REVIEW: Ecology in Kazakhstan
As stipulated in paragraph 1 Article 31 of the Constitution of Kazakhstan, the state pursues a goal of protecting the environment, favorable for life and health of people. The main areas of the government's environmental policy are: maximum greening of industrial processes, implementation of ecologically clean technologies, energy saving etc. Along with this, the government adheres to the principle of unavailability of punishment for violation of ecological legislation.
Kazinform News Agency offers its readers a collection of articles regarding the problems of environment.
11 Industrialization Map projects totaling KZT 25 bln will be launched in Pavlodar region this year, Governor of the region Kanat Bozumbayev told at the CCS media briefing today, the Primeminister.kz informs."We plan to launch 11 projects amounting to KZT 25 bln this year. It will also allow to create about 600 new jobs," K. Bozumbayev told. "I'd also like to note that we implement the order of the President on establishment of additional enterprises within big companies. For example, in several days we will open a greenhouse for growing roses. The capacity of the greenhouse is 7 million roses a years," he informed. According to him, the greenhouse is located near the GRES-1, which will be providing the heating energy to the greenhouse.
During Almaty meeting on development and preparation for 28th World Winter Universiade 2017 the President drew the attention of the officials to the ecological situation of the city.Speaking with Mayor of the city the Head of State stressed that buildings constructed in illegal places should be destroyed. Nursultan Nazarbayev stressed that has long been forbidden to build skyscrapers beyond Al-Farabi prospectus as the city gets fresh air from the mountains. "This is the favorite city of all Kazakhstanis. Care should be taken of landscaping, cleanliness, and irrigation systems," concluded the Head of State.
Astana hosted the second international meeting of countries-participants of EXPO-2017 which will be held in Astana. The two-day event will be attended by heads of the International Exhibitions Bureau, commissioners of pavilions and others.Ambassador of Netherlands to Kazakhstan and chief commissioner of the Netherlands pavilion Hans Driesser talked with Kazinform correspodent about the upcoming EXPO event.He noted that the Netherlands is looking forward to the international exhibition EXPO-2017. This is mainly due to the theme of the exhibition "Future Energy". He emphasized that the theme is very relevant in the Netherlands.The Ambassador expressed confidence that the exhibition will become a global platform for companies and academic community to come up against environmental problems.Mr. Driesser stressed that the participation of Dutch companies in the EXPO-2017 will undoubtedly contribute to strengthening economic ties with Kazakhstan as the Netherlands is one of the largest economic partners of the country in the field of energy.Hans Driesser noted that Kazakh President's proposal on opening of the international center for the development of green technology using the infrastructure and territory of EXPO-2017 is very important. Kazakhstan is contributing to the implementation of the UN initiative called "Sustainable Energy for All" declared in 2011.In his opinion, the exhibition will add to the international image of Kazakhstan as a stable and prosperous state in the heart of Eurasia.The commissioner added that Central Asia is rapidly gaining popularity among Dutch tourists. It should be noted that a direct flight between Astana and Amsterdam will be launched in May 2016.
A modern hotel with an exclusive design «Green Which» has opened its doors in the city of Petropavlovsk, North Kazakhstan region.The opening ceremony was attended by governor of North Kazakhstan Yerik Sultanov.The head of the region noted that the region is actively working to attract investment. The new hotel is ready to receive foreign delegations and hold meetings with diplomats.According to the press service of the regional administration office, «Green Which» hotel was built through private investment. It is worth noting that the new hotel created 32 jobs.
Head of State Nursultan Nazarbayev is concerned about the increasing number of natural disasters worldwide, and he noted that holding of the EXPO-2017 is a contribution to environment protection."The number of natural disasters has sharply increased since 2000. Their total damage topped hundreds of billions of dollars. In this regard, protection of the environment is considered to be the main condition of sustainable development of the civilization. The theme of the international exhibition "EXPO-2017" in Astana, which is "Future Energy" as you know, is a contribution of Kazakhstan to implementation of the initiation of the UN called "Sustainable energy for all"," the President said. N. Nazarbayev invited the countries represented by the diplomats, who attended the meeting, and international organizations for participation in the exhibition. "Construction of all the facilities will be finished by the end of the year. I think we will be ready to proudly hold the exhibition in Astana and welcome the participants and guests from foreign countries in our country," N. Nazarbayev added.
