Assessment of present state of water resources of Lake Ladoga and its drainage basin using Sustainable Development indicators

The present state of water resources of Lake Ladoga and its drainage basin, and changes during the last decade have been assessed using Sustainable Development indicators. The indicators proposed by Commission on Sustainable Development (driving force indicators, state indicators and response indicators) and the new indicators (external and critical loads, water quality parameters, critical concentration, indicators of state of aquatic ecosystem and indicators of geochemistry of sediments) have been calculated. Analysis of indicators’ dynamics has shown a decrease in pollutant load on the drainage basin and, consequently, on Lake Ladoga as a result of negative changes in socio-economic development of this region. The decrease of the load has led to improvement of water quality parameters but not to significant changes in the Lake Ladoga ecosystem. The characteristics of sediments and intensity of sediment–water exchange processes have not altered during the last decade.