For the first time, a large team of authors has collected all the information about the history of the study of Lake Baikal, its natural complex and the problems of sustainable development in the encyclopedic reference book "Baikal: Nature and People." The main attention is paid to the Central Ecological Zone of the Baikal Natural Territory. The book is intended both for specialists, graduate students, students, and for everyone interested in the nature and economy of the Baikal region.