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General featuresLake Peipsi/Chudskoe is the fourth largest and the biggest transboundary lake in Europe. It is located on the border of the Republic of Estonia and the Russian Federation between Lake Peipsi Lowland (eastern border of Estonia) and the East-European Plain (Russia). The catchment area is part of the Gulf of Finland basin and is connected to it via the rather short River Narva. It holds more than 4,500 lakes, the largest of which is Lake Võrtsjärv (270 km2). There are about 240 inlets (including tributaries) into Lake Peipsi. The largest rivers are the Velikaya (catchment area 25,600 km2), the Emajõgi (9,745 km2), the Võhandu (1,423 km2), and the Zhelcha (1,220 km2). Altogether they make up about 80 % of the whole catchment area of Lake Peipsi and account for 80% of the total inflow into the lake. The Lake Peipsi watershed is rich in wetland areas: both Emajõe Suursoo (Estonia) and Remedovsky (Russia) are listed as Ramsar sites. The shores of Lake Peipsi are either scarp (cliffy, sandy, morainic) or flat. The flat shores are usually swampy, with reeds and bulrush. They lie mainly on the western side of the lake. Lake Peipsi belongs to the watershed of the Narva River, a 77 km long watercourse, which connects Lake Peipsi with the Gulf of Finland and the Baltic Sea. The mean annual water discharge via the Narva River into the Gulf of Finland is 12.6 km3 (approximately 50% of the average volume of Lake Peipsi). [See the detailed view of the basin]
Climatic conditionsLake Peipsi is located in the continental climate zone whose weather is moderated by the relative closeness of the Atlantic Ocean. The location on the border of the climate transition zone from marine to continental results in unstable weather in all seasons. Summer is comparatively warm and wet, and there is a comparatively mild winter. The continental character increases to the east, where winter is longer and summer is warmer. The watershed belongs to an area of high cyclone activity. An average of 130 cyclones are registered each year, i.e. almost every third day.
Ramsar wetland sites
Socio-economic conditionsAn aging populationThe total population of the basin is approximately 1 million inhabitants, but population density differs throughout the basin: 24 inhabitants/km2 in Estonia and Pskov region, 11 inhabitants/km2 in the sparsely populated eastern shore of the lake. There are only two bigger towns in the basin: Pskov in Russia, with 204,000 inhabitants and Tartu in Estonia, with 98,000 inhabitants, which means that the majority of the basin population lives in small settlements. The number of people living by the lake is comparatively small, with only 27 000 in the local municipalities bordering the lake on the Estonian side. The greatest problem is an ageing population, as the younger generation leaves for bigger towns.
Economic conditions and pollutionThe Lake Peipsi basin can be divided in three parts, each with its own socio-economic characteristics:
Natural resources
Borders and border-crossingsThe total length of the Estonian - Russian border is 333,8 km of which approximately two-thirds runs along Lake Peipsi and the Narva River. The border treaty between two countries has not been signed yet, so officially there is no border, only a control line. There are 5 international border crossing points between the Republic of Estonia and the Russian Federation, but none of them on the lake, which means that the distance between southern and northern border crossing points is about 200 km.
Cultural background
The Lake has been a natural border between people who inhabited territories around Lake Peipsi. According to archaeological finds, permanent agricultural settlements were founded in the first millennium AD. At the end of the first millennium, Slavs reached Lake Pihkva and the eastern coast of Lake Peipsi. The first town-type settlement in the Peipsi area arose near the Pskov stronghold. In the 14th century, strongholds were built at Gdov and Vasknarva. Starting from the 15th-16th centuries, fishing villages appeared on the coasts of the lake. In the second half of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century, the inhabitants of coastal villages occupied themselves with vegetable gardens and handicrafts. On the western and northern shores of the Estonian side of the lake, Russian-speaking populations predominate, among them the Old Believers from Russia. They first settled on the Estonian shore of Lake Peipsi in the 18th century where they sought a peaceful haven beyond the reach of reforms in the Russian Orthodox Church. Since then they have been living as a separate community by the lake without mixing with Estonians. The biggest concentration of them in the world, however, is in Peipsiääre local municipality, situated north of the mouth of the River Emajõgi. Of the 1014 people in the municipality, almost 900 are Old Believers. Altogether there are a few thousand Old Believers living in Estonia.
