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Kyrgyzstan
Environmental Problems
Kyrgyzstan has been spared many of the enormous environmental
problems faced by its Central Asian neighbors, primarily because
its designated roles in the Soviet system involved neither heavy
industry nor large-scale cotton production. Also, the economic
downturn of the early 1990s reduced some of the more serious effects
of industrial and agricultural policy. Nevertheless, Kyrgyzstan
has serious problems because of inefficient use and pollution
of water resources, land degradation, and improper agricultural
practices.
Water Resources
Although Kyrgyzstan has abundant water running through it, its
water supply is determined by a post-Soviet sharing agreement
among the five Central Asian republics. As in the Soviet era,
Kyrgyzstan has the right to 25 percent of the water that originates
in its territory, but the new agreement allows Turkmenistan and
Uzbekistan unlimited use of the water that flows into them from
Kyrgyzstan, with no compensation for the nation at the source.
Kyrgyzstan uses the entire amount to which the agreement entitles
it, but utilization is skewed heavily in favor of agricultural
irrigation. In 1994 agriculture accounted for about 88 percent
of total water consumption, compared with 8 percent by industry
and 4 percent by municipal water distribution systems. According
to World Bank (see Glossary) experts, Kyrgyzstan has an adequate
supply of high-quality water for future use, provided the resource
is prudently managed.
Irrigation is extremely wasteful of water because the distribution
infrastructure is old and poorly maintained. In 1993 only an estimated
5 percent of required maintenance expenditures was allocated.
Overall, an estimated 70 percent of the nation's water supply
network is in need of repair or replacement. The quality of drinking
water from this aging system is poorly monitored--the water management
staff has been cut drastically because of inadequate funds. Further,
there is no money to buy new water disinfection equipment when
it is needed. Some aquifers near industrial and mining centers
have been contaminated by heavy metals, oils, and sanitary wastes.
In addition, many localities rely on surface sources, making users
vulnerable to agricultural runoff and livestock waste, which seep
gradually downward from the surface. The areas of lowest water
quality are the heavily populated regions of the Chu Valley and
Osh and Jalal-Abad provinces, and areas along the rivers flowing
into Ysyk-Köl.
In towns, wastewater collection provides about 70 percent of
the water supply. Although towns have biological treatment equipment,
as much as 50 percent of such equipment is rated as ineffective.
The major sources of toxic waste in the water supply are the mercury
mining combine at Haidarkan; the antimony mine at Kadamzai; the
Kadzyi Sai uranium mine, which ceased extraction in 1967 but which
continues to leach toxic materials into nearby Ysyk Köl; the Kara-Balta
Uranium Recovery Plant; the Min Kush deposit of mine tailings;
and the Kyrgyz Mining and Metallurgy Plant at Orlovka.
Land Management
The most important problems in land use are soil erosion and
salinization in improperly irrigated farmland. An estimated 60
percent of Kyrgyzstan's land is affected by topsoil loss, and
6 percent by salinization, both problems with more serious long-term
than short-term effects. In 1994 the size of livestock herds averaged
twice the carrying capacity of pasturage land, continuing the
serious overgrazing problem and consequent soil erosion that began
when the herds were at their peak in the late 1980s (see Agriculture,
this ch.). Uncertain land tenure and overall financial insecurity
have caused many private farmers to concentrate their capital
in the traditional form--livestock--thus subjecting new land to
the overgrazing problem.
The inherent land shortage in Kyrgyzstan is exacerbated by the
flooding of agricultural areas for hydroelectric projects. The
creation of Toktogol Reservoir on the Naryn River, for example,
involved the flooding of 13,000 hectares of fertile land. Such
projects have the additional effect of constricting downstream
water supply; Toktogol deprives the lower reaches of the Syrdariya
in Uzbekistan and the Aral Sea Basin of substantial amounts of
water. Because the Naryn Basin, where many hydroelectric projects
are located, is very active seismically, flooding is also a danger
should a dam be broken by an earthquake. Several plants are now
in operation in zones where Richter Scale readings may reach eleven.
The Aral Sea
In response to the internationally recognized environmental crisis
of the rapid desiccation of the Aral Sea, the five states sharing
the Aral Sea Basin (Kazakstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan,
and Uzbekistan) are developing a strategy to end the crisis. The
World Bank and agencies of the United Nations (UN) have developed
an Aral Sea Program, the first stage of which is funded by the
five countries and external donors. That stage has seven areas
of focus, one of which--land and water management in the upper
watersheds--is of primary concern to Kyrgyzstan. Among the conditions
detrimental to the Aral Sea's environment are erosion from deforestation
and overgrazing, contamination from poorly managed irrigation
systems, and uncontrolled waste from mining and municipal effluents.
Kyrgyzstan's National Environmental Action Plan (NEAP) has addressed
these problems as part of its first-phase priorities in cooperation
with the Aral Sea Program.
Environmental Policy Making
The NEAP, adopted in 1994, is the basic blueprint for environmental
protection. The plan focuses on solving a small number of critical
problems, collecting reliable information to aid in that process,
and integrating environmental measures with economic and social
development strategy. The initial planning period is to end in
1997. The main targets of that phase are inefficient water resource
management, land degradation, overexploitation of forest reserves,
loss of biodiversity, and pollution from inefficient mining and
refining practices.
Because of severe budget constraints, most of the funds for NEAP
operations come from international sources, including official
institutions such as the World Bank and the Asian Development
Bank and numerous international nongovernmental organizations.
Implementation is guided by a committee of state ministers and
by a NEAP Expert Working Group, both established in 1994 by executive
order. A NEAP office in Bishkek was set up with funds from Switzerland.
The main environmental protection agency of the Kyrgyzstani government
is the State Committee on Environmental Protection, still known
by its Soviet-era acronym, Goskompriroda. Established by the old
regime in 1988, the agency's post-Soviet responsibilities have
been described in a series of decrees beginning in 1991. In 1994
the state committee had a central office in Bishkek, one branch
in each of the seven provinces, and a total staff of about 150
persons. Because of poorly defined lines of responsibility, administrative
conflicts often occur between local and national authorities of
Goskompriroda and between Goskompriroda and a second national
agency, the Hydrometeorological Administration (Gidromet), which
is the main monitoring agency for air, water, and soil quality.
In general, the vertical hierarchy structure, a relic of Soviet
times, has led to poor coordination and duplication of effort
among environmental protection agencies.
Data as of March 1996
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