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Air
Water
Land
Biodiversity
Agriculture
Transportation
Energy
Climate Change
Waste
The Regions (oblasts)
Nur-Sultan
Almaty
Akmola Oblast
Aktobe Oblast
Almaty Oblast
Atyrau Oblast
West Kazakhstan Oblast
Jambyl Oblast
Karaganda Oblast
Kostanay Oblast
Kyzylorda Oblast
Mangystau Oblast
Turkestan Oblast
Pavlodar Oblast
North Kazakhstan Oblast
East Kazakhstan Oblast
Shymkent
Baikonur Cosmodrome
Semipalatinsk Test Site
Ecological Policy
Full text of this report
Home
About this report
Topics
-- Air
-- Water
-- Land
-- Biodiversity
-- Agriculture
-- Transportation
-- Energy
-- Climate Change
-- Waste
The Regions (oblasts)
-- Nur-Sultan
-- Almaty
-- Akmola Oblast
-- Aktobe Oblast
-- Almaty Oblast
-- Atyrau Oblast
-- West Kazakhstan Oblast
-- Jambyl Oblast
-- Karaganda Oblast
-- Kostanay Oblast
-- Kyzylorda Oblast
-- Mangystau Oblast
-- Turkestan Oblast
-- Pavlodar Oblast
-- North Kazakhstan Oblast
-- East Kazakhstan Oblast
-- Shymkent
-- Baikonur Cosmodrome
-- Semipalatinsk Test Site
Ecological Policy
Full text of this report
Section navigation
The
causes of soil pollution in Kazakhstan are industry, energy production, and motor vehicles. Nearly a billion tons of industrial waste,
principal
including toxic and radioactive waste, are generated annually, of which about 35% is recycled, with the rest buried in landfills resulting in soil
contamination.
Agriculture is the primary cause of soil degradation. By 2020, around 30 million hectares of the national land had been rendered erosion-prone,
with nearly 60 million more hectares at risk if measures are not taken.
Land resources
In Kazakhstan, more than 29 million hectares of land are affected by erosion. Another 60
million hectares of land are at high risk of erosion if erosion control measures are not
carried out.
3,419
enterprises and organizations within the country have distressed land on or adjacent to their territories.
The bulk of the
contaminated land
is located in
Atyrau Oblast
—
59%
19%
,
—
Aktobe Oblast
W
КО
—
,
13%
Mangystau Oblast
—
9%
Between 5 and 6 million tons of annual household
waste, of which only 5 percent is processed, also
produce a negative impact on the land.
Distressed land and hazardous soil
contamination is also linked to mineral
exploration and mining, including
that emanating from uranium
deposits.
P
etroleum products are
the source of the
greatest soil
contamination affecting
more than 190,000
hectares of land which
have absorbed more
than 5 million tons of
spilled oil. The highest oil
contamination
concentration is near the
Makat oil field.
H
eavy metals and petroleum product waste generated by the oil and gas
extraction industries result in significant soil contamination. In addition, the
extraction of non-ferrous metals and radioactive ore are also significant
contributors to soil contamination.
T
he development of gold and polymetallic deposits has led to significant
soil contamination by arsenic and heavy metals.
I
ndustry, particularly the mineral extraction and
processing industries contribute to significant
soil contamination. The largest sources of
pollution are the Troitsk State power plant ash
dumps of the Troitsk State District Power Plant
and the tailings ponds of the Sokolov-Sarbai
Mining and Processing Plant.
W
aste generated by the mining and metallurgical industries are
the source of most soil pollutants. There are more than 350
landfills for the storage of industrial and household waste in the
region. Excessive emissions from the Balkhash Mining and
Metallurgical Plant have led to soil contamination by copper, zinc,
cobalt, cadmium, and lead.
S
oil contamination results from by
vehicle manufacturing plants, chemical
production, coal mining, oil refining and
waste stored in insufficiently secure
storage facilities.
T
oxic waste landfills that
fall short of established
environmental standards
have polluted the soil
with a copper, zinc,
cadmium, lead, and
arsenic compound. The
most polluted soils are
found in the triangle
between the cities of Ust-
Kamenogorsk, Ridder
and Altai.
Pavlodar Oblast
Karaganda Oblast
Kyzylorda Oblast
N
КО
Aktobe Oblast
W
КО
Atyrau Oblast
Mangystau
Oblast
E
КО
Kostanay
Oblast
Four major military installations and the Baikonur Testing Site and Cosmodrome are
located in Kazakhstan. The soils of Karaganda, Akmola, Pavlodar, and East Kazkhstan
oblasts have been subjected to the fallout of rocket debris and rocket fuel spills,
polluting the soil with radionuclides, heavy metals and other toxic substances.
1991
1995
2000
2005
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
200
150
125
100
75
218,4
194,8
91,3
82,2
93,4
69,3
98,6
100,8
Agricultural land, aggregate, millions of hectares - 1991-2019
93,7
93,4
102,6
104,1
105,3
106,4
Forested territory, by oblast - 2018-2019
Forested territory, by oblast
2018
2019
Akmola
Aktobe
Almaty
Atyrau
O
EK
Jambyl
O
WK
Karaganda
Kyzylorda
Kostanay
Mangystau
Pavlodar
O
NK
Turkestan
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
61,7
39,6
55,2
44,7
67,3
22,8
72,7
76,7
59,2
56,8
86,4
87,9
16,7
63,6
39,8
57,7
46,3
67,3
50,6
72,7
79
61,3
56,6
86,4
88,6
16,7
48
48,2
Significant portions of Kazakhstan are experiencing conditions that have a negative
effect on soil fertility, a threat that is particularly hazardous on agricultural lands.
