Risk Assessment as a Tool for Water Resources Decision-Making in Central Asia

328 Pages·2004·10.05 MB·English

by  C. M. Teaf

Risk Assessment as a Tool for Water Resource s
Decision-Making in Central Asia
NATO Science Series
A Series presenting the results of scientific meetings supported under the NATO Science
Programme.
The Series is published by IOS Press, Amsterdam, and Kluwer Academic Publishers in conjunction
with the NATO Scientific Affairs Division
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I. Lif e and Behavioural Sciences IOS Press
II. Mathematics , Physics and Chemistry Kluwer Academic Publishers
III. Computer and Systems Science IOS Press
IV. Earth and Environmental Sciences Kluwer Academic Publishers
V. Science and Technology Policy IOS Press
The NATO Science Series continues the series of books published formerly as the NATO ASI Series.
The NATO Science Programme offers support for collaboration in civil science between scientists of
countries of the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council. The types of scientific meeting generally supported
are "Advanced Study Institutes" and "Advanced Research Workshops", although other types of meeting
are supported from time to time. The NATO Science Series collects together the results of these mee
tings. The meetings are co-organized bij scientists from NATO countries and scientists from NATO's
Partner countries - countries of the CIS and Central and Eastern Europe.
Advanced Study Institutes are high-level tutorial courses offering in-depth study of latest advances in
a field.
Advanced Research Workshops are expert meetings aimed at critical assessment of a field, and iden
tification of directions for future action.
As a consequence of the restructuring of the NATO Science Programme in 1999, the NATO Science
Series has been re-organised and there are currently five sub-series as noted above. Please consult the
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lier sub-series.
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Series IV: Earth and Environmental Sciences - Vol. 34
Risk Assessment as a Tool
for Water Resources
Decision-Making in Central Asia
edited by
Christopher M.Teaf
Institute for International Cooperative Environmental Research,
Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida, U.S.A.
Bulat K.Yessekin
Regional Environmental Centre for Central Asia,
Almaty, Kazakhstan
and
Mikhail K. Khankhasayev
Institute for International Cooperative Environmental Research,
Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida, U.S.A.
SPRINGER-SCIENCE+BUSINESS MEDIA , B.V .
Proceedings of the NATO Advanced Research Workshop on
Risk Assessment as a Tool for Water Resources Decision-Making in Central Asia
Almaty, Kazakhstan
23-25 September 2002
A C.I.R Catalogue record for this book is available from the Library of Congress.
ISBN 978-1-4020-1841-1 ISBN 978-94-007-1050-4 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-94-007-1050-4
Printed on acid-free paper
All Rights Reserved
© 200 4 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht
Originally published by Kluwer Academic Publishers in 2004
Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2004
No part of this work may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any
form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, microfilming, recording or
otherwise, withou t writte n permissio n fro m the Publisher , wit h the exception o f an y
material supplied specifically for the purpose of being entered and executed on a compu-
ter system, for exclusive use by the purchaser of the work.
TABLEOFCONTENTS
Preface ix
Welcoming Addresses xi
Bulat K. Yessekin
Alain Jubier
ChristopherM.Tea!
