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The Volga River in Russia is the longest river in Europe.

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The Volga Rive is the longest river in Europe. The river drains most of western Russia and drains 533,000 square miles. The river drains into the basic of the Caspian Sea. (Geology Page , 2014 )

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The Russia-flagged vessel Volga River Taganrog oil tanker passes south through the Bosphorus Straits. Diego Cupolo/NurPhoto via Getty Images

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There are over 50 million people that utilize the Volga River. (Travel All Russia , 2023)  The river is mainly used for transports off goods as well as hydroelectric energy. The river is used as ports for construction materials, petroleum, coal, salt, agricultural machinery, automobiles, chemical apparatus, and fertilizers. (Britannica, 2010 )

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Land use includes hydroelectric energy, fishing, agriculture for production of wheat and production of salt and potash. (Geology Page , 2014 )

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Beluga Sturgeon- Russia Beyond, Zocka_K 

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Volga River ecosystem has dwindled due to overfishing of beluga sturgeon. The commercial fishing industry was established to produce black caviar. The sturgeon were almost extinct in the 1990's and commercial sturgeon fishing in now banned. Though sturgeon farms have been established to produce the black caviar. Though sturgeon population is still considered low. (Garrels , Volga River Towns Fade Along with Prized Sturgeon , 2010)

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There has been water loss overtime due to evaporation and irrigation in the Volga River. This results in decrease of sea level of the Caspian Sea. (Britannica, 2010 ) The decrease in the Sea level can result in decrease in fish and wildlife that can affect the surrounding agricultural areas. (Brackett , 2020) Climate change has also impacted the winter's in Russia. The Volga river freezes over the winter and snow and ice contribute to the water source once melted in spring. Due to climate change winters are warmer and water production from snow and ice have declined.

(Gogin, Fyodorov, & Coalson, 2019)

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In crease in decline is Caspian Sea level also affects the decline in water in the Volga river as well as other streams and lakes surrounding the river. This affects food resources for citizens and water availability. (Gogin, Fyodorov, & Coalson, 2019)

Water consumption is mainly used for domestic water supply, industrial, agricultural and irrigation. The important water users are hydroelectric power, water transport, fish farms and recreation. (Terskii, Ermakova, & Gorelits, 2021)

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Volzhaskaya HPP in the city of Volgarad. 

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Hydroelectric energy source is used on the Volga River. There are 11 dams that are utilized for energy. These dams contribute to 16-17% of electricity capacity in Russia. (Terskii, Ermakova, & Gorelits, 2021) Other energy sources that are used include solar and wind.

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Agricultural runoff from farms surrounding the Volga river contributes to the increase in pollution and decrease in water quality. Agricultural farms are used to produce large quantities of wheat. (Britannica, 2010 )

According to the "USDA's Foreign Agricultural Service" Russia wheat production for 2023/2024 has been estimated at 90.0 million metric tons. (USDA , 2023 ) Wheat production is a large part of agriculture for Russia. This wheat production amount as been a six percent increase than previous months.

(USDA , 2023 )

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The water quality of the Volga river is is related to the heavy population that the river is reliant on. The heavy population affects the increase demand for goods and services which increases the use of cargo shipping. The increase of population also increase the demand for fish which decreases the amount of fish and wildlife in and around the water. The increase in pollution and decrease in wildlife contributes to the decrease in water quality. Agricultural run off also increases the pollution due to water run off resulting in production of algae resulting in decrease in wildlife. Many small lakes and streams flow into the river. These streams and lakes freeze during the winder resulting in water loss. The water loss contributes to the decline in sea level in the Caspian sea.

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There have been efforts made to re-establish Sturgeon near the Caspian Sea. The Caspian Sea is associated with the Volga river due to the river flow ending at the Caspian Sea. Sturgeon were a large part of the Volga River as well as teh Caspian Sea and supplied food resources and other benefits to the water source.

Re-establishment has been a challenge due to little funding for research, management of the river and increase knowledge about sturgeon habitat. (Pueppke , et al., 2023)

Though efforts have been made and increase funding will be able to drive the project forward to making steps to restoration of the Volga River and into the Caspian Sea.

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Russia’s Project Ecology was established in 2018. The project includes cleaning out landfills, establishing systems for municipal waste management as well as establishing hazardous waste. The project is to monitor air quality and develop ways for improvement. The project is also to focus on establishing new treatment facilities to produce clean water as well as improve the Volga River. Improving the Volga River includes reducing on sewage content in the river, reclaiming shores and eliminate the sunken ships that are in the bottom of the river. Other plans in the project include preservation of Lake Baikal, forest and improve ecological state of lakes and reservoirs. (Bakunovich , 2018)

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The Great Volga River Route Project goal is to connect young people who are interested in preservation and sustainable development of the Volga River. This program works with about 16 schools and has developed a youth form, workshops on preservation, workshops on the scientific approach of the Volga River and an international forum. (UNESCO , 2002)

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Russia has been spending time and energy restoring area peatlands. The peatlands contribute to reduction of fires and greenhouse gas emissions. Peatlands have been able to store more carbon than the forest and have help with making an impact on climate change. These areas that have been restored also contribute to increase in wildlife and biodiversity. (United Nations , 2023 )

Note: The video is from the website and will need to changed for English Subtitles.

