Home – Home – Jornals – Geography and Natural Resources 2022 number 5S

The issue of water-level regulation of Lake Baikal has been considered since the construction of the Irkutsk hydroelectric power station (1950-1959). Moreover, it remains relevant now, especially during periods of prolonged low water or high water. In this paper, we examine the theoretical, methodological and procedural framework for damage assessment, determine the essence of socio-economic and environmental-economic damage, and review domestic and foreign experience in assessing flood damage, because in the 21^st century the issues of damage due to changes in the level regime of a reservoir have been studied mainly from the standpoint of high water (inundation and waterlogging). It is shown that in Russia there is a certain lack of theoretical and procedural developments on this topic. Particularly acute is the lack of comprehensive economic and geographical work on the assessment of precisely socio-economic and environmental-economic damage. It has been established that one of the gaps in determining the damage from level fluctuations in a reservoir is terminological uncertainty (inconsistencies), which leads to an arbitrary interpretation of basic concepts and, consequently, to a large variation in estimates. We formulated a basic approach to the concept of damage in three main positions: estimated losses for identified economic entities (individual, society, and economic spheres of activity); a cost measure taken when assessing losses in any field of activity, including environmental; accounting for property rights (state, municipal and private), which is significant when considering compensatory measures. We summarized the existing approaches and methods for assessing damages, and identified their features and shortcomings with a view to the possibility for their further practical application.