Chapter I. Methods andApplications ofHumanRiskAssessment
Risk Assessment, RiskManagementandRiskCommunication:
PrinciplesandApplications 1
CM.Tea!andJ.M.Kuperberg
Assessment,ManagementandCleanup ofRadiologicalContaminationin
Water: Methods andChallenges 17
CL. Huntoon
EngineeringConsiderationsRegarding Withdrawal,Testing,Treatment,
DistributionandReuse ofWater 27
L.L.GrayandJ.M.Kuperberg
ImplementationofHealth-BasedGuidelines forWater SuppliesinEurope
andCentral Asia:ManagementConsiderationsfor Municipal Authorities
Regarding Water Quantity andQuality .45
R.Aertgeerts
Chapter II. MethodsandApplications ofEcologicalEvaluation
And LandscapeScience
ApproachestotheEvaluationandProtectionofGroundwaterand
Surface Water inSituationswithCompetingRegional Uses 87
K.W.F. Howard
SuccessfullyManagingMultiple UsesofWater: Practical Aspects and
Case Studies 113
S.N.Miller
RadioactiveContaminationofAquatic Ecosystems:Source,Transfer and
Countermeasures 133
CM.Vandecasteele
vi
EcologicalRiskAssessmentThrough LandscapeScienceApproaches 155
G.Zurlini,O.Rossi,A. Ferrarini,P.Rossi,J. PetrosilloandN.Zaccarelli
ImpactofOilField Activities onWaterResources 175
E. Okandan and B. Ozcan
ChapterIII. WaterResources & DecisionMaking in
CentralAsiaand OtherCountries
Water Resources and SustainableDevelopmentinCentral Asia:
RolesofRiskAssessmentandRiskManagement .197
B.Yessekinand V.Bogachev
RiskAssessmentinKazakhstan 213
K.Bolatbaeva
AnIntroduction intotheEnvironmentalPerformanceofSustainable
DevelopmentinMongolia 227
E.Johnova
Selected Industrial andEnergy Related Facilities inCentral Asia:
Examples ofWater Resource Impacts 239
G. Yedilbayeva and R.Akhmetov
AnalysisofPossible Risks Associated withtheApplicationofWater
Resources inKyrgyzstan 245
E.M.Rodina and T.N. Filkova
StatusandProblems ofWaterResources inAzerbaijan 257
F.M.Jafarov
RiskandEnvironmental Impact Assessment; Decision Makingfor
Management ofWater Resources inKazakhstan 261
A.N.Miroshnichenko
Problems andPerspectivesofSavingSarezLake 271
J.Sh.Normatov and U.M.Mirsaidov
Assessment oftheInfluenceofRiver RunoffRegulationon
EcologicalSituation .279
V.M.Starodubtsev, O.L.Fedorenko,andM.Zh.Burlibaev
vii
The ImportanceofScientificCooperation amongAsianCountriesin
theStudyand RiskAssessmentofWaterResourcesinCentralAsia .305
T.S.Papinaand Yu.l. Vinokurov
WaterResourcesandRiskAssessmentConsiderationsinArmenia 311
A.Saghatelyan
WaterResourcesandRiskAssessmentConsiderationsinUzbekistan 313
T.TillyaevandA.Rahimov
ChapterIV. Conclusion and WorkshopRecommendations .315
Abbreviationsand Acronyms 317
SubjectIndex .321
PREFACE
Water resources, both in terms of water quality and water quantity, are of critical
importance in planning for sustainable development in Central Asia and the Caucasus,
as well as in other parts of the world. This NATO Advanced Research Workshop
(ARW), entitled "Risk Assessment as a Tool for Water Resources Decision-Making in
Central Asia", was conducted on September 23-25, 2002 in Almaty, Kazakhstan. The
ARW addressed methods and approaches by which risk assessment methodology that
has been developed in the United States, Europe and elsewhere can be applied to
environmental and water resource problems in Central Asia. The stated goals of the
ARWwere:
• toassesstheexistingstateofknowledge inthecontextofpotentialapplications
of risk assessment tools to water resources and other environmental issues in
CentralAsia;
• to identify research gaps anddirectionsfor future research inthearea ofwater
resources which may be addressed through the application of risk assessment
tools;
• to promote closer working relationships between the scientists and technical
experts from Central Asia and the Caucasus, as well as the scientists and
technicalexpertsfromtheUnitedStatesandEurope.
Based on historical experiences of Central Asian scientists and their colleagues in
otherpartsoftheworld,thereisademonstratedneedintheregiontoprovideeducation,
trainingandtechnicalassistanceonenvironmental decision-making tools,including risk
assessment. Knowledge of how to use risk assessment more effectively allows
environmentaldecisions tobemadeinascientific,objectiveanddefensibleway,froma
varietyoftechnical,publicpolicyandlegalperspectives.
During this ARW, technical discussions were conducted concerning how risk
assessment tools may be utilized in addressing water resource problems and related
issuesin the region. These discussions included experts from each of the five Central
Asiancountries (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan,Tajikistan,Turkmenistan andUzbekistan), as
well as experts from other NATO partner countries including Armenia, Azerbaijan,
Russia and Ukraine. The NATO member countries were represented at the ARW by
experts from Belgium, Canada, Italy, Turkey, Poland, the Czech Republic and the
United States. Attendance and participation by representatives from NATO and the
World Health Organization served to expand the perspectives of the group and to
present examples of practical applications of risk assessment methodology in water
resourcesandenvironmental management.
