KAZAKHSTAN: OCTOBER ENVIRONMENT UPDATE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ASTANA 002293 SENSITIVE SIPDIS STATE FOR SCA/CEN, EEB/ESC, SCA/PPD, EUR/CARC STATE PLEASE PASS TO USTDA DAN STEIN E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: SENV ECON EAGR TSPL ZK KZ SUBJECT: KAZAKHSTAN: OCTOBER ENVIRONMENT UPDATE ¶1. (U) Sensitive but unclassified. Not for public Internet. ¶2. (U) SUMMARY: This information is drawn primarily from the Kazakhstani press and has not been verified. The opinions expressed in this report, therefore, should not be interpreted as official positions and/or policy of the U.S. Government. -- Parliament Ratifies Agreements with the World Bank -- WHO General Director and UNICEF Executive Director Visit -- Ministry of Health Official Calls for Lifting Audit Ban -- High Rate of Heart Disease Raises Concerns -- Woman Dies of Rabies in Southern Kazakhstan -- Auto Emissions Inspections in Almaty -- Kazakhstan Approves Space Development Strategy -- UNDP Climate Change Report -- KazSat Satellite Restored -- Potable Water Program Violations END SUMMARY. WORLD BANK AGREEMENTS RATIFIED ¶3. (U) On October 22, the parliament ratified an agreement between the Republic of Kazakhstan and the World Bank on the provision of a loan to implement the Kazakhstan Health Sector Technology Transfer and Institutional Reform project. The parliament also ratified two additional agreements with the World Bank to provide loans to implement the Ust-Kamenogorsk Environmental Remediation Project and the Kazakhstan Technology Commercialization Project. The loan amount for the three projects is approximately $206 million. VISIT OF WHO GENERAL DIRECTOR AND UNICEF EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR ¶4. (U) World Health Organization General Director Margaret Chan and UNICEF Executive Director Ann Veneman paid their first official visits to Kazakhstan on October 14-16. They met President Nazarbayev and other top officials and attended an international conference dedicated to the 30th anniversary of the Almaty Declaration on Primary Health Care. Chan emphasized that Kazakhstan needs to address such health issues as tuberculosis, diabetes and heart disease. After meetings with President Nazarbayev and Foreign Minister Marat Tazhin, it was announced that a special fund for health care projects will be established in Kazakhstan and national health care funding will be increased to as much as 4% of gross domestic product. MINISTRY OF HEALTH OFFICIAL CALLS FOR LIFTING AUDIT BAN ¶5. (U) On October 29, Syzdyk Baimukhanov, Chairman of the Pharmaceutical Control Committee under the Ministry of Health, called for lifting the ban on inspections of health institutions. His motion was submitted for review to the Prime Minister's office. According to the officials of the Ministry of Health, an increasing amount of counterfeit medicines have been found in Kazakhstan and they believe that the current ban on inspections of small and medium businesses, including pharmacies, is to blame. HIGH RATE OF HEART DISEASE RAISES CONCERNS ¶6. (U) At a press conference in Almaty on heart disease, health experts expressed concern with the high rate of heart disease in Kazakhstan. According to their research, approximately 15% of the Kazakhstani population is diagnosed with heart disease every year. WOMAN DIES OF RABIES IN SOUTHERN KAZAKHSTAN ¶7. (U) On October 31, a woman diagnosed with rabies died in Shymkent in southern Kazakhstan. The source of the infection was not identified. AUTOMOBILE EMISSIONS INSPECTIONS IN ALMATY ¶8. (U) In accordance with new technical regulations on automobile ASTANA 00002293 002 OF 002 emissions, Almaty mayor Akhmetzhan Yessimov issued a decree to carry out inspections of automobile emissions and gas stations from September 15 - October 15. The mayor referred to the recent decision of the Kazakhstani government to move to the UN ECE Euro-2 fuel standard, which includes stricter toxicity monitoring. Inspections have been followed by administrative fines and warnings to car owners, gas stations and other businesses. KAZAKHSTAN APPROVES SPACE DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY ¶9. (U) On October 7, Kazakhstan's Space Development Strategy 2020 was approved by the Space Council of the Government of Kazakhstan. The budget of the national space program will make no less than $6 billion. According to Meirbek Moldabekov, deputy chairman of the Kazakhstan National Space Agency, Kazakhstan intends to participate in a project to establish an ultraviolet world space observatory and plans to build its own spacecraft assembly and test facility. UNDP PRESENTS CLIMATE CHANGE REPORT ¶10. (U) On October 29, the United Nations Development Program in Kazakhstan presented its National Development Report "Climate Change and its Influence on the Development of Kazakhstan". The report includes projections of how global warming may affect national grain production, cattle breeding, forestry, land use, and water management. The project also forecasts the increasing vulnerability of the population in case of natural disaster. SATELLITE REPAIRED AND OPERATIONAL ¶11. (U) On October 31, control over Kazakhstan's first satellite (KazSat) was restored. On June 8, the $65 million satellite stopped working due to a computer malfunction, two years after its launch. The Russian Khrunichev State Research and Production Centre managed to reboot the onboard computer and continued system tests before resuming operation of KazSat. POTABLE WATER PROGRAM VIOLATIONS ¶12. (U) In October, the Prosecutor-General's Office carried out a series of regional inspections to assess implementation of the national potable water program 2002-2010. The $959 million program is aimed at providing local citizens living in remote rural areas with access to potable water. However, prosecutors' inspections disclosed numerous cases of embezzlement and abuse across the country. In many regions water supply and sewage systems are still in very poor condition. To date, sixteen corruption charges have been brought against local officials. HOAGLAND