total: 2,717,300 sq km
land: 2,669,800 sq km
Coastline: 0 km (landlocked)
Kazakhstan borders the Aral Sea, now split into two bodies
of water (1,070 km), and the Caspian Sea (1,894 km)
Population: 16,824,825 (July 1999 est.)
Source: CIA Worldfact Book (2000)
Kazakhstan
National Environmental Center for Sustainable Development
Environmental Information Systems in Kazakhstan
Contact Address:
Ministry of Ecology and Bioresources
Centre of the National Environmental Action Plan for
Sustainable Development
Karl Marx Street 81
475000 Kokshetau
Kazakhstan
Tel.: +7 31622 55414, 56718
Fax: +7 31622 55537
Bulat Esekin, Director, besekin@neapsd.kz
Vladimir Bogachev, Expert, vbogachev@itte.kz
(Source: CIA World Factbook 1999)
Many thanks to the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development, the source of the following information. The information was taken from the Kazakhstan's submission to the 5th Session of the Commission on Sustainable Development (last update: June 1997). For further information on the Kazakhstan's social and economic factors, natural resources, and institutional structures see the United Nations System-Wide Web Site on National Implementation of the Rio Commitments National Information for Kazakhstan at:
http://www.un.org/esa/agenda21/natlinfo/countr/kazakh/index.htm
The UN Convention on the Law of the Sea has not been ratified.
The Ministry of Ecology and the Centre of National Environmental Activity Plan for Sustainable Development (NEAP/SD) are responsible for the protection of seas and related problems..
There are three big lakes on the territory of Kazakhstan: Aral Sea, Caspian Sea and Balhash lake. Approximately 1.4 million people in Kazakhstan are affected by one of the most acute environment disasters in the world. Manifestation of this crisis include desiccation of the Aral Sea, environmental degradation in the upper and middle water shed, especially deforestation, soil erosion, increasing vulnerability to large-scale landslides, distraction of wetlands, loss of livehoods, and the gradual increase of poverty and illness among those living in deltas of Syr Darya and Amu Darya rivers.
The Aral Sea Basin Program includes various activities to develop sustainable water and land management strategies.
The main problem of the Caspian Sea is the fluctuation in
water levels. It has increased the threat of water pollution
through inundation and hazardous industrial wastewater
stored in stabilisation ponds close to the water's edge. In
Kazakhstan, the expanding Caspian Sea flooded a large
stretch of farmland in the country and poses serious threats
to the country's ports and to power and oil industries. As a
result of pollution the rich Caspian Sea fisheries are
threatened. The Caspian Sea Environmental Program was
developed by the World Bank and the UN in order to identify
activities and to coordinate
international donors.
The Centre of National Environmental Activity Plan for
Sustainable Development (NEAP/SD) is going to coordinate
activities directed toward Caspian Sea and Aral Sea
problems.
UNDP-Aral Sea
Basin Capacity Development Project
COASTAL MANAGEMENT IN KAZAKHSTAN
EUCC has compiled country files on Integrated Coastal
Management (ICM) for all coastal states of Europe and
Central Asia. Summaries for all countries will become
available in August.
This page provides a preliminary summary on the following
items for Kazakhstan:
- Spatial planning
- Environment
- Nature Conservation
- Sectoral Development
- Framework for Development of ICZM
- National Achievements in the Field of ICZM
- Problems and Constraints for the Development of ICZM
1. Spatial
Planning
1.1 Legislation and Regulations
- Decree part IV Land Protection. State Control, Land Utilisation, Monitoring and Land Cadastre (1995) came into force instead of the former Land Code.
- Regulations of the Order to Carry Out Marine Researches Connected with Offshore and Land-based Activities (1996)
- Provisions of the Order and Conditions to Issue Permission for Construction and Exploitation of Man-made Islands, Dams, Facilities and Plants to Undertake Oil Activities in the Republic of Kazakhstan (1996)
- Regulations of the Order to Conduct Offshore and Land-based Oil Activities (1997)
The integral system of normative acts in the field of land relations has been established and it is not expected to undergo any radical changes in the near future.
1.2 Administrative Competencies
Committee on Land Resource Management of the Ministry of Agriculture (former State Land Committee) is responsible for state control on land utilisation and monitoring. No further information received.
1.3 Coastal Policy
The North-Caspian water area with the Volga Delta and Ural Delta has been declared a reserved zone within the Kazakhstan area. Activities in near-mouth regions of Ural and Volga Rivers are limited, which was fixed within a radius of 50 km from delta parts protruding to the sea, as well as other places of egg-laying. A protected coastal reserved zone is marked at 28 below sea level. In 1978, the Ural water area and flood plain up to the mouth of the Barbastau River was included into the reserved area.
