KAZAKHSTAN – ENVIRONMENT ISSUES AND POLICY
During the USSR period, throughout many decades only a primary system of natural resources utilization was formed in Kazakhstan with extremely high negative impact on the environment. It has led to the present situation where unfavourable, and in a number of regions chronic ecological crises now exist in Kazakhstan, and as its consequence, - deterioration of health of Kazakhstan’s citizens. Growth of malignant tumour, especially breast cancer among women; widespread allergic diseases; disturbing levels of anaemia, especially in the rural areas, - all these are a real danger to the country’s population and our future generations.
The Semipalatinsk area of ecological calamity and the region of the Aral Sea environmental disaster are the two most serious threats to the ecological safety in Kazakhstan. At the same time these are global problems to which Kazakhstan to draws the attention of scientific research centres and financial institutions of the world. At the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg in September, 2002 our President Mr. N. Nazarbayev proposed to create a register of global environmental problems with concrete recommendations on attracting large scale investments to tackle them.
The issue of rehabilitation of the Semipalatinsk region was considered at the 52nd and 53rd sessions of the UN General Assembly where the resolution on rendering assistance to the population of the region, who were victims of nuclear tests, was adopted unanimously. Around 100 countries of the world are co-authors of the said resolution, including all the countries of the European Union, Japan, and later - the US.
The Aral problem also is of global character and attracts the attention of world community. At a meeting in the capital of Kazakhstan - Astana in 2002 with Mr. Kofi Annan, the UN Secretary General, President Nazarbayev proposed to give to the International Fund on Salvation of the Aral (IFSA) the status of the UN Institution.
Experts think that it is impossible to restore the Ð?ral Sea, but a hope still exists for the stabilization of the ecological situation there. The heads of the states-founders of the IFSA approved the Basic Directions of the Program of Actions on Improvement of Ecological, Social and Economic Conditions in the Aral Sea Basin for the period of 2003-2010 with a view to tackle the problem.
Another serious environmental challenge is the pollution and possible technogenic disasters in the area of the Caspian Sea.
Geological reserves allow to increase the oil producing capacity in Kazakhstan up to 150 million tonnes per year and more, but at the same time the possible impact on the environment has not been so far assessed as well as the maximum permissible level of oil output in the Caspian shelf without damaging the marine ecosystem. Kazakhstan deals with these issues within the framework of the State Programme for Kazakh Caspian Sea off-shore development.
The situation with air pollution in large cities and industrial centres of Kazakhstan is still difficult.
The main pollutants are the non-ferrous metals industries (enrichment and melting of lead, copper, zinc) those not complying with the modern ecological requirements. The “Industrial and Innovation Programme till 2015” envisages the modernization or closure of such enterprises.
Kazakhstan is taking active measures, and in 2000 - 2002 it managed to stabilize harmful emissions to the atmosphere at the level of 3,4-3,5 thousand tons, despite the considerably increased level of production.
Similar situation is with water supply and distribution units. Thus the most polluted are the basic waterways of Kazakhstan - the basins of rivers Irtysh, Ili, Nura, Syr-Darya are being polluted by the mining, metallurgical and chemical industries.
Our country depends by more than 50% on water supplies coming from the neighbouring countries and is vulnerable to global climate change. According to scientific forecasts during the next 15-20 years present pastures and arable lands can fall into the category of desert and semi-desert lands and our water-security can be reduced by third.
The issues of impact of the military testing sites on the environment still remain acute. During the Soviet period 14 large military testing polygons used to exist on the territory of Kazakhstan.
So called "historical" pollutions pose a great ecological threat. This is the industrial waste accumulated since the Soviet era as a result of previous activities of industrial enterprises of the oil.
Kazakhstan is one of the natural resources richest countries in the world, but at the same time is one of the most power and resource wasting countries.
Doing away with so called “historic” pollutions has already began on account of budget funds, but these financial means are not enough, as total cost of the works is estimated in billions of US dollars.
Now Kazakhstan is boosting its ecological policy. In the field of the environment protection new conceptual and program documents are being developed.
The ecologization the legislation, economy and whole society is becoming the basic priority direction of environment protection measures. That is the introduction of strict ecological requirements in all legal acts, all sectors of the economy and people’s minds as well.
With the aim to implement the decisions of the World Summits on sustainable development held in Rio de Janeiro and Johannesburg, it has been decided to create a National Commission on sustainable development and work out the Program on sustainable development. It is planned to create necessary financial institutions under the commission, which will accumulate grants, donor and other non-budgetary contributions.
Today one of the most important issues is the improvement of nature protection legislation with orientation to the European Union standards which is the most important foreign trade and investment partner.
First of all, Kazakhstan plans to lift the status of ecological requirements up to the level of laws. They should go in a package as an appendix to legal acts as practiced in the developed countries of the world. The implementation of international quality standards ISO-9000 and the environment protection ISO-14000 has started.
Kazakhstan in simplifying the procedures of obtaining necessary permits, simultaneously toughening the ecological requirements, harmonizing them with the requirements adopted in the European countries.
The obligatory environment impact evaluation is already being introduced at the time of drafting any programme aimed at the development of the industry and agriculture as well as schemes on allocation industrial capacities, construction of urban areas and other large-scale programs.
Kazakhstan will reform economic tools of environment protection, increasing the size of ecologic payments to the levels of actual inflicted damage, and all the accumulated funds will be forwarded to the restoration of the environment.
Beginning from 2003 Kazakhstan is going to introduce obligatory ecological insurance and ecological audit of environmentally harmful types of activities. The relevant laws are being developed.
In the field of the international cooperation the work on preparation of Ecologic strategy of the countries of the Eastern Europe, Caucasus and Central Asia will go on. The draft programme has been submitted for the consideration of the all-European conference of ministers of environment protection in Kiev in May 2003.
Kazakhstan will continue to actively participate in the international and regional programs of environment protection and, first of all, in the Program the Environment for Europe, which it joined in 1995.
Kazakhstan will strengthen regional cooperation in the Central Asia. These countries have a common ecosystem, and are united by the interdependence on water resources, tragedy of the Aral Sea and other issues.
Kazakhstan has ratified 19 international conventions, including those of a climate change, destruction of ozone layer, desertification and preservation of a biodiversity, 4 transnational conventions of the European Commission and Aarhus Convention on ensuring the access of the population to the information on ecology, decision making and law maintenance in the field of environment protection.
Kazakhstan actively cooperates with around 300 non-governmental organizations (NGOs) on the issues of environment protection and involves them in realization of the state programs and assists in setting aside the state grants for projects having significance for the society.
Kazakhstan is interested in further active dialogue, both with the neighbouring states and all countries concerned with the protection of our common home – the Earth.
