Water for people.pdf - WHO Thailand Digital Repository

L A K E P E I P S I / C H U D S K O E - P S K O V S K O E , E S T O N I A A N D T H E R U S S I A N F E D E R A T I O N / 4 0 5Map 17.2: Basin mapPõltsamaa◆ValmieraPedjaVõrtsjärvAivieskteDaugavaEmajõgi166 m▲E majõgiValgaRamsar Jekabpils siteNational parkLake PeipsibasinInternationalboundaryCities DaugavpilsMustveeGulf of FinlandKohtla-JärveTartuLake Peipsi/ChudskoeRezekneMaltaVõhanduVõru318 m▲AluksneGulbene◆RezekneNarvaLakePskovskoeKuchva▲288 mLudzaNarvareservoirSlantsyZhelchaChernayaClimateLake Peipsi has a moderate continental climate, rather wet,softened by the relative closeness of the Atlantic Ocean.Positioned between marine and continental climates, it issubject to unstable weather conditions all year. Summer iscomparatively warm and wet, with a mild winter. The continentalcharacter increases to the east, where winters are longer andsummers warmer. The watershed belongs to an area with highactivity of low-pressure weather systems: an average of 130depressions per year are registered, in other words, almost oneevery three days.Between 1923 and 1998, the annual average temperaturerecorded at Tiirikoja, the meteorological station on the westcoast of Lake Peipsi, was 4.6°C, with an average precipitation of575 millimetres (mm) per year (Keevallik et al., 2001). Theeastern coast generally has a more continental climate: at thestation of Gdov for the same period, the average temperature inJuly was 17 to 18°C and, in February, -7°C to -8°C. The averagePlyussa◆PskovUtroyaSinyayaIvangorodVelikaya204 m▲OstrovIssaOzeroSamroCherekaOpochkaVelikayaLugaSorot50 kmSource: Prepared for the World Water Assessment Programme (WWAP) by AFDEC, 2002.annual precipitation near the Narva River is between 700 and750 mm. The minimum temperature is -39°C on the lake’sshores, but can reach -43°C inland.Major socio-economic characteristicsPopulation and activitiesThe total population of the basin is approximately 1 million, butthe population density differs in various parts: 24 inhabitants/km 2 in the Estonian and Pskov regions, compared to 11inhabitants/km 2 on the sparsely populated eastern shore.There are only two large towns in the basin: Pskov in theRussian Federation, with 204,000 inhabitants, and Tartu inEstonia, with 98,000 inhabitants. The majority of the basinpopulation lives in small settlements. Only 27,000 people live inthe local municipalities bordering the lake on the Estonian side.On the Russian side, the Leningrad region had 60,600 inhabitantsin 2001, 87 percent of them urban dwellers. Of the 427,000residents of the Pskov region, almost half live in Pskov itself.The greatest problems are the ageing population and thedeparture of the younger generation for bigger towns. Anadditional problem on the Russian side concerns the very lowincomes in the Pskov and Leningrad regions (shown in figure17.2). More than half the population have incomes that do notcover the cost of living. Comparisons between 1997, 1998 and1999 indicate that the situation is worsening, in part due to thehigh rate of unemployment in these regions.The Lake Peipsi basin can be divided into three regions(southern, central and northern) from the points of view ofeconomic and social development, cultural composition of thepopulation and the type of human impact on the lake.The southern part of the basin is a rural, sparsely populatedarea with forestry and agriculture as the main livelihoods. Sinceagriculture is no longer profitable, many farmers live by cuttingdown forest from their own lands and selling it. This, and nonpointsource pollution from agriculture, comprise the mainenvironmental problems of the area. Figures 17.1 and 17.2 showthe unemployment rates in Estonian counties bordering LakePeipsi and in the Pskov region.Tartu and Pskov are located in the central part of the basin,and the area’s economy is defined by the existence of thesetwo population centres. In this region, rural settlements prevail,although on the Russian side the region is only sparselypopulated. Pig farms and poultry factories dominate theagricultural sector. On the Estonian side, the culturally mixedrural communities are located along the lake’s shores, amongthem Russian Old Believers, who are renowned for growingcucumbers and onions.