Claudia Nikol is one of the founders and deputy chairperson of the board of the Dresden based NGO Baikalplan e. V. For over 20 years, Baikalplan has been collaborating with non-governmental, ecological organisations in Irkutsk, Ulan-Ude and Severbaikals aiming at the protection of the worldâs deepest and oldest freshwater lake Lake Baikal. Baikalplan officially supports the Great Baikal Trail network for a sustainable eco-tourism at Lake Baikal and maintains the Frolikha Adventure Coastline Track, a 100-km stretch of the trail system in the north, partnering with Severobaikalsk based SHTEO (Shkola Turistsko-Ekologitsheskovo Obrasovaniya, the School of Training in Ecotourism) and volunteers from all across the world. Claudia is a trained journalist and mediator and currently works in the Environment Centre of Dresden as Head of Communications.