Republic of Kazakhstan

officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a country in Central Asia and Eastern Europe.

Ranked as the ninth largest country in the world as well as the world's largest landlocked country,it has a territory of 2,727,300 km² (greater than Western Europe).

It is bordered by Russia, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and China. The country also borders on a significant part of the Caspian Sea.

Official language : 1)Kazakh ( Ancient Turkish language) 2)Russian ( From Soviet Union ) Government : Presidential Republic President : Nursultan Nazarbayev Prime Minister: Karim Masimov Area: Total 2,724,900 km2 1,052,085 sq mi  Water 1.7 % ( of total area)

Republic of Kazakhstan

Flag

Coat of Arms

Religion Religious Organizations %, as of 2003 Islam 53.7 Russian Orthodox Church 7.8 Roman Catholic Church 2.9 Evangelical Christians 12.3 Lutherans 3.2 Seventh Day Adventists 3.3 Jehovah’s Witnesses 4.2 Pentecostals 1.4

Internal Renewable Water Resources

(IRWR) 1997-2001, in cubic km

Kazakhstan Asia (exd. Middle East)

Surface water produced internally

69 10,985

Groundwater recharge

6 2,472

Overlap (shared by groundwater and surface water)

0 2,136

Total internal renewable water resources

(surface water + groundwater - overlap)

75 11,321

Per capita IRWR, 2001 (cubic meters)

4,706 3,241

Natural Renewable Water Resources( include flows from other countries)

Kazakhstan Asia (ex. Middle East)

Total, 1977-2001 (cubic km)

110 X

Annual river flows:

Per capita, 2002 (cubic meters per person)

6,839

X

From other countries (cubic km)

34 X

To other countries (cubic km)

45 X

Sources of water resources, km3/year

Lakes 190

Underground41-42 

Glaciers95

Total100.5

Rivers100.5

Types of sources

The quality of water resources is one of Kazakhstan’s sustainable development limiting factors. However, the taking place reduction of the network of monitoring limits the opportunities of its estimation.

WATER RESOURCES The Republic of Kazakhstan is relatively poor in

water resources in comparison with the republics of the European and Siberian parts of the CIS, but it is wealthier than the Central Asian states. The fresh water deficit is the most significant environmental problem making difficult sustainable development of Kazakhstan. The total water river resources in the year with an average water content make 100.5 km3, and those that can be used – 46 km3. The rest of the water volume is spent for environmental, fishing, sanitary (29 cubic meters), transport and power (9.0 cubic km) needs, filtration and other types of losses (12%).

The specific water supply makes 37 thous. m3 per 1 km2 and 6.0 thous. m3 per person per year. Comparison of water resources in the years of different water content with the need for the economy of Kazakhstan shows a strong water deficit both in overall for the republic and for separate regions. The water resource deficit, with an average water content for many years, reaches 60%, and by separate regions (the Central Kazakhstan) only 50-10%, and the deficit is characteristic mainly for the irrigated land cultivation .

Water supply in the years with an average

water content

Water Supply

Total, Cubic km\year

100.5

Per person,  Cubic m

6.000

Per 1 square km  /Cubic m

37.000

A specially critical situation is in the basins of transboundary rivers of Syr-Darya (1.2-3.5 km3), the Urals (up to 1.7 km3), Ili, Shu, and Talas. The southern regions were the most well-provided regions taking into account the areas in 1999: Almaty, Zhambyl, Kyzyl-Orda, Taldy-Korgan, and Pavlodar regions of Northern Kazakhstan. The following territories refer to the poorly provided areas: Aktyubinsk, Zhezkazgan, Kokshetau, and Semipalatinsk regions.

The water resource deficit causes are the natural conditions (90% of the river runoff takes place during the spring period), formation of about half of the flow (56.5 km3) on the territory of neighboring countries, extensive use, excessive unrecoverable water consumption for irrigation, and water losses. In addition, the surface water resources in the republic are distributed extremely unevenly are subjected to considerable time fluctuations

Every year in the republic the situation with good drinking water supply deteriorates more and more. On the whole tap water supply of the population in 1999 has made 75.1 % (75.2 % in 1998), this indicator has decreased essentially in

North-Kazakhstan Oblast – 49.0 % (58.02 %)

Aktyubinsk Oblast - 70.9 % (74.8 %)

Atyrau Oblast – 66.1 % (70.3 %)

Mangistau Obalst – 71.7 % (76.9 %).

16.5% use water for drinking purposes from open reservoirs, and 3.2% use imported water of non-guaranteed quality. The specific weight of the water samples from decentralized drinking water supply sources not complying with sanitary standards reaches 12%. The specific weight of non-standard samples above the average indicator in the country in 1999 is registered in

Pavlodar Oblast – 17.4 % (4.5 %) Kostanai Oblast – 17.3 % (16.9 %) Zhambyl Oblast - 12.8 % (16.6 %)

North-Kazakhstan Oblast – 12.2 % (13.3 %).

Open reservoirs where water does not comply with bacterial pollution standards make about 8 %, and the specific weight of reservoirs in the water use places not complying with standards by chemical indices in various areas makes 15 to 43%.

The quality of underground water remains as unsatisfactory as it was during the previous periods. They are polluted everywhere.

More than 3 thous. underground water pollution centers, which areas constitute several to hundreds of square kilometers, have been revealed. As of 1 January 1997 455 UW pollution centers have been registered, out of which only at 139 ones systematic monitoring was carried out. The most number of the centers, and UW pollution have appeared within Aktyubinsk, Eastern Kazakhstan, Zhambyl, Pavlodar, and Taldy-Korgan regions where large enterprises are located: chemical, oil processing, phosphorus industries, and non-ferrous metallurgy. The levels of the underground water pollution are rather high and make dozens of MAC, reaching at several places 100-180 MAC.