature trails attract the bulk of the traffic to one location and minimize the impact. As Robin Clark of EarthCorps explained, tourists do not always choose the most ecologically-sound routes for hiking. Well-built, well-marked trails can lead traffic away from more sensitive areas. Furthermore, trail experts, such as Benjamin Cate, also of EarthCorps, argue that a well-built trail minimizes erosion and can often be used to reinforce erosion-prone areas. In fact, one GBT project planned for 2004 includes building a trail on Yarki Island, specifically to reinforce the bank.

Here, however, foreign and Russian values often collide. GBT experts see the typical Russian “wild trail” as erosion-prone and destructive. Many Russian naturalists, Volodya included, do not like walking reinforced dirt trails since they no longer feel they are in “untouched nature.” GBT workers hope that, with time, locals will become more accustomed to the ecotrails and come to understand their benefits.