HydrologyWater budgetThe water budget of the lake is 12.5 km3 annually. Water-level changes are characterized by a spring flood, which lasts for 1.5 months or even longer, and is followed by a long-term (4-5 months) low water level in summer and autumn-winter periods. A short-term rise occurs in autumn. Peculiar feeding conditions account for considerable lake-level fluctuations. Extensive coastal areas are sometimes inundated. Long-term observations have revealed distinct patterns in lake-level fluctuations. In Lake Peipsi double currents are most common. In Lake Lämmijärv, the velocity of streams may exceed 0.5 metres per second. Owing to a considerable amount of solar radiation accumulated in summer, Lake Peipsi freezes over relatively late. The ice cover on Lake Peipsi is usually formed by the end of December. In severe winters ice thickness can reach 70-80 cm.
Water quality changes and human impactsThe Estonian part of Lake Peipsi contributes 89% of surface freshwater and yields 95% of the freshwater fish catch of the country. Lake Peipsi is considered a potential source of water supply for North-East Estonia and the Estonian capital Tallinn. Besides the fact that the water resources of Lake Peipsi can be regarded as practically inexhaustible for Estonia, the lake is also of great importance for fishing and recreation.
One of the main problems with water protection is the eutrophication of surface waters due to the increased load of nutrients caused by human activities. Lake Peipsi receives pollution mainly from two sources: river water and precipitation directly into the lake. The nutrient content in the rivers of Lake Peipsi basin was high at the end of the 1980s, causing eutrophication of water bodies. However, since the beginning of the 1990s, with the dissolution of all collective agricultural farms on the Estonian side and an economic depression on the Russian side of the lake, where the collective farms no longer receive subsidies to spray herbicides on the fields or to keep large cattle stocks, the nutrient load to the lake has decreased considerably. Research indicates that nitrogen and phosphorus loads decreased by 53% and 44% respectively, between the late 1980s and the mid 1990s. This has also noticeably improved the water quality of Lake Peipsi. Heavy metal pollution of the rivers of the Lake Peipsi basin is not an urgent problem as there are no specific pollution sources of metals. According to hydrochemical analysis, the waters flowing into Lake Peipsi belong to the class of hydrocarbonated calcium-rich waters. The oxygen content in most rivers is quite high as there are no big industrial polluters in the basin causing bad oxygen conditions. The pH value and alkalinity in the rivers of the Lake Peipsi basin are relatively high, indicating an excellent buffering capacity in all the river catchment areas of the Lake Peipsi basin.
Fish stock and fish managementAccording to present data, one lamprey and 33 fish species permanently inhabit Lake Peipsi or the lower reaches of its tributaries. The main commercial fish are lake smelt, perch, pikeperch, ruffe, roach, bream, pike and, until the 1990s, also vendace. Secondary commercial fish are burbot, whitefish and white bream. As a result of intensive use of trawls and fine-meshed Danish seines, the stock of pikeperch was strongly depressed for a long time (1957-82). But since trawls were prohibited and the number of Danish seines considerably restricted (from 133 to 40), pikeperch has become one of the most important commercial fish in the lake.
At the beginning of the nineties the possibility of exporting fish to the European market appeared. The opening of this new and highly profitable market resulted in rapidly increasing pressure on fish resources, both in terms of the number of fishermen and in their effort. Some of the most important coastal fishery resources have been over-fished because of high export market demand coupled with poor resource management, control and enforcement. The costs connected to fishing have grown much more than the first buyer prices. Additionally, dynamic development of the Estonian economy has yielded substantial increases of wages in other sectors of economy and therefore the well being of fishermen has steadily worsened. This, in turn, has resulted in increasing social problems. While the average monthly gross wage has risen by nearly five times, the first buyer price of pikeperch has fallen by 1/5. Therefore the amount of pikeperch (kg) needed to earn an average Estonian wage (taxes excluded, fishery costs included) has risen by nearly seven times. Of course it has resulted in increased pressure on the fish stocks and worsened living conditions of fishermen. The number of professional fishermen has varied over the last 10 years. An increase during the first half of the 1990s was followed by a later decline. The total number of professional fishermen on Lake Peipsi is estimated at approximately 450 in Estonia and 700 in Russia. In Estonia there are only five fishing enterprises and a few private entrepreneurs, whereas in Russia there are about 60 enterprises. In both states, all fishing enterprises are private and are mostly in the form of joint-holding companies.