Charitable Foundation "Bauyrzhan" jointly with Almaty city administration has announced launching of a citywide eco-marathon "Hunting for garbage".The large-scale event is timed to celebrate 1000th anniversary of the city.According to initiators of the campaign, the idea of "Hunting for garbage" is aimed at attracting Almaty residents' attention to the problems of pollution. According to volunteers, this event is a good start to finally instill Almatians ecological culture."Last year we collected about 17 tons of garbage. At that time over 6,000 people took part in the campaign. We hope that this year's eco-marathon will involve 10 thousand people. Thus, we expect to collect at least 200 tons of garbage," said Ainura Salimbayeva - representative of the fund. In the marathon, which will be held April 2, 2016, can participate anyone.It is worth noting that the campaign "Hunting for garbage" will run until November 2016.The first campaign "Hunting for garbage" was held last year.
The Birlik Party raised the problem of dirty streets and dump sites during the televised debates of political parties running for seats at the Majilis, the lower chamber of the Kazakh Parliament, on Wednesday.Member of the party Roza Kuanysheva said that the party suggested focusing on implementation of green economy and introduction of renewable energy sources.Ms Kuanysheva noted that Kazakhstan has a wealth of mineral resources ‘but those are not limitless'."We see a lot of dirty streets and dump sites. It is high time to improve the system of water resources management and preserve unique mineral wealth of the country," she added.
Astana joined the Earth Hour international ecological campaign. Billions of people from every corner of the world turn off electricity and household appliances for an hour as a sign of personal involvement in the future of the planet.More than 300 buildings in Astana including Baiterek, the Palace of Peace and Reconciliation, Congress Hall, the Palace of Independence and Astana Opera turned off external lighting from 8:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. local time. Large sports facilities like Kazakhstan, Astana Arena stadium, Alau Ice Rink Palace, Barys Arena joined the campaign too. M.Gorkiy State Academic Russian Drama Theatre, Astana Circus, K.Kuanyshbayev Kazakh Drama Theatre, Zhastar Palace, Puppet Theater and Naz Dance Theater also switched off external illumination in sign of support.Earth Hour is a worldwide movement initiated by the World Wildlife Fund which is actively backed by hundreds of countries all over the world. The campaign symbolizes careful attitude to nature and to limited resources of our planet. 172 countries and more than 2 billion people participated in the last year action.This year, Kazakhstan joined the Earth Hour campaign under the aegis of the National Day of Tree Planting movement which will be held from April 16 through May 16. 80 towns of the country backed the action. According to www.astana.gov.kz, this is not the first time, when Astana joins the Earth Hour campaign.
U.S. Consul General Mark Moody observed notable progress toward the restoration of the Northern section of the Aral Sea during his visit to the Aral region from March 31 - April 2, 2016."The United States is proud to have supported efforts to restore the Northern Aral," said U.S. Consul General Moody visiting the Kokaral dam. "I was inspired by the resilience of the people of the Aral region. Thanks to their resilience and hard work, our joint efforts have brought promising changes". Local fish-industry representatives, independent environmental experts, and Aral Region officials noted that the Northern Aral Sea's volume has increased significantly since the completion of the Kokaral dam in 2005. The United States is the largest investor of the World Bank's International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), which financed the Kokaral dam project with $64.5 million in funds. Joining Consul General Moody at the Kokaral dam, the akim of neighboring Karateren district noted that the restored water levels had made a positive impact on the local environment and public health, decreased maternal and infant mortality, and creation of new jobs. "I was pleased to learn that the Sea has now returned to 15 kilometers from Aral and the increase in fish production has created thousands of local jobs, helping the local population to rebound to over 78,000 people," - said Consul General Moody during his visit to two of the eight fish processing factories. Fishing industry leaders said the number of fish species in Aral Sea had increased from only 2 to 22 varieties. Because their factories meet European standards, they are able to export fish to the European Union and elsewhere in the region. Two American English teachers accompanied Consul General Moody on his visit to Aral and delivered practical workshops to local teachers and students. The English-language program was the latest example of U.S. support for English programs in Kyzylorda Oblast and across Kazakhstan over 25-years of partnership in education. Consul General Moody thanks the Aral Akimat and the people of the Aral region for their hospitality and logistical support during the visit, which included off-road travel to the far side of the Northern Aral Sea, U.S. Embassy in Astana says.