To assess environmental risk to the land, the territory is distinguished by the following
reclamation categories:
Ι
- Soil absent negative indicators;
– Coarse, rocky soil;
ΙΙ
- Saline soil;
ΙΙΙ
V –
;
Ι
Solonetzic soil
V – Washed away soil;
VΙ – deflated soil;
VΙΙ – Wind and water eroded soil;
VΙΙΙ – Waterlogged soil;
X - Wetland soil;
Ι
X – other.
Percentage of agricultural land distribution
by reclamation Categories - 2018-2019
Reclamation groups
Soil absent negative indicators
Coarse, rocky soil
Saline soil
Solonetzic soil
Washed away soil
Deflated soil
Wind and water eroded soil
Waterlogged soil
Wetland soil
Other
thousand
hectares
%
2018
%
2019
41 517,1
43 444,9
35 817,4
58 164,9
4 950,3
24 168,1
201,7
2 947,6
1 083,6
3279,9
41 516,9
42 240,5
35 817,4
58 164,9
4 950,3
24 168,1
2 01,7
2 947,6
1 083,6
3 250,1
19,3
20,1
16,6
27
2,3
11,2
0,1
1,4
0,5
1,5
19,4
1937
16,7
27,1
2,3
11,3
0,1
1,4
0,5
1,5
Percentage of agricultural land subject to erosion,
by Oblast - 2019
Pavlodar
E
КО
Almaty
Jambyl
Turkestan
Kyzylorda
Karaganda
N
КО
Akmola
Kostanay
Aktobe
W
КО
Atyrau
Mangystau
Percentage
14,7
9,8
34,4
11,6
26,1
40,2
28,2
36,4
2,9
5,5
11,6
4,3
0,7
4,2
0
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
Oblast
Mangystau
Karaganda
Kostanay
3,63
10,7
13,7
Degraded
lands
Waste
land
Waste
land
Degraded
lands
78,6
45,1
37,8
72,7
45,2
38,3
9,4
10,7
13,8
2018
2019
Sanitary and epidemiological assessment of soil conditions
is carried out annually - results 2018 - 2019
samples examined
Exceeded norms
Research on
sanitary
and chemical
parameters
2018
2019
2018
2019
5 303
samples
3 809
samples
9
samples
12
samples
Research on
bacteriological
parameters
2018
2019
2018
2019
6 515
samples
4 896
samples
248
samples
163
samples
Research on
Helminth
eggs
2018
2019
2018
2019
8 933
samples
7 352
samples
95
samples
43
samples
Kazhydromet conducts soil pollution assessments in 102 settlements across the
country. Samples are taken annually in spring and autumn at five points in each
location. Soil samples are taken in proximity to highways and polluting industrial
facilities, schools, kindergartens, and recreation areas, and other sites where the
populace is directly affected by pollution.
In 2019, the bulk of the land recultivated was in the
Mangystau Oblast;
in 2018, in the
Aktobe Oblast.
In addition, soil samples are taken annually
from five fossil fuel and mineral extraction
sites in the Atyrau Oblast and four in the
Mangystau Oblast to assess soil
contamination by copper, cadmium, lead,
zinc, chromium, nickel, manganese and
petroleum products.
Pavlodar
E
КО
Almaty
Jambyl
Turkestan
Kyzylorda
Karaganda
N
КО
Akmola
Kostanay
Aktobe
W
КО
Atyrau
Mangystau
Forestland area by Oblast,
thousands of hectares
0
8 000
7 000
6 000
5 000
4 000
3 000
2 000
1 000
500
100
Forestland area by Oblast
, thousands of hectares
- 2018-2019
2018
2019
216.9
216.9
56
53
254.2
253.2
215.8
216.8
452.1
453.2
549.6
549.6
522.7
525.7
127.5
127.5
2 153.9
2 152.5
204.1
204.2
6 510.3
6 506.7
3 010.3
3 010.3
4 429
4 430.7
3 695.8
4 037.3
Land Fund Kazakhstan by category in 2018 - 2019
0.9
40.5
36.4
8.5
9.2
2.9
1
6
.
2 318
106 433
95 716
22 398
24 077
7 695
4 222
100 %
262 859 Thousand
Hectares
Forestland
Residential land
Undesignated Reserve Land
Agricultural land
Surface water lands
Land zoned for industrial, transport,
communications, defense, and other
non-agricultural purposes
Protected nature preserves, recreational
& cultural sites
The bulk of degraded land lies in the Mangystau, Karaganda, and Kostanay Oblasts
Total Lands – degraded, exhausted,
and subject to reclamation – 2018-2019
Total Land Area, per annum – degraded,
exhausted and recultivated – 2018-2019
Total Degraded Land
(thousands of hectares)
Of these, exhausted land
in need of reclamation
(thousands of hectares)
2018
2019
2018
2019
6
5
4
3
2
1
0,5
0
Degraded
Exhausted
Recultivated
51
56
245
248
1,5
6
5
4
3
2
1
0,5
0
0,2
1,9
2,8
6
5,9
thousand
hectares
Recultivated land,
per annum
1,9
thousands
of hectares
5,9
thousands
of hectares
2018
2019
This interactive report was created by the Ministry of Ecology, Geology and Natural Resources of the Republic of Kazakhstan with the support of the European Commission, the United Nations Environment Programme, and Zoï Environment Network.