In order to facilitate the technical discussions and to provide needed background
information and historical perspective, the ARW included topical presentations by
technicalexperts intheareasofhumanhealthandecological riskassessment,aswellas
sessions on specific Central Asian environmental problems and potential solutions. In
that way,ARW participants wereableto evaluate how someofthese problems maybe
addressed in a risk-based context. Such decisions are critical for economic and
environmental sustainability in the region, and for allocating scarce resources in the
regiontowardenvironmental solutions.Inaddition, theARWsessionsexplored waysto
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develop and foster international and inter-regional cooperation for addressing water
resource issues, aswell asotherenvironmental issuesinCentral Asia.Thesessionsalso
were able to identify decision-making approaches for addressing environmental and
water resource issues that incorporate the concepts of risk assessment and risk-based
decision-making.
We recognize the time and effort put forth by all of the participants in this
important meeting, and trust thatthe professional and personal interactions willleadto
productive solutions to water resource challenges in Central Asia.We wish toexpress
our professional and personal appreciation to the workshop participants whose
expertise, dedication and hard workmadethe workshopasuccess. Weespecially would
liketoacknowledge Dr.AlainJubierforhisguidance andassistanceintheorganization,
format and implementation of the Advanced Research Workshop. We express our
appreciation to Dr. Roy Herndon and Mr. John Moerlins for their efforts inorganizing
and conducting this workshop. We thank the staff of the Institute for International
Cooperative Environmental Research at Florida State University and of the Regional
Environmental Centre for Central Asia for their support and help. The editors
particularly would like to recognize the efforts of the following individuals for their
diligence and care in the preparation of these Proceedings: Loreen Yerger Kollar,
NorbertBarszczewski, andSherylA.Grossman.
NATOARWCo-Directors
DR.CHRISTOPHER M.TEAF
InternationalInstituteforCooperativeEnvironmentalResearch
Florida State University
DR.BULATK.YESSEKIN
TheRegionalEnvironmentalCentreforCentralAsia
WELCOMINGADDRESS
BULATK. YESSEKIN
Regional EnvironmentalCentreforCentralAsia
Almaty,Kazakhstan
I would like to welcome all participants to Almaty, and we look forward to working
these next few dayswith all ofthe assembled technical and policy experts from Europe,
North America, Russia, Central Asia andthe Caucasusthat are assembledhere.At your
convenience, please review the participant list that was prepared in anticipation of this
meeting. This valuable document contains the names of all those present for the
meeting, so that you can get acquainted with each other and can maintain contact with
yourcolleaguesfollowing the meeting.
I am pleased to co-chair this meeting, which is supported by the NATO Science
Programme, and ask that you take an opportunity to review the summary materials
provided by Dr. Jubier regarding the NATO Science Programme. We are fortunate to
have brought together this diverse group of fundamental researchers and practical
experts who will contributeto theknowledge and understanding necessary to overcome
borders and constraints that stand in the way of the resolution of environmental
protection problems in Central Asia.Whether these are borders between the countries,
orbetweenthe sectors within acountry, theresearchershave thechallengeto implement
environmental decision-making practices into the general understanding atthe scientific
andpolitical level, aswellasatthelevelofthecommunityandthegeneral public.
At the outset of this NATO program, representatives from all five of the Central
Asian countries were contacted with a request to assess their interest inthis project. All
of the countries responded that they were very much interested, and the Regional
Environmental Centre for Central Asia was selected as the first coordinator of this
project. We analyzed general problems,reviewed the common problems in this region,
and we discussed the priorities that were selected by the countries and by the region.
This Advanced Research Workshop isafollow-up stage in the process that isdedicated
tothereview andanalysis ofthesystems ofriskassessmentandenvironmentaldecision
making in Central Asia,as wellasthose that areinuse elsewherein the world.This isa
very important aspect of general environmental policy because so many elements of
public health, agricultural production, economic potential and other critical
governmentalefforts depend onmaking correct andresponsibledecisions.
We must carefully analyze such aspects as the availability of the necessary
environmental data, and accessibility of this data to scientific researchers. We also
should discuss the barriers existing between the ministries of the various governments
represented here, and the focal groups related to areas such as water resources, public
health,agriculture, and industry. We expect to analyze the way that the researchers can
best participate in correct decision-making and to what extent their recommendations
are taken into account at the political level. We will discuss to what extent the general
population is able toparticipate in the discussion of these vital issues and what barriers
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