The mysterious mass deaths of about 200,000 saiga antelopes in Kazakhstan last year was caused by a bacterial infection.As news emerged in May last year of the near-total decimation of the Betpak-Dala population of saiga antelope, there was plenty of speculation but few concrete answers as to what might have been responsible. One idea was that rainfall had resulted in widespread, mortal bloat. Perhaps there had been some infectious disease that had wiped out herd after herd. Some even blamed poisoning by toxic rocket fuel spread around Kazakhstan's Baikonur Cosmodrome. In the runup to this year's breeding season, which is when the animals are at their most vulnerable to such events, the Saiga Conservation Alliance (SGA) has released the latest thinking on what caused the mass mortality in 2015. Several labs have confirmed the presence of the bacterium Pasteurella multocida in tissue samples from carcasses collected during last year's die-off. This pathogen normally lives harmlessly in the respiratory tract of these antelope but it appears to have run amok, resulting in hemorrhagic septicemia. This is known to occur in wild and domestic animals in grassland ecosystems, but it has never resulted in close to 100% mortality as was observed in the Betpak-Dala population. Research efforts are now concentrating on figuring out how thePasturella could have taken over as it did. Are there any steps that could be taken to minimise the chances of a repeat of last year? Not really, says Richard Kock of the Royal Veterinary College. "There is no practical prophylaxis possible against hemorrhagic septicemia in saiga given the species' behaivour and the lack of a delivery mechanism for a vaccine." If, however, there are other contributing factors that can be identified, "the potential for intervention can be reassessed" in the future, he says. Prior to the deaths last year, the global population of saiga stood at around 262,000. The decimation of the Betpak-Dala herd means that there are now fewer than 100,000 animals in existence. "With the saiga's calving season just around the corner in early May, you can feel the tension mounting amongst everyone who works with this critically endangered species," says Caryln Samuel, SCA's administrator, the Guardian reports.
Mass death of seals recorded on the coast of the Caspian Sea in Zhylyoi district of Atyrau region.According to preliminary estimates, the death about 40 individuals of seals occurred in the area of Prorva field. Today a group of ecologists and veterinarians has been created. The group has already arrived at the scene to take samples of water and soil, said Murat Yermekkaliyev, head of the regional territorial inspection for forestry and wildlife.
As many as 11 mln trees have been planted around Astana to date as part of the city's ‘green belt' project. The area of the green space expands every year by 300 hectares. Head of the Natural Resources Department of Astana Adilbek Sarsembayev told it to Kazinform correspondent during a press tour today.According to him, the ‘green belt' has almost turned into a real forest inhabited by wild animals and birds, such as foxes, hares and pheasants. "Every year we release 400-500 species of pheasants into the wild," he added. Up to 90% of trees planted in ‘green belt' take roots, Sarsembayev noted. "We would like also to plant fruit trees. Several experiments have already been launched. However, there is a problem. The hares, whose number rose significantly in the forest, gnaw on bark of the trees, which in turn curbs their growth," said he.
Kazakhstan wasn't able to sign the Paris agreement on its opening day due to domestic procedures, spokesman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Anuar Zhainakov told Kazinform correspondent."Kazakhstan didn't sign the deal on Friday, because it was unable to finalize domestic procedures in time. Our Permanent Representative to the United Nations Kairat Abdrakhmanov made a statement fully supporting the document. Kazakhstan will accede to the agreement in the nearest future," said Mr. Zhainakov.Recall that the signing ceremony of the Paris climate agreement was held at UN headquarters in New York on April 22 - the 46th Earth Day.
Akim (mayor) of Astana city Mr. Adilbek Dzhaksybekov and 100,000 residents of the Kazakh capital are participating in the annual citywide clean-up today."Over 16,000 trees will be planted in the city today. I would like to thank all of those who joined the citywide clean-up. I believe that we are all responsible for keeping our city clean," mayor Dzhaksybekov said after planting a tree in the park next to the National Museum of the Republic of Kazakhstan on Saturday. Some 4,000 enterprises and organizations, 200 health and education institutions as well as 130 agencies and national companies joined the citywide clean-up event in Astana.
Head of State Nursultan Nazarbayev has signed the Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan "On amendments to some legislative acts of the Republic of Kazakhstan on issues of environment and subsurface use" called to improve the national environmental legislation, the president's press service reports.The text of the law is to be published in the press.
The Islamic Development Bank will allocate over $300 million worth loan to Kazakhstan under the government guarantee for the implementation of two water industry projects, Kazakhstan's Agriculture Ministry said Apr.29.The projects are for improving the supply of drinking water to rural settlements and restoring the irrigation systems, trend.az reports. The corresponding agreement was signed during the Inaugural Session of the General Assembly of the Islamic Organization for Food Security (IOFS) in Astana.As part of the implementation of the project for improving the water supply, it is planned to construct waterlines with a total length of 680 kilometers in 15 settlements in Almaty province, to build wastewater treatment plants with the capacity of 18.8 cubic meters per day and restore six drain holes.The project for reconstruction of the irrigation and drainage systems in Kazakhstan envisages the restoration of the irrigation system on the area of 58,000 hectares in some districts of Almaty province and the improvement of the Irrigation and drainage conditions of an area of 92,500 hectares in the South Kazakhstan province, Trend.az says.
