The Deputy said about the threat of an environmental disaster in the West of Kazakhstan
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Senator Lyazzat Rysbekova said that the shallowing of the Urals threatens an imminent environmental disaster, the correspondent reports Tengrinews.kz.
"Experts warn that the shallowing of the Ural river, which is the third longest river in Europe, threatens an imminent environmental disaster. The Ural plays a special role in preserving the ecosystem and bioresources of the Northern Caspian, where it flows. Last year, the international geodetic organization assigned the river the fifth and most recent level of pollution, effectively declaring it unsuitable for human use. Over the past five years, the Ural river has become so shallow that navigation on it has become almost impossible, and the number of alluvial land strips called braids has sharply increased. Today, the water level in the Urals has reached a record low.
The Ural is not just a river, but an entire ecosystem. Its shallowing leads to a number of very serious environmental problems: the floodplain of the river is not flooded, numerous lakes that feed the Urals in the dry season dry up, fish die, the ground water level decreases," Senator Lyazzat Rysbekova said, addressing a Deputy request to the country's Prime Minister Askar Mamin.
She added that the shallowing of the river affects the deterioration of the flora and fauna of the river basin, the decrease in agricultural productivity in the region, as well as the supply of drinking water to settlements in the region.
"...for residents of two regions of Kazakhstan, the Ural river is the main source of fresh water. The shallowing of the river has already affected the uninterrupted water supply of the city of Uralsk. If the river is now lost to navigation and water use, then tomorrow millions of people may be without drinking water.
Today, there is an acute problem with water supply in the southern regions of the region (Bokeyordinsky, Zhanybeksky, Zhangalinsky, Kaztalovsky), located in the desert zone. Over the past three years, the channels and estuaries of the districts do not receive enough water due to low water in the Urals, drying pastures cannot provide feed, and the livestock of the villagers is at risk of loss. The existing acute water shortage is also the result of excessive regulation of the Ural river in the upper reaches, " the Senator stressed in her request.
The Deputy considers it necessary:
* create a permanent Kazakh-Russian Commission;
* conduct a large-scale, thorough and comprehensive scientific study by scientists and experts of the Ural river itself and the causes of its shallowing. Only after understanding the reasons and getting the results of research can we talk about what additional measures still need to be taken to solve the problem;
* develop a systematic international program that would solve internal problems in the Ural river basin;
* strictly comply with the requirements of international environmental conventions and obligations signed by the Kazakh and Russian parties (Stockholm Convention on transboundary rivers and lakes);
* carry out continuous environmental monitoring of the Ural river.