Over 100 tourist centers will be built at the Baikal natural site around Lake Baikal, Russian Natural Resources Minister Sergei Donskoi said.

“First of all, we are considering tourism. In particular, there are plans to build 102 centers for tourists and lay over 1,000 km [621 miles]of ecological paths,” Donskoi told the Rossiiskaya Gazeta government daily.

Construction of tourist facilities in the area is on the rise, he said.

Lake Baikal is situated in the south of East Siberia between the Irkutsk Region and the Republic of Buryatia. The planet’s deepest lake, it is also the largest natural reservoir of freshwater. The lake itself and the area around it have unique flora and fauna.

Thousands of tourists come to the Baikal natural site annually. Garbage dumps left after them on the shores threaten the ecosystem.