The EBRD has awarded a solar power plant Burnoye Solar-1, the first project on the use of renewable energy sources in Kazakhstan, an annual award in the field of sustainable development.The award ceremony was held as part of the bank's annual meeting in London on 12 May 2016. The award is given to projects on sustainable development which are implemented with the support of the EBRD. Burnoye Solar-1 has been recognized as the project of the year in sustainable energy.This significant project on the use of renewable energy source was jointly funded by the EBRD and the Clean Technology Fund (CTF). The project is worth 80 million euros. The plant was built in Zhambyl region.Burnoye Solar-1 is not only the first solar power plant in Kazakhstan but also the first private generator of renewable energy in the country. It was built in 2015 by a joint Kazakh-British enterprise LLP "Samruk-Kazyna - United Green".Kazakhstan possesses sufficiently large potential of renewable energy resources such as wind, solar and hydro power. Nevertheless, more than 80 percent of the country's electricity is currently produced from coal-fired power plants constructed during the Soviet era. Kazakhstan's government has launched a strategic initiative called "Green Economy".
Two months had passed since "tick season" has started but the number of people attacked by blood-sucking ticks in East-Kazakhstan region reached almost two thousand.This year ticks have become active much earlier than usually due to early spring. Thus, the epidemiological season has begun on 21 March.People have been warned about an increase in blood-sucking ticks after a 7-year-old boy needed hospital treatment when one of the parasites latched itself on to his scalp. Fortunately, the tick was not contagious. After this incident, another 1038 residents of the regional center were attacked by blood-sucking ticks.As of 10 May 1849 people applied to hospitals of East-Kazakhstan region. 30 percent of the victims are children under 14. Note that since the beginning of the epidemiological season no cases of tick-borne encephalitis have been reported.Epidemiologists advise people, recreating on a landscape, to wear protective clothing and use repellent agents.
A meeting of the Interstate Commission on Sustainable Development (ICSD) of the International Fund for saving the Aral Sea (IFAS) will be opened May 24 in Ashgabat, Neutral Turkmenistan newspaper reported May 24.The event will be attended by the heads of environmental agencies, experts and authorized persons of Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan. The newspaper also reported that the participants will discuss the issues of improving the legal basis for regional cooperation and sustainable development in the field of environmental protection and climate change. The ICSD's activities are currently being implemented under the chairmanship of Turkmenistan, which took the chairmanship in 2015, Trend.az reports. The IFAS was established in 1993 to support scientific and practical research and organize financing social and economic and environmental programs in the region aimed at improving the environmental situation of Aral Sea region. The ICSD was created for providing a balanced solution of social and economic problems, the issues of environmental safety and preservation of the region's natural resource potential.
President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev has suggested mapping out the Global Roadmap on green economy development at the 9th Astana Economic Forum today."In pursuit of economic benefit we often forget about a whole spectrum of measures on the issues of environment. Global initiative to prevent climate change is of paramount importance, but we must not forget about other problems. I suggest developing the Global Roadmap on green economy development and rational use of natural resources on the basis of the Paris Agreement," President Nazarbayev said addressing a plenary session at the forum.According to Nursultan Nazarbayev, this Roadmap should cover not only cutting emissions, but also preserving lands, fresh water and biological environment.
The next meeting of the Interstate Commission on Sustainable Development (ICSD) of the International Fund for saving the Aral Sea (IFAS) was held in Ashgabat, Turkmen government's message said May 27. The event was organized by Turkmenistan's State Committee for Environmental Protection and Land Resources within the country's chairmanship in the Interstate Commission in 2015-2016. It was attended by delegations of the Central Asian countries, representatives of IFAS, the United Nations (UN), the German Society for Economic Cooperation (GIZ) and the World Bank (WB). In particular, the issues of improving the institutional and legal basis for regional cooperation in the field of environmental protection and the cooperation agreement of the Interstate Commission with the GIZ regional program on the management of natural resources were discussed during the meeting. A number of important decisions were made and documents for the further development of regional cooperation in the field of environmental protection and sustainable development were signed on the results of the meeting, said the message. The ICSD's activities are currently being implemented under the chairmanship of Turkmenistan, which took the chairmanship in 2015, trend.az informs. The IFAS was established in 1993 to support scientific and practical research and organize financing social and economic and environmental programs in the region aimed at improving the environmental situation of Aral Sea region. The ICSD was created for providing a balanced solution of social and economic problems, the issues of environmental safety and preservation of the region's natural resource potential.
As we can see, the Agency widely covers the ecological situation in the country, environmental activity of the governmental structures, NGOs and political parties aimed at promotion of ecological awareness, development of green industry in Kazakhstan, restoration of natural resources and ecological education development.