Report No. 13990-KG Kyrgyz Republic National EnvironmentalAction Plan Public Disclosure Authorized May 2. 1995 Infrastructure, Energy and Environment Division Country Department III Europeand Central Asia Region Environment Division Technical Department Europeand Central Asia, Middle Eastand North Africa Region Public Disclosure Authorized Public Disclosure Authorized 2= _-X:X Xn C:,e, , =_ - . - Documentof dieWoas= _____ Public Disclosure Authorized CURRENCY EQUIVALENTS Currency Units = Som MEASURES AND EQUIVALENTS I cubic meter (m2 ) 35.310 cubic feet I hectare (ha) = 2.470 acres I ton = 1,000 kilogrammes GLOSSARY OF ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS ADB Asian Development Bank CIS Commonwealth of Independent States EBRD European Bank for Reconstruction and Development EIA Environmental Impact Assessment EU European Union FSU Former Soviet Union GDP Gross Domestic Product GEF Global Environment Facility Geprozem Institute of Land Use and Utilization GNP Gross National Product GOKR Government of the Kyrgyz Republic Goskomekonomika (SCE) State Committee on the Economy Goskomgeol (SCG) State Committee on Geology Goskominvest State Committee on Foreign Investments and Economic Assistance Goskompriroda (SCEP) State Committee on Environmental Protection Goskomstat State Committee on Statistics Hydromet State Hydrometeorological Agency IAEA International Atomic Energy Agency IDA International Development Association IFC Intenational Finance Corporation KJKS Kyrgyzjikommunsoyuz (Urban Municipal Services) KSRS Kyrgyzselremstryoy (Rural Municipal Services) Kygyszaltin State holding company for all mining and metallurgical enterprises Kyrgyzokhotrybolovsouz Kyrgyz Hunting and Fishing Union Leskhoz State Forestry Farm mkrR Microroentgen MOA Ministry of Agriculture MOE Ministry of Energy MOF Ministry of Finance MOH Ministry of Health MOI Ministry of Industry MOT Ministry of Trade M&M Mining and Metallurgy MOWE Ministry of Water Economy PDK Maximum allowable concentration TOE Millions of tons of oil equivalent NAS National Academy of Sciences NBK National Bank of Kyrgyzstan NEAP National Environmental Program Action Plan NMP Net Material Product Sanepid Sanitary-Epidemiological Service UNDP United Nations Development Programme USAID United States Agency for International Development Vodokanal Water Supply and Sanitation Utility FISCAL YEAR January I - December 31 TABLE OF CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ...................................... PART ONE NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL ACTION PLAN: PRIORITIES FOR ACTION 1995-97 1. WHY DOES THE KYZGYZ REPUBLIC NEED A NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL ACTION PLAN? .......................... 1 2. SETTING GOALS AND PRIORITIES ........................... 5 A. Key Environmental Problems ............................ 5 B. Priority Actions .......... .................. 7 C. Critical Constraints ............................. 8 3. MAJOR ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS: DEFINITION AND UNDERLYING CAUSES .................................. 9 A. Water .......................... 9 B. Land .......................................... 11 C. Environmental Concerns Related to the Mining and Metallurgy Industry . 14 D. Air ........................ .. 15 4. FRAMEWORK FOR ACTION ........................... 17 A. Addressing Priority Problems .......................... 17 B. The NEAP Process ........................... 26 PART TWO BACKGROUND PAPERS 1. SETTING ENVIRONMENTAL PRIORITIES USING HEALTH INFORMATION .37 A. Background .. 37 B. Exposures to Toxics .. 39 C. Information Management .. 43 D. Capacity Building and Institutional Strengthening ...... ......... 44 2. WATER RESOURCE MANAGEMENT IN THE KYRGYZ REPUBLIC ..... 45 A. General Overview . ................................. 45 B. Occurence and Characteristics of Groundwater ..... ............ 51 C. Water Resources Development and Use ...... ............... 52 D. Domestic, Industrial, and Agricultural Water Use .... ........... 58 E. Threats to the Quality of Raw Water Supplies ................. 65 F. Drinking Water Quality ..... .............. ........... 68 G. Conclusions and Recommendations ....... ................. 69 3. NATURAL RESOURCES ....................... ......... 73 A. Agriculture .................. 73 B. Forestry .................. 79 C. Watershed Protection .................. 84 D. Biodiversity Conservation .................. 86 E. Tourism .................. 91 4. THE MINING AND METALLURGICAL SECTOR ................. 95 Hot-spot in the Mining and Metallurgical Sector .................... 98 5. THE INDUSTRIAL SECTOR .............. ................. 111 A. General Overview ................................... 112 B. Toxic Industrial Waste Disposal .......................... 113 6. THE ENERGY SECTOR ................................... 