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Possible environmental solutionsMany different solutions to the problems have been suggested over the years, varying in feasibility and cost, including: · Improving the quality of irrigation canals · Installing desalination plants · Charging farmers to use the water from the rivers · Using alternative cotton species that require less water[31] · Promoting non-agricultural economic development in upstream countries[32] · Using fewer chemicals on the cotton · Cultivating crops other than cotton · Installing dams to fill the Aral Sea · Redirecting water from the Volga, Ob and Irtysh Rivers to restore the Aral Sea to its former size in 20–30 years at a cost of US$30–50 billion[33] · Pumping sea water into the Aral Sea from the Caspian Sea via a pipeline, and diluting it with fresh water from local catchment areas[34] In January 1994, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, and Kyrgyzstan signed a deal to pledge 1% of their budgets to help the sea recover. In March 2000, UNESCO presented their "Water-related vision for the Aral Sea basin for the year 2025"[at the second World Water Forum in The Hague. This document was criticized for setting unrealistic goals and for giving insufficient attention to the interests of the area immediately around the former lakesite, implicitly giving up on the Aral Sea and the people living on the Uzbek side of the lake. By 2006, the World Bank's restoration projects, especially in the North Aral, were giving rise to some unexpected, tentative relief in what had been an extremely pessimistic picture 40.
41. The technological backwardness of industry and agriculture, extensive use of natural resources have resulted in the significant degradation of soils in Kazakhstan. Deserted and salted areas are at the territory of more than 50 thousand square kilometres in the Aral Sea and Balkhash Lake basins. Fertility of soils of the flooded area of the Irtysh River is reduced in connection with the excessive regulation of the runoff and the long-term poly-metal production. Problem of soil degradation is especially sharp in North Kazakhstan, zone of the grain agriculture. For the period of the long-term plugging of virgin lands the content of humus has decreased by 5-20 % and more. 1.2 billion tons or 28.3 % from 4.3 billion tons of the humus stocks of the arable layer (0-25 sm.) are irrevocably lost because of mineralising the organic substance, subtraction with a crop, water and wind erosion. Simultaneously the soil fertility is reduced at the expense of deterioration of its agro-physical characteristics, in basic owing to soil compaction by machines. In grain regions of the north of the country 17.8 million hectares are potentially subject to deflation and 2.6 million hectares suffer from strong wind erosion. According to the last inventory of irrigated lands a half from them requires meliorate improvement or restoration of fertility. Introduction of the sustainable system of agriculture promotes also to solve the problem of greenhouse gases. Its principal core is the technology of formation of the organic soils, which is based on biological activity of fertile substrates with increase of the humus content, thus there is the mass concentration of CO2 in humus from air and linkage of carbon of the organic rests. For 35 years soils of the North Kazakhstan have lost 570 million tons of the organic carbon. At mineralizing the organic carbon of the soil humus, in basic, oxidises up to, and the emission of CO2 in air for this period has made no less than 1.5 billion tons. At the first stage of sustainable “organic” agriculture it is necessary to expect the return process of linking of CO2 of air and fastening it in soil organic substance in about the same volume. Simultaneously on the other territory of the country in organic substance of soils not yet less than 1.5 billion tons of CO2 will be linked. These volumes of CO2 require specification after recalculation on soil zones and sub-zones of Kazakhstan. The transition to sustainable systems of agriculture will be long and difficult. But in conditions of increased soil degradation in Kazakhstan it has no alternative, as in the result such systems give of fertile soil, sound environment, high quality food products and reduction of the greenhouse gas emissions. Main Causes of Soil Pollution 1. Industrial Activity: Industrial activity has been the biggest contributor to the problem in the last century, especially since the amount of mining and manufacturing has increased. Most industries are dependent on extracting minerals from the Earth. Whether it is iron ore or coal, the by products are contaminated and they are not disposed off in a manner that can be considered safe. As a result, theindustrial waste lingers in the soil surface for a long time and makes it unsuitable for use. 2. Agricultural Activities: Chemical utilization has gone up tremendously since technology provided us with modern pesticides and fertilizers. They are full of chemicals that are not produced in nature and cannot be broken down by it. As a result, they seep into the ground after they mix with water and slowly reduce the fertility of the soil. Other chemicals damage the composition of the soil and make it easier to erode by water and air. Plants absorb many of these pesticides and when they decompose, they cause soil pollution since they become a part of the land. 3. Waste Disposal: Finally, a growing cause for concern is how we dispose of our waste. While industrial waste is sure to cause contamination, there is another way in which we are adding to the pollution. Every human produces a certain amount of personal waste products by way or urine and feces. While much of it moves into the sewer the system, there is also a large amount that is dumped directly into landfills in the form of diapers. Even the sewer system ends at the landfill, where thebiological waste pollutes the soil and water. This is because our bodies are full of toxins and chemicals which are now seeping into the land and causing pollution of soil. 4. Accidental Oil Spills: Oil leaks can happen during storage and transport of chemicals. This can be seen at most of the fuel stations. The chemicals present in the fuel deteriorates the quality of soil and make them unsuitable for cultivation. These chemicals can enter into the groundwater through soil and make the water undrinkable.
Date: 2016-01-03; view: 1094
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