ENB:03:04
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KAZAKHSTAN:
Amb. Akmaral Kh. Arystanbekova highlighted a
number of environmental disasters in Kazakhstan, including the
rapidly shrinking Aral Sea, the ugly aftermath of the human
activity at the Semipalatinsk Nuclear Testing Ground (where 466
nuclear tests have been carried out from 1949-1989), and the
flooding of the Caspian Sea. Problems of desertification,
industrial pollution, management of hazardous wastes, recycling,
water usage, and sewage treatment are also familiar in Kazakhstan.
Kazakhstan welcomes the intention of UNEP to play a greater
coordinating role in the UN system on environmental matters, the
implementation of Agenda 21 and the restructured GEF. She invited
UNEP's Regional Offices for West Asia and Asia and the Pacific, in
close cooperation with Economic and Social Commission for Asia and
the Pacific and other international organizations, to search for
optimum ways to address the urgent environmental needs of Asian
countries with economies in transition.