2. Environment
2.1 Legislation and Regulations
- Water Code (1993)
- Provisions on Forest Ecosystem and Monitoring (1993)
- Law on Privatisation (1995) articles 18 and 23.
- Law on Petroleum includes sections Bowels and Environmental Protection in the Exploration of Oil and Gas Fields and Environmental Protection, Human and Personnel Safety art. 46-49,
- Law on Emergency Actions of Natural and Technogenic Nature (1996)
- Law on Ecological Expertise (1997)
- Several regulations and provisions such as Special Ecological Conditions to Carry Out Geophysical Study in the Kazakhstan Caspian Sector (1995), Provisions of the Order of Harmful Substances Burial and Discharge of Sewage into Bowels (1996), Safety Regulations and Environmental Protection in the Construction and Exploitation of Underwater Pipelines and Cables Connected with Oil Activities (1996), Provision on Land Monitoring (1997), Provision on Underground Resources Monitoring (1997), Regulations of the Order to Conduct Offshore and Land-based Oil Activities (1997).
- Drafts have been submitted for: Provision on Environmental Monitoring, Law on Ecological Control, Law on Industrial and Production Wastes, Law on Standardisation and Certification of Environmental Protection.
Norms of maximum allowable emissions (MAE) into the environment and norms of maximum allowable discharges (MAD) have been developed
2.2 Administrative Competencies
The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection (MNREP) formulates strategic plans in the field of environmental protection and exercises control over their implementation, submits proposals to the government on the solution of environmental issues, co-ordinates the activities of other executive bodies performing functions of environmental protection and environmental management as well as exercises control over departments. The State Committee on Emergency Actions is entrusted with general guidance of the state emergency prevention and response system. In this capacity it is allowed to approve and co-ordinate norms, standards and regulations, supervise the state expertise in this field, organise scientific study and training, as well as exercise state control and supervise state inspection on emergency prevention and response. Local administrations (Akimats) and MNREP regional departments perform functions of environmental management on a local level. Local administrations and representative bodies have the right to issue their own decrees and decisions within the established territories. Permission distribution, monitoring and control for the observance of environmental conditions and measures on their implementation are mostly carried out on a local level.
2.3 Environmental Policy
Transition to ecologically safe and sustainable
development is among the priority directions of the
Kazakhstan Development Strategy, to be realised in 5
stages: 1998-2000, 2001-2010, 2011-2020, and 2021-2030.
The National Environmental Action Plan is part of the
first stage of the strategy, and was prepared on
intersectoral basis. Within the framework of NEAP a Joint
Announcement of the Ministers of the Central Asian countries
was signed stipulating the development of a Central-Asia
Regional Environmental Action Plan. The Concept of
Ecological Safety determined strategic directions of
ecological state policy as well as a system of
organisational, legal, economic and social activities for
environmental protection. Strategy 2030 Ecology and
Natural Resources was developed taking into account the
Environmental Programme for Europe, identifying
long-term prospects of policy and environmental protection
integration, one of its priorities being the establishment
of an environmental protection management system. Payments
for environmental pollution have been defined, but the
quantity of payments for exceeding limits is not correlated
with scale of damage and payment rates often differ in
various regions of the country. The formulation of bilateral
agreements with governments of other countries in the field
of environmental protection has been initiated; relations
with international and regional governmental and
non-governmental organisations as well as financial
institutions on bilateral basis are also developing.
3. Nature
Conservation
3.1 Legislation and Regulations
- Forest Code (1993)
- Law on Animal World Protection, Reproduction and Use (1993)
- Law on Bowels and Its Utilisation (1996)
- Decree of the President on Underground Resources and Its Utilisation (1996)
- Law on Specially Protected Areas (1997)
- Drafts submitted on: Law on Payments for Bioresources Utilisation, Law on Licensing for Natural Resources Utilisation Activity
3.2 Administrative Competencies
The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection is responsible for developing governmental policy in the field of protection, reproduction and utilisation of natural resources as well as co-ordinates interaction among ministries, departments, local authorities and the non-governmental sector. The role of territorial bodies in the management of natural resources was increased.
3.3 System of Protected Areas
The North-Caspian water area with the Volga Delta and Ural Delta has been declared a reserved zone within the Kazakhstan. At present the status and regime of the ëState Reserved Zone of the North Caspian Regioní is determined by the Law on Specially Protected Areas (1997). Other protected areas include National Memorial ëTG Shevchenkoís Willowí in the Fort Shevchenko (1850), Karagy-Karakol state sanctuary, Novisk state sanctuary, Shortanbay state sanctuary and Aktau-Buzachin state sanctuary. Payments for natural resources utilisation and for natural resources protection and reproduction have been defined, however current problems include: not all the types of pollution are included, weak incentives for rational use of nature, weak development and an incomplete legal base.
