Assessing the geoecological state of ecosystems in the Balkhash region

Tilekova, Zh. T.; Oshakbaev, M. T.; Khaustov, Aleksandr

doi:10.1134/s187537281601011x

Cited by 11 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 3 publications

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“…However, there are also counter arguments that should give pause to irrigation's advocates. These include the pending loss of glaciers surrounding the Ili River basin and the likelihood of significant long term reduction of water inflows into the basin [136], as well as the costs (many of them externalities) associated with the effects of polluted agricultural runoff and control of salinity in irrigated soils [105,106,112,121,137]. Competition for land will also likely be exacerbated, especially in the rapidly developing upper valley, where development is substantial and longstanding demands to maintain land for grazing have not been resolved [50,[138][139][140].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Irrigation in the Ili River Basin of Central Asia: From Ditches to Dams and Diversion

Pueppke

Zhang

Nurtazin

2018

Water

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Central Asia's Ili River is fed by mountain streams that flow down into an isolated and arid basin that today is shared by Kazakhstan and China. Agriculture in the basin is dependent upon irrigation, which was practiced as long ago as the Iron Age, when early pastoralists constructed ditches to channel water from streams onto nearby fields. Irrigation had become much more common by the 18th century, when the region was controlled by the Dzungarian Khanate. The khanate was toppled by the Qing Chinese in the 1750s in the first of a series of confrontations that destroyed and then rebuilt the basin's agricultural economy. The region has since been dominated by a succession of Chinese and Russian (and later Soviet and independent Kazakh) governments, each of which recognized the essential role of irrigated agriculture in maintaining control. Thus every cycle of destruction led to reclamation of new lands, resettlement of farmers and upgrading of infrastructure to expand irrigation. This allowed an impressive diversity of fruits, vegetables and field crops to be grown, especially on loess soils of the more fertile upper basin, where tributaries could be easily tapped by gravity flow. Many of these tributaries were entirely diverted by the 19th century, so that they no longer reached the Ili. Large scale irrigation commenced in the 1960s, when the Soviets built Kapchagai dam and reservoir in the lower part of the basin and installed pumps to raise water from the Ili River onto nearby reclaimed sierozem soils, mostly for cultivation of rice. China later constructed a cluster of small-and medium-sized dams that enabled expansion of agriculture in the upper part of the basin. Many irrigated areas along the lower reaches of the Ili in Kazakhstan have been abandoned, but irrigation in the upper basin continues to expand. Declining soil fertility, salinization, pollution, insufficient inflows and adverse economic conditions currently challenge irrigation across the entire basin. Investments are being made in new technologies as a means to sustain irrigated agriculture in the basin, but it remains to be seen if these strategies will be successful.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Irrigation in the Ili River Basin of Central Asia: From Ditches to Dams and Diversion

Pueppke

Zhang

Nurtazin

2018

Water

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“…Although still of concern [52], water quality nevertheless has improved as the lake's level has risen over the past 15 years; mineralization has declined, fish feeding areas have expanded, spawning areas have doubled, and the incidence of dermatofibrosarcoma in pike-perch has decreased significantly [53]. This has been accompanied by a slight but consistent increase in reported annual capture of carp from the lake (Figure 4).…”

Section: Influence Of the Hydrological Regime On The Ichthyofauna Of mentioning

confidence: 89%

Challenges for Sustainable Use of the Fish Resources from Lake Balkhash, a Fragile Lake in an Arid Ecosystem

et al. 2018

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Lake Balkhash is the largest water body in Central Asia. More than three-quarters of its inflow comes from the Ili River, which is under increasing strain due to the diversion of water for energy and food production. Commercial fishing in Lake Balkhash began in 1929 and is currently in a state of crisis. The construction of the Balkhash dam and reservoir in the late 1960s reduced Ili River flows into the lake and upset the natural cycle of spring floods, which greatly reduced spawning and feeding areas for carp (Cyprinus carpio). Carp populations were consequently reduced by more than 90% during the filling of the reservoir and have not recovered, even though the lake's level subsequently rose. Catches of carp and freshwater bream (Abramis brama orientalis) have shown an inverse relationship since the 1960s, and the age structure of freshwater bream is changing. Historically, most captured fish of this species were 4-to 7-years-old, but smaller, 3-to 5-year-old fish have dominated recent catches. The total fish harvest from Lake Balkhash is currently at near historical lows, not just because of environmental factors, but also because of structural changes triggered by the collapse of the Soviet Union. Poaching, government disinterest, lack of enforcement of fishing regulations, and the economic challenges faced by today's small fishing enterprises all contribute to the problem.

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“…Agricultural chemicals contaminate the basin's waterways [57][58][59], which are also subject to high levels of natural salinity that can be significantly increased in localized areas by irrigation, which draws salts to the surface [60,61]. Metals are nevertheless the major sources of surface water pollution in the basin [21,31,48,62,63]. Some of these pollutants occur naturally or are derived from human activities in Kazakhstan [21,55], but others, including significant loads of copper and zinc, enter the lower basin from China [63,64].…”

Section: Factors Influencing the Quality And Quantity Of Water In Thementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Metals are nevertheless the major sources of surface water pollution in the basin [21,31,48,62,63]. Some of these pollutants occur naturally or are derived from human activities in Kazakhstan [21,55], but others, including significant loads of copper and zinc, enter the lower basin from China [63,64].…”

Section: Factors Influencing the Quality And Quantity Of Water In Thementioning

confidence: 99%

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Quality of Drinking Water in the Balkhash District of Kazakhstan’s Almaty Region

Nurtazin

Pueppke

Ospan

et al. 2020

Water

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The thinly populated Balkhash District of Kazakhstan’s Almaty Region lies in the lower reaches of the Ili-Balkhash basin, which is shared by China and Kazakhstan. The district is arid and heavily dependent on inflows of surface water, which are threatened by the effects of upstream population growth, economic development, and climate change. The quality of drinking water from centralized water systems and tube wells in nine villages of the district was analyzed, and the organoleptic properties of water from these sources was also assessed by an expert and via surveys of local residents. Although most samples met governmental standards for the absence of chemical impurities, high concentrations of mineralization, chlorides, boron, iron, and/or uranium were present in some well water samples. Levels of these pollutants were as much as 4-fold higher than governmental maxima and as much as 16-fold higher than concentrations reported previously in surface water. All centralized water samples met standards for absence of microbial contamination, but total microbial counts in some well water samples exceeded standards. Organoleptic standards were met by all the water from five villages, but centralized water from one village and well water from four villages failed to meet standards based on expert judgment. Residents were, for the most part, more satisfied with centralized rather than well water, but there was no obvious relationship between the failure of water to meet standards and the locations or populations of the settlements. This is the first comprehensive assessment of groundwater used for drinking in the lower Ili-Balkhash basin, and although it relies on a limited number of samples, it nevertheless provides evidence of potentially serious groundwater contamination in the Balkhash District. It is thus imperative that additional and more detailed studies be undertaken.

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Assessing the geoecological state of ecosystems in the Balkhash region

Cited by 11 publications

References 3 publications

Irrigation in the Ili River Basin of Central Asia: From Ditches to Dams and Diversion

Irrigation in the Ili River Basin of Central Asia: From Ditches to Dams and Diversion

Challenges for Sustainable Use of the Fish Resources from Lake Balkhash, a Fragile Lake in an Arid Ecosystem

Quality of Drinking Water in the Balkhash District of Kazakhstan’s Almaty Region

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