THE RUSSIAN Minister of Energy and Industry, Viktor Khristenko, said that the planned Siberian oil pipeline project is scheduled to be completed by 2008 despite President Putin's order to move the pipeline further away from Lake Baikal. Under the new design, the pipeline route will pass 40km from Lake Baikal, and will meet biodiversity requirements of both Russia and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Speaking at a regional meeting in the Siberian city of Tomsk, Putin said on 26 April that the pipeline, which joins Siberia with Russia's Pacific Coast, must be routed away from Lake Baikal. "If there is even the smallest, the tiniest, chance of polluting Baikal, then we must think of future generations and we must do everything to make sure this danger is not just minimized, but eliminated," Putin said. "This means that the pipeline we're talking about must go above the northern border of Lake Baikal's watershed." State television showed Putin pointing with a red pen at the projected route of the pipeline on a giant map, and saying it must be moved more than 40km to the north of the lake, which is estimated to hold 20% of the world's surface fresh water. Environmentalists and experts have said the lake could be permanently damaged in the event of an oil spill. In the event of an accident, they say, up to 3,000 tons of oil could find their way into Lake Baikal within 20 minutes. Roman Vazhenkov, the head of Greenpeace's Baikal programme, said that the decision has been a long time in coming: "It is a pity that only after mass protests in the whole county, the authorities have finally listened to the voice of scientists, the voice of specialists, the voice of the society, [and] seriously got into the problem and have taken the correct decision, which we welcome." Putin's statement came as a surprise to many, as previously the state environmental watchdog supported the original route. When complete, the pipeline will transport up to 80m tons/yr to Russia's Far East. The oil will then be sent to Japan and China.