IRKUTSK, March 29. /TASS/. The current barrage of sanctions won’t disrupt a project aimed at working out new environmental monitoring methods in the region of Baikal Natural Territory, there are plans to find alternatives to the equipment which was supposed to come from Western countries, Igor Bychkov, head of the Irkutsk Scientific Center of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences told TASS on Tuesday.
"We have held several meetings, all of the project executors have come to the unanimous conclusion there were no critical risks that would disrupt the project, at least for now. We are actively moving forward with our plans… There aren’t any unachievable tasks at the moment. It will not affect the timing [of its implementation], this is the third and final year, but we want to extend (the project) for two more years," he revealed.
Bychkov said that this year, several research institutes had planned to buy equipment from Western countries for the project, such as additional European computing clusters and American processing units. However, the deliveries have been canceled.
The scientists are negotiating the delivery of a computing cluster with China’s Huawei. Bychkov said that would mean learning how to work with new hardware and software. "But that is feasible," he assured.
Bychkov also stressed that the Siberian scientists have maintained their international ties under the new circumstances and were planning to expand cooperation with the friendly nations, such as China, India and Mongolia.
The project
In 2020, the Matrosov Institute for System Dynamics and Control Theory won a 300 million-ruble grant ($3.3 mln) from Russia’s Ministry of Education and Science to develop new methods and technologies for complex environmental monitoring of the Baikal Natural Territory and environmental forecasting. The project, run by the institute, is aimed at establishing a fundamental base and new methods of monitoring, creating a digital platform to collect, store, process and analyze data.
A new system of digital sensors will be put in place in the Baikal Natural Territory, making it possible to monitor the features of the lake and its surrounding area online.
Lake Baikal is the world’s deepest lake and the world’s largest drinking water reservoir, containing about 20% of the globe’s drinking water. The lake was included in UNESCO World Heritage List in 1996. It is one of the biggest natural World Heritage sites. The forests and swamps surrounding the lake as well as the rich fauna and flora, and the unusual terrain are of special value.