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Wetlands International with its partners, the Institute of Forest Science of the Russian Academy of Sciences and the Michael Succow Foundation, implemented a major peatland restoration project in Russia in response to the extensive peat fires in the summer of 2010 in the Moscow region.

The project was initiated within the framework of co-operation between the Russian Federation and the Federal Republic of Germany to spearhead the ecological rewetting of peatlands, and represents one of the largest peatland ecosystem restoration projects in the world.

Dry peatland areas are prone to fires and the inhalation of the resulting smoke and smog particles can lead to lung irritation, causing respiratory and cardiovascular problems. Effective re-wetting of the peatland ecosystems is a key greenhouse gas mitigation measure, by reducing emissions from peatland oxidation and fires. Ecologically restored peatland areas have significantly enhanced resilience against droughts, thereby lowering the risk of fires. By reducing smog occurrences, restored peatlands can reduce health and economic impacts.

Learn more: https://unfccc.int/climate-action/momentum-for-change/planetary-health/restoring-peatlands-in-russia-i-russia
Follow us on Twitter: twitter.com/Momentum_UNFCCC 
Join us on Facebook: facebook.com/unfcccmomentum/

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References

Bakunovich , P. (2018, September 13 ). Russia Introduces Project Ecology . Climate Scorecard : https://www.climatescorecard.org/2018/09/russia-introduces-project-ecology/

Brackett , R. (2020, December 24 ). Declining Sea Levels in the Caspian Sea Will Lead to Genuine Ecocide Scientist Warn . The Weather Channel : https://weather.com/science/environment/news/2020-12-24-caspian-sea-water-levels-falling-climate-change

Britannica. (2010 , September 30 ). Volga River . Britannica : https://www.britannica.com/place/Sura-River

Garrels , A. (2010 , November 1). Russia's Troubled Waters Flow with the Mighty Volga . NPR : https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=130837658

Garrels , A. (2010, November 5). Volga River Towns Fade Along with Prized Sturgeon . NPR : https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=131069052#:~:text=As%20the%20fish%20neared%20extinction%20in%20the%201990s%2C%20Russia%20declared,local%20people%20struggle%20to%20survive.

Geology Page . (2014 , June 30). Volga River . Geology Page : https://www.geologypage.com/2014/06/volga-river.html

Gogin, S., Fyodorov, M., & Coalson, R. (2019, June 3 ). Volga, Volga! Low-water crisis raises questions about managing Russia's man artery . RadioFree Europe : https://www.rferl.org/a/volga-low-water-crisis-raises-questions-about-managing-russias-main-artery/29979485.html

KWIK Facts . (2022). Volga River Facts . YouTube : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ujx-AM9Jt2Y

Loanes , E. (2022 ). Despite sanctions, Russian fuel is still seinng- here's who's buying . Vox : https://www.vox.com/2022/10/16/23407003/sanctions-russian-fuel-china-india-natural-gas-ukraine

Pueppke , S., Nurtazin, S., Murzashev, T., Galymzhanov, I., Graham, N., & Konysbayev, T. (2023, September 28 ). Re-Establishing naturally reproducing sturgeon population in the Caspian Basin: A wicked problem in the Ural river. Water: file:///C:/Users/p472762/Downloads/water-15-03399-v2.pdf

Rekecewicz, P., Margueritte , L., Marin , C., Pravettoni , R., & Novikov, V. (2012). Fragmentation of the Volga river over the last 60 years. GRID Arendal: https://www.grida.no/resources/5766

Schletterer, M., Shaporenko , S., Kuzovlev, V., Minin , A., Van Geest , G., Middlekoop , H., & Gorski, K. (2018, April 19). The Volga: Management issues in the largest river basin in Europe . Wiley Online Library : https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/rra.3268?saml_referrer

Terskii, P., Ermakova, G., & Gorelits, O. (2021, May 14). Hydropower in Russia: Case study on hydrological management of the Volga Kama cascade . Intechopen : https://www.intechopen.com/chapters/78808

Travel All Russia . (2023). Volga River, Russia . Travel All Russia : https://www.travelallrussia.com/volga-river#:~:text=Today%20almost%2050%20million%20people,of%20giant%20locks%20and%20canals.

UNESCO . (2002). The Great Volga River Route Project . UNESCO : https://whc.unesco.org/en/activities/483/

United Nations . (2023 ). Restoring Peatlands in Russia . United Nations Climate Change : https://unfccc.int/climate-action/un-global-climate-action-awards/planetary-health/restoring-peatlands-in-russia-i-russia

USDA . (2023 ). Crop Explore- World Agricultural Production Briefs- Russian Federation . U.S. Department of Agriculture Foreign Agricultural Service : https://ipad.fas.usda.gov/cropexplorer/pecad_stories.aspx?regionid=rs&ftype=prodbriefs