Needs/Uses/DemandsIn the Lake Peipsi watershed there is enough clean ground- and surface water to meet the basic needs of the population. The only bigger settlement using lake water for drinking is Narva (73,000 inhabitants), which takes its water from the River Narva (the only river flowing out of the lake). As the drainage basin of Lake Peipsi is so sparsely populated and there are no big cities, industrial capacity and its water demand is relatively small and heavy pollution is not a crucial issue in the region. The biggest industrial user of the lake water is Baltic Thermal Powerplant, which uses the water of the Narva River for cooling purposes, with annual demand averaging 470 million m3 of water. The Narva River is also used for hydro energy production. The Narva Reservoir (capacity 90 million m3, 5000 MWh) guarantees steady water flow for Narva Hydropower Station (average 127 MW, and max 140 MW).
Joint management and monitoringLake Peipsi belongs both to the Republic of Estonia and the Russian Federation, who are responsible for the management and monitoring of the lake. The Estonian-Russian Transboundary Water Commission was established in 1997 after the signing of an intergovernmental agreement on the protection and sustainable use of transboundary water bodies between the Republic of Estonia and the Russian Federation. The Commission is the main actor in managing Lake Peipsi. It is in charge of:
During the last few years the Commission has received considerable support from the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency as part of a project to raise the institutional capacity of the Commission.
International agreements concerning water use and water protection
Stakeholder participation
The Commission has established formal mechanisms for development of cooperation with local authorities, NGOs and stakeholders, which allows NGOs and local stakeholders in the region to communicate their issues and interests directly to the intergovernmental commission. However, only a few regional NGOs are involved in the work of the Commission; capacity of most of local NGOs and stakeholder groups is low and external financial support is necessary to promote development of capacity of local NGOs and stakeholders, to enable them to get involved in management of transboundary waters shared by countries in transition. Regional NGOs, such as the Peipsi Center for Transboundary Cooperation (Peipsi CTC) and the Council for Cooperation of Border Regions, cooperate with the local authorities and stakeholders on regional development projects as well as on educational, research and social projects in the region. Peipsi CTC is also actively involved in the work of the Estonian - Russian Transboundary Water Commission.
A broad partnership between public and private interestsLocal and regional authorities and businessmen in the Lake Peipsi region promote transboundary economic cooperation: they invest in construction of roads, water transport and tourism infrastructure, and they promote the region internationally. One of the major projects that the regional authorities and businessmen are trying to start is re-establishment of a passenger and cargo transport across the lake. In many cases local municipalities support small private companies providing freshwater for the settlements around the lake. The price per cubic metre of freshwater varies between 1-3 euros. The most important planning and development issue concerning Lake Peipsi is the preparation of a Lake Peipsi Management Plan. This cooperative effort between the Estonian and Russian governments, regional and local authorities and private and public companies, is to be completed by 2007. As Lake Peipsi is a relatively new transboundary water basin, the procedures for international coordination of water management have to be drawn up. This is especially challenging in this situation, as Estonia will enter the European Union in 2004-2005 and is adopting EU standards and norms that are different from those in Russia. The task is not an easy one - development of cooperative integrated water management is a long process, and economic and social development problems should be resolved along with water management issues.
Ensuring the knowledge base
A look at major problemsEutrophicationEutrophication is the greatest problem of Lake Peipsi. The main task in managing the lake is to slow down the pace of nutrient runoff, mostly by building new wastewater treatment facilities. Also the expected future economic growth in the region has to be taken into account, because it is likely to increase the nutrient load into the lake. Eutrophication also poses a threat to fish in the lake, as economically less valuable fish resist eutrophication better.
The need to diversify economic activitiesPeipsi is one of the best lakes in Europe for commercial fishing. Due to the economic difficulties in the area and high unemployment, there is great pressure on the lake's fish resources. Fishing has been the main source of income for most of the population around Lake Peipsi, but with the decreasing fish stock the lake cannot provide living for the same number of people any more. The number of professional fishermen is too high, and therefore there is an urgent need to diversify economic activities in the region.
Useful linksTo know more about the Lake Peipsi/Chudskoe Ozero basin, here is a list of interesting projects and organizations: - Baltic Marine Environment Protection Commission: the Helsinki Commission
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The southern part of the basin is a rural, sparsely populated area with forestry and agriculture as main sources of income. Since agriculture is not profitable today, many farmers live by cutting forest from their own lands and selling it. The main environmental issues in this area are forest cutting and agricultural pollution.
