The Ladoga Lake region is a territory of great interest. Its
uniqueness is constituted by the rich natural landscapes, biotopes and life
forms, including endemic ones. In addition to these, a number of "semi-natural"
complexes have established in the course of the long history of human activi- ties
in the area, which have become an important component of the area and an
inseparable part of the continental biota function. In this context it is
crucial to preserve the existing or the recent natural balance of the region rather than try to reconstruct the nature as it had been before humans arrived.
Analysis of the major sectors influencing biota of the Ladoga region showed the presence of several problems that are waiting to be solved.
Administrative and legislative problem.
Although general understanding of the necessity to preserve the
Lake Ladoga region there are significant differences in nature protection and
nature use development approaches applied in different subjects of the Russian
Federation comprising the Ladoga region (Chapters "Legislation", "Environment", "Natural resources" and "Protected areas").
Problem of scientific proof for nature management.
Despite quite a massive of data on biota and environment of the
Ladoga region, investigations of the current state and dynamics of a number of
components are missing. This makes difficult o foresee future changes and
prepare adequate recommendations. Furthermore coordination in activities of
various organisations responsible for monitoring of the Ladoga environment is
often lacking, as well as a uniform monitoring system is missing (Chapter "Environment").
Problems in a system of indurial development.
The sectoral structure is dominated by the resources and water-consuming industries highly polluting the environment; and at the same time the relative share and growth rates of science-intensive and environmentally-friendly industries is exceptionally low.
Productive forces are rather unevenly distributed through the area, concentrating in certain points (that causes local overloads and increased human pressure on the natural environment).
Several districts are characterized by disturbed balance between industrial and buffer zones, low percent of protected and recreational areas.
Problem of anthropogenic inflence on environmane and nature.
Direct and indirect anthropogenic influences affect flora and
fauna in the region, however, effect of human activity on, for example, large
mammals has never been specifically studied (Chapters "Environment", "Natural resources", and "Economy"). Technogenic impact may become much
more significant in case of revitalising of the region's industries, because of
the availability of needed resources (Chapter "Environment"
