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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.