118 7. LEGISLATION, STANDARDS AND ENFORCEMENT .............. 126 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This report is the result of a cooperativeeffort between the Governmentof the Kyrgyz Republic and the World Bank. The idea of preparing a NationalEnvironmental Action Plan (NEAP)was discussed and agreed with the governmentagencies responsible for enviromnentalprotection in March 1994. The report is expectedto help the Governmentin developingits environmentalpolicies and the donor agencies in targeting assistanceand avoiding duplicationof effort. The preparation of the National EnvironmentalAction Plan on the Kyrgyz Republic side was overseen by a high level Steering Committee,coordinated by Mr. I. S. Muratalin,Chairman of the State Committee on Environmental Protection. Members of the Committee included the Minister of Agriculture Mr. Z. A. Asanov, the Minister of Water Economy Mr. M. Z. Zulpuev, the Minister of Health Mr. N. K. Kassiev, the Chairmanof the State Committeeon the EconomyMr. A. M. Muraliev, the Chairmanof the State Committeeon StatisticsZ. A. Akeneev,the Chairmanof the State Committee on Geology Mr. Sh. T. Tekenov, the President of the National Academy of Science Mr. T. K. Koitchuev, the Director of the State Agencyfor TechnicalControl in Mining Mr. A. M. Masaliev, the Director of the State HydrometeorologyAgency Mr. 0. N. Tokoev and the chief of the Department of Scienceand InternationalCooperation in the State Committeeon EnvironmentalProtection Mr. M. S. Sulaimanov. The Deputy Chairmen of the State Committee on EnvironmentalProtection, Mr. T. A. Kulumbaevand Mr. T. S. Musuralievprovided valuable assistancein the preparation of the report. The Kyrgyz Government formed an expert Working Group to prepare the NEAP with representativesfrom governmentagencies and non-governmentalorganizations (NGOs), coordinatedby Mr. K. D. Bozov, Chief Ecologist of the Kyrgyz Republic, and Mr. E. D. Shukurov, Director of the Institute of Biology at the National Academy of Scienceand Chairman of "Aleine" (an environmental NGO). The Working Group includedL. M. Kiashkina, T. G. Korneeva, L. A. Epstein, T. Klimakova, S. T. Malishev, A. A. Ishmuhamedov,A. Sidikov, N. G. Mudratchenko,A. M. Isaev, G. Osmonalieva, F. S. Kovaltchuk,V. D. Zamoshnikov, N. I. Kabanova, E. A. Suerkulov, V. M. Shaposhnikova,A. A. Imanaliev, C. 0. Sadabaeva, M. C. Sulaimanov,S. A. Mambetzhanova,K. M. Noruzbaev, I. K. Kenzghetaev,I. A. Dairov and E. A. Omurbekov. The Kyrgyz experts wrote basic reports on current environmentalissues and participated in series of discussions with the World Bank NEAP team. The Bank's National EnvironmentalAction Plan team was led by K. Georgieva, Environmental Economist, and included R. Batstone, Principal EnvironmnentalEngineer, R. Ackermann, Principal EnvironmentalPolicy Analyst,T. Garvey, SeniorWater Quality Specialist,and E. Ibraimova, J. Moore, L. Talbot, H. Mishra, K. Shankar, N. Bech, K. de Wijs and D. Everett (Consultants). V. Tsirkunov, K. Lvovsky and D. Onoprishvilicontributed to the preparation of sections of the report. J. Djaky, with support from E. Marinovaand J. Kouame,was responsiblefor the productionof the report. Two NEAP preparation missionsto the Kyrgyz Republicwere carried out in June 29-July 15, 1994 and October 25- November 10, 1994, to support the Kyrgyz Governmentin finalizingthe NEAPand setting environmental priorities for the Kyrgyz Republic. Peer reviewers were A. Bond and M. Kosmo. The World Bank Resident RepresentativeMr. Michael Rathnam and Mr. Valeri Tian, Project Officer in the Resident Mission, provided valuable contributionto the NEAP process and to the report. Work on the NEAP utilized a document on the status of the environment prepared by the Government of the Kyrgyz Republic for the UNCED meeting in 1992. It also drew upon World Bank sectoral studiesfor the Kyrgyz Republic(on agriculture, miningand energy), as well as reports on health and poverty assessment. We wish to thank the authors of these reports for allowing us to use some of their findings. The Kyrgyz Republic: an Overview Background. The Kyrgyz Republicis a landlockedCentral Asian counry with a populationof 4.3 million (1994). It is among the smallest and poorest of the republics of the Former Soviet Union (FSU), covering 198,000Km 2 or less than I percent of the FSU, with a per capita income in 1993 of US$830. The Republic is divided into 6 states or oblasts, arid a capital district, Bishkek. Although the country is a democratic republicand relies on the former Sovietadministrative structure, the indigenoustribal social and political structure is still strong. Demography. The Kyrgyzmake up 52 percent of Kyrgyzstan's population. Tle other major ethnic groups includeRussians, Uzbeks, Ukrainians,Germans, Tatars, Dungan,Kazaths, Uighurand Tajiks. Since independence,many of the Russians,