Strategy and Ecological and Societal Results of Extensive Resources Damage in the South of the USSR
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NATIONAL COUNCIL FOR SOVIET AND EAST EUROPEAN RESEARC H TITLE : Strategy and Ecological and Societa l Results of Extensive Resource s Development in the South of the USSR AUTHOR : Michael A . Rozengurt CONTRACTOR : United States Global Strategy Council PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR : Michael A. Rozengurt COUNCIL CONTRACT NUMBER 04-22 DATE: March,1 199 : 8 The work leading to this report was supported by funds provided b y the National Council for Soviet and East European Research . The analysis and interpretations contained in the report are those o f the author . NCSEER NOTE This paper is an incidental product of the Council Contract identified o n the face page . It summarizes some of the work done under a previous Counci l project described in a series of Council Reports distributed in 1988 . United States Global Strategy Council , Global Water Summit Initiative , Washington, D.C . Strategy and Ecological and Societal Results of Extensive Resources Development in the South of the USS R by Michael A. Rozengurt, Ph.D . Senior Research Associate prepared fo r The National Council for Sovie t and East Europe Research, Washington, D .C. December 1990 TABLE OF CONTENT S r Introduction 1 Availability and Utilization of Freshwater Resources 2 Rivers 2 Reservoirs 3 Lakes 3 Ground Water 4 Agriculture and Irrigation - 5 Impoundment of Rivers and Ecological Desertification o f Estuaries-Sea Systems 6 References 1 4 TABLE OF FIGURES Figure 1 . The USSR large-scale river diversion projects . Figure 2 . Generalized trends in the decrease of oxyge n concentration and the increase in detention time o f pollutants in the riverine-estuarine ecosystems affecte d by water impoundment . Figure 4 . Conceptual model of the role of the river flow reductio n on riverine-estuarine ecosystems . Figure 5 . Generalized scheme of the impact of excessive wate r diversion on the environment of the areas adjacent t o the Aral Sea . Figure 6 . The capitalized losses substained by the fisheries o f the Southern Seas because of river impoundments for th e period 1977 to 1987 . Figure 7 . The range of percentage increase in birth defects as a result of unsuitable water quality in the Low Volga , Central Asia and South Kazakhstan . Figure 8 . Conceptual chain reaction between spring river runof f and some major chemical, physical and economi c parameters in the delta-estuary-sea economy . Strategy and Ecological and Societal Result s of Extensive Resources Developmen t in the South of the USSR Michael A . Rozengurt, Ph . D . Environmental degradation has progressed to such a state across the southern portion of the USS R from Romania to the Chinese border that destruction of the habitat has become the Achilles' heel of the Soviet society, which, through economic, political and social consequences, may bring it down . In the late 1940s-1950s, water management policies accelerated impoundment of thousands of small and large rivers flowing into the southern seas of the USSR (Figure 1), to cope with energy and foo d problems. During this period most, if not all, positions of managerial responsibility were staffed by politica l appointees rather than professionals. This dictatorial administrative "mafia" coupled with unscrupulous conformists from the water management establishment failed to integrate balanced economic planning an d alternative projects into the long term ecological and economic benefits of riverine-estuarine-coastal zone s ecosystems. Four decades later this failure has triggered the precipitous decline in water and land quantit y and quality, and has resulted in irreparable losses in commercial and recreational fishery and reduction in th e standard of living for over 120 million people of the South agro-industrial belt of the Black, Azov, Caspia n and Aral seas' basins. Conditions are particularly intolerable in the South Kazakhstan and Soviet Central Asia Republics (especially in the Southern part of the Aral Sea Basin) where ecological concerns were suppressed by inflated economic requirements of the local cabal who ruled this area during the last decade, dubbed by Soviet officials as a period of economic, social and political stagnation . At present, this results in unrest among the people living in these despoiled lands and drinking of polluted surface and ground waters . These and other impacts of unlimited water development and land resources utilization on the environment and economy, and, related to them, societal problems of the Southern USSR, are partially summarized below from several studies prepared for the National Council for Soviet and East European Research, Washington , DC. Among those, "Water Policy Mismanagement in Southern USSR: the Ecologic and Economic Impac