A new edition of the Red Book was recently published.
Priority directions in the Kazakhstan Development
Strategy include sustainable use of natural resources
and animal and plant diversity conservation. The NEAP
provided relevant approaches to the development of a
National Strategy and Action Plan on Biological
Diversity.
4. Sectoral
Development
4.1 Coastal Defence
Reconstruction of the West Prova protective dam, for the
protection against the rising Caspian Sea level, has
started. The facilitiesí construction plan was not
executed because of bad financial showing, however,
construction did proceed in 1999. Research for water level
fluctuation forecasting, coastal floodplain mapping as well
as preliminary notification of local administration about
coming disasters has been part of the work plan of the
Caspian Regional Thematic Centre (CRTC) on Sea Level
Fluctuations (Almaty).
4.2 Recreation and Tourism
Special appeal in the sense of tourism have the Caspian Sea, Ural river, east part of the Volga Delta and to a lesser extent the Emba river. The Ural River is used for mass recreation to spend weekends in summer time and for specific kinds of recreation such as hunting and fishing. The north Caspian coast - except for protected territories - is also very conducive for amateur hunting and fishing. Due to its climate, the Mangystau region has very good conditions for recreation. North and south of Aktau city, many resorts were built up on the coastline, which enjoy wide popularity. The coast of the Caspian Sea within the Atyrau region is practically unsuitable for establishment of resort industry, construction of hotels etc. because of a lack of beaches and extremely extended shallow waters with depths up to one metre.
4.3 Fisheries and Aquaculture
Fishery is concentrated in the area of Ural and Kygach rivers, near-mouth zones and the north Caspian Sea. The water area of the Northern Caspian, except for littoral territories, is closed for fishing because of its reservation. Over the years, the share of Kazakhstan in general catches in the Caspian Sea has made up about 8-10%, approx. 25-27 thousand tons. Most important to the fishery sector is the catch of sprat. During recent years sturgeon catches have shown a decrease due to the regulated run-off of the Volga River, at which the most productive hatchery places were cut off. The fishery sector has been in critical condition over the last few years. A rise in the prices of energy resources, production equipment for processing raw materials and its transportation as well as many other factors have made the fishery sector less and less profitable. Furthermore, the efficiency of fishery has sharply decreased during the period of sea level rise. Especially concerning valuable fish species, the scale on which poaching takes place grows every year. The role of Kazakhstan in reproduction of surgeon species is expected to grow in the coming years.
4.5 Transport and Energy
Railway and automobile highways play an important role in transportation, such as the connections between Astrakhan - Atyrau, Atyrau - Makat - Kandagach (Atyrau region) and the railroads Makat - Beineu - Kungrad, Makat - Beineu - Mangyshlak (Mangystau region). The existing network of roads demands reconstruction. Basic flows of air transportation are based on airports in Atyrau and Aktau, the first of which is in need of improvement as well as the take-off and landing strip in Bautino. Agreements have been made as part of the 'Baku Declarationí and the TRACECA programme [26] to encourage the development of a transport corridor on an East-West axis from Central Asia, through the Caucasus, across the Black Sea, to Europe. The corridor would include all forms of transport, including air, automobile, pipeline, rail, and sea as well as telecommunications.
Kazakhstan is important to world energy markets because it contains significant oil and gas reserves. Almost half of Kazakh production comes from three large onshore fields - Tengiz, Uzen, and Karachaganak. Kazakhstan's pipeline system is fragmented, consisting of the two export pipelines in the west, the import pipeline in the east, and a smaller internal line in the south. Other oil export pipeline options are being explored such as the Atyrau - Novorossisk oil pipeline to be carried out within the framework of the international Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC). [27] A National Action Plan on Offshore and Land-based Oil Spills Prevention, Preparedness and Response of the Republic of Kazakhstan was developed in order to reduce the impact of oil. Due to a lack of infrastructure Kazakh gas production has been hampered. Five branches of pipelines are in the process of construction, which would allow processing excess gas and reducing daily gas flaring. To reduce pollution, wind energy and the construction of a wind power plant have been introduced in the Atyrau region. Relevant laws include the Law on Petroleum (1995) and the Safety Regulations and Environmental Protection in the Construction and Exploitation of Underwater Pipelines and Cables connected with Oil Activities (1996).
4.6 Harbours and Shipping
The main sea gate of Kazakhstan in the Caspian Sea is the port in Aktau city, its basic industrial activity being trans-shipment of cargoes of e.g. metal products and bulk cargoes. The seaport Bautino is the base of the fishing fleet and planned as the basic base of offshore oil activities in the long term; it requires reconstruction. The port in Atyrau is - considering location and capacity - basically a river port, directed now on service of coastal transportation and underwater development of rakusha for agricultural needs.
