Lake Balkhash - Environmental and Political Issues

Environmental and Political Issues

There are serious concerns about the ecology of the lake, especially in the view of repeating the environmental disaster at the Aral Sea. Since 1970, the 39 km3 outflow of water to fill the Kapchagay Reservoir resulted in a 2/3 decrease in the supply to the lake from Ili River. The concomitant decrease in the level of the lake was approximately 15.6 cm/year, much larger than the natural decline in 1908–1946 (9.2 cm/year). The shallowing of Balkhash is especially evident in its western part. From 1972 till 2001, a small salt lake Alakol, located 8 km south of Balkhash, had practically disappeared and the southern part of the lake lost about 150 km2 of water surface. Of the 16 existing lake systems around the lake only five remain. The desertification process involved about 1/3 of the basin. Salt dust is blown away from the dried areas, contributing to the generation of Asian dust storms, increase the soil salinity and adversely influencing the climate. Increasing formation of silt in the river's delta further reduces the inflow of water to the lake.

Another factor affecting the ecology of the Ili-Balkhash basin is emissions due to mining and metallurgical processes, mostly at the Balkhash Mining and Metallurgy Plant operated by Kazakhmys. In the early 1990s, emission level was 280–320 thousand tonnes per year, depositing 76 tonnes of copper, 68 tonnes of zinc and 66 tonnes of lead on the surface of the lake. Since then, emission almost doubled. Contaminants are also brought from the dump sites by the dust storms.

In 2000, a major conference "Balkhash 2000" brought together environmental scientists from different countries, as well as representatives of business and government. The conference adopted a resolution and appeal to the Government of Kazakhstan and international organizations, suggesting new ways of managing the ecosystems of Alakol and Balkhash basins. At the 2005 International Environmental Forum devoted to Lake Balkhash, Kazakhmys announced that by 2006 it will restructure its processes, thereby reducing emissions by 80–90%.

Contamination of Balkhash originates not only locally, but is also brought by inflow of polluted water from China. China also consumes 14.5 km3 of water per year from Ili River, with a planned increase by 3.6 times. The current rate of the increase is 0.5–4 km3/year. In 2007, Kazakhstan Government proposed a price reduction for sales of Kazakh products to China in exchange for reduction of water consumption from Ili River, but the offer was declined by China.