t on Natural Resources of the Southern Seas," (May, 1989) served as a basis for the current presentation. The author gratefully acknowledges the indispensable role of the Council's interest and financial support in having this work completed . The author also thanks Dr . Joyce R. Starr, Co-Chairman of United States Globa l Strategy Council, Washington, DC, for unfailing encouragement in the course of preparation of this work . The author would like to express his special appreciation for the help of the Administration of the CSDO C (County Sanitation Districts of Orange County, CA) for having this presentation available for th e distinguished audience of the 2010 symposium . Availability and Utilization of Freshwater Resource s 1 . Rivers . The USSR has nearly three million streams ranging from less than 10 km long through 5 4 large rivers over 1000 km long. Approximately 70% of all Soviet rivers are located in the mountainou s regions of the Asian part of the USSR. Small rivers constitute 92% of all streams in the USSR, and on e third of these small rivers are located in Russia . In European and Asian Russia the flow of these smal l rivers accounts for 1,239 km' (40%) and 1,145 km3 (37%) of the total of all rivers, respectively . In the semi-arid and arid regions of the agricultural south, over 80% of the small rivers are impounded, and it is these rivers that are considered to be the most polluted streams in the USSR . The surface normal runoff (SNR, computed as an average over 55 to 60 years) from the Sovie t landmass amounts to 4,721 km' per year and constitutes 10% of the world's renewable surface runoff . Ou t of the total SNR, only 330 km' originate in neighboring countries . Compared to other countries, this SNR i s greater than that for the USA's (2,850 km') and Continental China's (2,600 km') runoff but only about hal f that for Brazil (9,200 km3). However, the SNR per km 2 in the USSR is 1/2, 1/3 and 1/6 that in the USA , France and Norway, respectively . The European part of the USSR receives only 1,059 km', or 22 .4%, of the SNR. In the South, a stil l smaller portion of SNR totaling about 614 km', or 13% of the total, discharges into the four souther n seas--Black, Azov, Aral and Caspian, and of this amount the Caspian Sea receives almost half (abou t 290 km') . Thus, water supply in the USSR is skewed. Vast areas in the northwest, north and east flood plains , and mountainous regions, which account for 48 to 50% of the landmass of the USSR, have the mos t water--slightly less than 80% of the total surface runoff, but lower population and less agricultural and industrial potential. Over 64% of the SNR is discharged to the Arctic basin and 22% to the Pacific . Th e Amur river runoff to the North Pacific alone equals 500 km' per year in average . By contrast, the most industrialized areas of the west, southwest and south--which account for 25 t o 27% of the landmass, 70% of the total population of 287 million (1988), and almost 46% of the arable land , totaling 598.4 million hectares--have a disproportionately small fraction of the annual normal runoff (Fig . 2). Suffice it to say that about 400 million hectares of arable land experiences water deficit almost every year. The semi-official name of this land is "the area of high risk agricultural development? In other words, th e Southern European Russia, Soviet Central Asia, and Kazakhstan (except the mountainous areas), a land-mass constituting 27% of the USSR, has only 2% of the total surface runoff excluding transit runof f from neighboring republics or countries . For example, Soviet Central Asia, and the Ukraine and Moldavia possess only 50 to 80 and 40 to 4 5 km' of sustainable water, respectively, while their populations exceed 40% of the Soviet Union total . Consequently, the lowest surface water supply per capita and per one square km is typical for thos e 2 geographic areas. However, these republics account for 40 to 49% of industrial output (oil, petrochemicals , coal, heavy metallurgy, agricultural equipment, hydropower, organic and inorganic chemistry, metalli c construction, weaponry, etc.), and serve as bread, rice and vegetable baskets for the rest of the country . The highest use of irrigation water is located in these areas . 2. Reservoirs . The USSR has over 160 large reservoirs each containing not less than 400 million m' , plus 1000 small storage facilities used for seasonal regulation, each containing not less than 1 million m' . The vast majority (94%) of the reservoirs were constructed after 1950 . Almost 9% of all reservoirs the world over are in the USSR . Their capacity comprises 22% of the total volume of all world water storag e facilities . The quantity of water held in these reservoirs in 1987 was 3 .4 times the normal runoff of the Volg a River (251 km'/year), or 3 .4 times of all the country's rivers' runoffs during the dry weather period .