4.7 Industry
Industry is the most important sector in Kazakhstan's economy its leading branches including fuel, chemical and fish production. The Aturau region is the oldest oil-extracting area of Kazakhstan. Of the republican stocks, 50.9 % of extracted oil stocks and 10% - gas 4,1 % - condensate are concentrated on its territory. The largest deposits of the Atyrau region are the Tengyz deposit, Korolevskoe, Kenbai and the Imashevskoe deposit, all of which are located in the coastal zone. In the Mangystau region, 23,4% of extracted oil stocks, 8% of natural gas and 100% balance reserves of rare minerals, 3,2% of uranium and 90,5 % of cut stone of the national total are concentrated. During the last years, petroleum production has fallen in the region, due to the reduction of petroleum production on the Uzen deposit. A number of complexes have been established directly on the coast, including a significant part of fishing bases, some above-salt hydrocarbon deposits and some industrial communities. Prevailing problems resulting from industry are accumulating in environment of production wastes and forest degradation.
4.8 Agriculture
Agriculture is rather undeveloped and mostly based on
nomadic animal breeding. The Kurmangazy, Balykshi, Isatai
areas of the Atyrau region suffer most from flooding caused
by the changing Caspian Sea level, resulting in more than
70% of agricultural manufacture losses. In particular the
southern part of Kazakhstan is mainly agriculturally
orientated. In this region the most common problems are a
deficit of water resources, pollution of water bodies by
wastewater, degradation of pastures and destruction of
cultural and natural monuments.
5. Framework for the Development of ICZM
Conventions ratified by Kazakhstan are:
- Rio de Janeiro Convention on Biodiversity
Preservation (1994)
National Strategy and Action Plan on Biodiversity Conservation and Sustainable Use have been developed and approved. Kazakhstan organises a number of regional workshops on this problem in European and Central Asia countries. Strategy and Action Plan include NEAP priority projects.
- Convention concerning the Prevention of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage
- UN Convention to Combat Desertification (1997)
National Strategy and Action Plan on Combat Desertification is being completed. Existing networks and organisations operating in this field in Kazakhstan are being reviewed.
Kazakhstan envisages joining:
- Ramsar Convention On Wetlands of International Importance Especially as Waterfowl Habitat
- Bonn Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals
- Basel Convention on Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal
- Convention on Environment Impact Assessment in a Transboundary Context
- UN/ECE Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes
Currently a Framework Convention for the Protection of
the Marine Environment of the Caspian Sea is under
preparation. The opportunity of membership in International
African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbird Agreement and
mechanisms for co-operation with the Convention on the
Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats will
be developed.
6. National Achievements in the
Field of ICZM
- Committee on International Ecological Conventions was formed in NEC SD for co-ordination of the actions on conventions. Preparation and approval procedure has been improved for effective convention and agreement implementation at national level.
- Work is carried out on the establishment of a Co-ordination Centre on Implementation of the Regulations of Conventions of UN European Economic Commission in Central Asia.
- Integrated Information Database has been established.
- Integrated National Strategy Structure has been adopted.
- Kazakhstan regularly participates in international forums on environmental protection, is a member of UN Sustainable Development Commission, and initiates agreements on bilateral basis and at regional level.
- About 300 non-governmental ecological organisations take active part in management of environmental protection and are provided with a scope of competence.
- Integrated Interdepartmental Commission with the involvement of interested Ministries and NGOs is in the process of establishment, its functions including implementation of obligations on International Conventions, development of interactions mechanisms, public awareness and public involvement.
- In 1998, resources collected for environmental pollution in the Atyrau Regional Environmental Fund (AREF) were among other things directed to the introduction of resources-economy and ecologically clean technologies and are in the future planned to be spent on maintenance and strengthening of a material and technical base of executive bodies in the field of environmental protection and on environmental activities.
7. Problems and Constraints for the
Development of ICZM
- Legislational problems such as insufficiency of legal measures in the field of management and control. Furthermore, regulatory legal acts are not available that determine environmental and other requirements to economic and other activities affecting the state of lands as result of their pollution.
- Institutional problems such as instability of the organs of the governmental environmental management system and governmental control in the field of environmental protection.
- A hard macroeconomic policy of the transition period has put forward urgent social and economic problems, having put off the solution of environmental issues.
- The transition to the market economy requires the reorganisation of the whole state environmental framework and clear division of responsibilities on all levels.
- Environmental protection is ignored in most sectional laws, such as the law on farming.
- Many problems regulating protection from land pollution are not developed on the level of regulatory acts.
- Lack of a mechanism for ecological law implementation, it is required to enhance control of the fulfilment of the current legal acts.
- Need to expand authorities and responsibilities of
local government in organising and carrying out
environmental activities.
Lack of financial means.