Kushenova Mayra Shaimagambetovna

Kyzylorda State University after Korkyt Ata

Economic consequences of the ground degradation

Republic of Kazakhstan is the large country in territory. Its typical feature is that it is acute continental and with dry climate and development on the vast plain parts of the steppe and desert landscapes. Approximately 45,5 % of the territory is occupied by steppe and 50% by desert spaces, ecosystems of which are vulnerable enough to the anthropogenic influence. It is one of the main natural reasons of deserting by extensive economic activity.

The natural resources development in last centuries was mostly connected with bringing in economic rotation of vast territories which brought to considerable changes in previously existed landscapes.

Intensive soil development, low degree of agricultural use culture and preventive environmental measures by inconsiderable area of natural reserve funds furthered the deserting development in our republic that lead to the plant cover degradation, exhaustion of ploughed lands, change of the soil water regime and erosion.

Land utilization was lead with inconsiderable breach of the land resources till the end of the 19^th century on the territory of Kazakhstan. The traditional methods of lands use have been system of nomadic and drive-away cattle breeding. Cattle breeders could rationally run pasture lands owing to seasonal moves, inexhaustible use of resources. Considerable shifts had taken place in economic forms in the 19^th century. Transition into the settled way of life lead to the agriculture development. Actually mass mastering of virgin soils for 10-15 years had destroyed steppes in the northern regions. The processes of local and total deserting of this region have began.

During the third period of virgin soils and fallow soils mastering 36 million hectares of land had been ploughed. Mass plough out of the virgin soils had stimulated such negative phenomena as dusty storms, frequent droughts and other demonstration of anthropogenic deserting.

In conditions of non-irrigated agriculture degradation of lands takes place during the use of monocultures, plough out of lowly productive and erosion dangerous lands, imperfection of soils protecting agricultural technique. Non-irrigated fields of the republic compile 24 million hectares and 10,4 million hectares of them are deserted and 17 million hectares of them are taken out from tillage due to the humus lose, salt, low productivity, chemical pollution, erosion.

Lands used for irrigation are also being in unsatisfactory condition. The reason of lands degradation in the system of irrigated agriculture is imperfection of irrigational systems and technologies of irrigation which leads to the secondary salification of soils, water erosion and sometimes to the formation of swamps; Presence of considerably large areas of agricultural lands, subjected to degradation processes makes the problem of transformation of lowly productive fields and of other lands of agricultural use less valuable. Taking out of degraded soils from intensive agricultural use will let us increase part of environment stabilizing fields. This kind of practice has been being used in republic for the last ten years in connection with the refusal of farming subjects from processing lowly productive fields and that is why areas of fields have been sharply reduced (for more than 12,7 million hectares).

Large territories had been occupied by firing grounds with the development of military technologies, which made them stop being pastries. Enterprises of military industry had taken out from agricultural rotation about 10 million hectares of fields and pastries.

The result of firing fields formation and extension of areas of plough in the north of republic accorded by limitations of water resources was a sharp reduction of areas used for pastries. The population had to herd cattle on the limited territories which lead to exhaustion of pastries and to development of herding out and erosion.

Intensive use of the raw potential of the republic lead to the formation of large masses of degraded soils.

Changes that took place in the social and economic way of life of the last century, excessive plough of the fields lead to the dusty storms, catastrophic humus gab, pastures overloading and to their deserting. Transition into the new economic relations, liquidation of the centralized mechanism of fuel supply lead to the uncontrolled cut down of wood plantations. Economic difficulties do not let to finance measures of environmental protection.

Nowadays the social and economic situation had defined reduction of plough soils. 10,4 million hectares of republic fields are deserted from the total 31,9 million hectares. The left fields transfer into бурьянистые залежи.

The natural ecological systems destroy is noticed on the most part of the territory of Kazakhstan as a result of its irrational use. Having got an enormous territory (2,72 million square metres) and comparably less population (about 15 million people) Kazakhstan have come across with large ecologic problems on the entrance of the second millenium. These processes directly or indirectly influence

The chemical industry development on the base of backward technology and an excessive quinization lead to the ground pollution. Technogenic breaches unavoidable during the building works, useful mineral resources extraction cause definite damage to the ground fund of the republic. The area of technogenically infringed grounds compile 181,3 thousand hectares.

All the previously said lead to the widely scoped deserting, the ground resources ecologic degradation accorded by deduction of natural ecological systems productivity and population health deterioration. As the world practice shows, it is not possible to supply permanent economic development on account of environment destroy and natural resources exhaustion and also not to save necessary quality of the environment without strong economics.

One of the major factors influencing the problem of deserting is an economic and social development of the population as the reason of the environment condition deterioration and natural resources exhaustion can be both insufficient economic development and excessive economic growth. Kazakhstan is the great oil exporter and has got enormous reserves of energetic and mining mineral resources. The main role in industrial sector is played by mining branch and in agriculture by cereals plantation. Economic indices of development including inner boulder product has got a permanent tendency for growth. The positive tendencies of developing production and financial sectors must be directed to realization of measures complex on social programs support since the following two reasons as village population poverty and overpopulation lead to excessive loading on natural systems: pastures areas reduction and their qualitative degradation; productive ground loss. On the other hand economic growth often leads to ground resources degradation.

So Kazakhstan has come across a problem of preventing further degradation of ground resources and taking concrete measures on their reconstruction, production of normal inhabitation environment for human himself. A fight against deserting must be realized in accordance with scientifically proved actions plan, firstly by elimination of principle reasons, bringing deserting, definition of measures on elimination and extirpation of these phenomena.

A fight against deserting is the problem of people’s prosperity permanent development promotion by elimination of ground degradation, rise of its productivity, provision safety and political stability guarantee. The strategic goal of the state policy of the Republic of Kazakhstan is becoming a guarantee of favorable inhabitation environment for human on the base of manufacture optimal development, ground resources rational use by obligatory term of keeping biological variety and their reproduction ability.