The Town of the XXI Century
Series of reports on ecological situation in Central Asia

WORLD WIDE CONSERVATION AND ECOTOURISM

THE RUN FOR INDUSTRILIZATION OF THE WHOLE COUNTRY

Having human beings as neighbors was not always safe for the nature. It will not be an exaggeration if we say that people have killed many plants and animals. The reasons for this have been named many times. Concisely this reason is called `anthropogenetic influence on the environment". As a result of the influence the nature has lost a lot of its plants, animals, birds, fish and other creatures, which inhabited forests, steppes and rivers. Currently 125 types of spinal animals, 96 types of non-spinal animals and 287 types of higher plants are entered into `The Red Book of endangered species" of Kazakhstan.

Nineteen types may disappear in the near future. Insects, birds, animals have seriously suffered because of intensive development of "virgin" lands, decrease in the squares of natural plants, erosion of soils, technological and agricultural pollution.

For example, in the steppe belt of Tjan-Shan mountains many types of insects, wild bees, predatory and parasitic creatures, reptiles, birds and mammals have become very rare and disappeared in some places because of the development of the lands, wide use of pesticides, over growth of cattle herds and fires.

The fall of the level of underground waters in Syrdaria valley has led to disappearance of some types of steppe bushes.

Trees growing in the forest and steppe zone started to be affected by diseases because the steppes were ploughed up around the forests, while the "virgin" lands were developed.

Previously Soviet agricultural air forces regularly used herbicides to clean up the fields from various kinds of insects. At the same time many plants were dying too.

Significantly less trees are currently growing in steppe pine-tree forests, which happened because of intensive cuts of the trees and severe forest fires. Famous forests of Irtish region were affected by the continuous influence of radio nuclides, which resulted from tests of nuclear weapons executed at the Semipalatinsk testing range, the influence of which on the forests, has not been thoroughly studied. Within two centuries the massive forests were destroyed in Turgai region.

The forests also suffer because of poisonous fumes thrown into the atmosphere by industrial installations and capable of destroying even the strongest and most valuable trees.

The striking example of this influence is represented by the dying relic pine-tree forest in Leninogorsk, Eastern Kazakhstan region. Here neighboring metallurgic plants have destroyed unique types of pine-trees.

Oil industry is developed in the northern part of Caspian Sea, which represents a direct threat to flora and fauna. The same destructive influence is carried by the Pavlodar-Karaganda industrial complex and also the complex of processing industries located in Southern Kazakhstan.

"The national strategy for preservation and balanced exploitation of the biological diversity" was developed to preserve what has not been destroyed and has not died in this run to grow up the steel muscles.

THE STREAMS, WHERE TROUTS ARE STILL PLAYING

The most effective way to preserve rare, disappearing types, unique and exemplary areas is to establish specially protected territories. In Kazakhstan the first reserve in Central Asia, Aksu-Djabagly was created more than 70 years ago in 1926 in Western Tjan-Shan.

On July 15, 1997 in accordance with the law of the Republic of Kazakhstan "On the specially protected natural territories" 13 types of these territories were identified. They include natural reserves (including biospheric reserves), national natural parks, natural monuments, reserve zones, natural reserves, zoological parks, botanic gardens, dendrologic parks, forests of specially protected territories, bodies of water having special state importance or special scientific value, water and swamp resources having international significance, parts of mineral reserves representing special ecological, scientific or cultural value.

Currently in Kazakhstan there are 9 natural reserve, 5 national parks, 60 reserve zones, 24 natural monuments having national significance, 3 zoological parks, 7 botanic gardens, several dendrologic parks, 3 water and swamp resources recognized as having international significance (in accordance with the list of Ramsar convention of 1971) and 150 bodies of water having special state importance.

These reserves, national parks, reserve zones differ from the rest of the territory by their security regime and occupy about 3% of the country's territory. The total square of 9 reserves, where all elements of the natural complex are protected, occupy only 0,3% of the territory of Kazakhstan.