In Kazakhstan, A Nuclear Power Plant Threatens Lake Balkhash

On a cold and rainy fall morning, Omirkeldi Mukhtaruly Abeuov looks through the steamy window of his art studio towards Lake Balkhash, the 15th largest lake in the world. What used to be covered in water, has now given way to look-alike Soviet-era buildings overlooking the vast and dry Kazakh steppe. For decades, Omirkeldi’s artistic work focused on the collective history of Lake Balkhash, but now, the grim outlook of the lake has forced him to change his craft to focus on environmental issues. ‘’In the past, the lake covered all the area right after the road [in front of his house], but now [the water] has gone quite far. We must save the lake. If the lake disappears, there will not be any living,‘’ the 74-year-old says. 

Omirkeldi’s parents, like many others in the Lake Balkhash region, arrived during the Kazakh famine of the early 1930s. The devastating famine claimed the lives of around 1.5 million people, driving survivors to the lake in search of fish and employment in nearby mines. Now, almost a century later, scientists fear the lake is following in similar footsteps as the Aral Sea, which went from being the world’s fourth largest lake to near complete evaporation over fifty years. Reduced precipitation due to climate change, rapid industrialization around the lake’s shores, and the growth of agriculture and industry in China’s Xinjiang province — where the Ili River flows and supplies 80% of the water — are placing a severe strain on the lake’s ecosystem. 

On top of that, on Oct. 6 this year, Kazakhs overwhelmingly voted in a referendum to build a nuclear power plant along the lake’s shores. The government claims this nuclear plant will address the country’s longstanding energy shortages and meet the demands of an ever-growing population. However, nuclear plants consume billions of gallons of water annually to cool down their reactors, discharging warm water into nearby bodies — a process that can disrupt the habitat of numerous fish species and increase evaporation, adding new risks to an already fragile ecosystem.

If things remain unchanged, research suggests the lake could disappear in as little as 20 years. The nuclear plant could speed up its disappearance. ‘’We don’t need this nuclear energy,’’  says Omirkeldi. ‘’There is an interconnection between nature and human beings. If they build this nuclear station there will be no living creature in the future. Humans should feel from the bottom of their hearts; they should feel empathy [towards their home].’’

A Fragile Environment

‘’From 2021 to 2023, the level of the river has gone down by 2 meters,’’ explains Kumataev Erkynbek Erikovich, 32, director of the Center of Fisheries in Balkhash City, the largest settlement in the region, home to 77,000 inhabitants. ‘’We have a dry climate here. Before we got 15,000 cubic kilometers of water from the Ille River coming from China, now we only get 10,800 cubic kilometers a year.’’ 

Given the lake has an average depth of six meters, relatively small changes in the level of water could severely affect the percentage of salt in the water. ‘’It is affecting fish. The fish need a lot of water to survive. In some places, it’s so salty that animals cannot drink the water. If the lake dries up, wind could bring salt to the mountains and affect glacier melt. In the last 20 years, the quantity of fish has gone down by 20% due to illegal fishing, dams stopping the natural flow of fish, and overuse of water,’’ says Kumataev from his office in the city’s outskirts after a long day working in the field repopulating carp fish stocks in the lake.

In Balkhash, where the livelihood of most of its inhabitants relies on the mines and fishing, locals have already begun feeling the effects of the changing ecosystem. Gulnara, a 47-year-old owner of a fish stall at the city’s main bazaar, says that it’s increasingly difficult to work in the fishing industry. ‘’Elder people say that before there was so much fish that we could catch it with our own hands. Now, it is much more difficult to catch fish,’’ she says while she tries to attract the attention of potential clients strolling around the bazaar. ‘’We have concerns about the future of our children and grandchildren. We are concerned that if the nuclear plant is built, it will create problems.’’

Art As Activism

Despite Balkhash’s grim outlook and little public opposition to the construction of the plant, for over four years, Aigerim Qapar, a 37-year-old researcher and co-founder of the Artcom platform, a women-led organization of artists, academics, and journalists, has organized different grassroots initiatives to raise public awareness about the lake to pressure the government to change course. Through exhibitions, poetry performances, and talks, they engage local populations throughout Kazakhstan, including Balkhash City.

‘’One of the topics we are discussing is this upcoming nuclear plant. The lake as it is, is not sustainable,’’ says Aigerim. ‘’In a few years, the impacts will grow, and of course, the impacts of this nuclear plant will kill the lake.’’

We have concerns about the future of our children and grandchildren. We are concerned that if the nuclear plant is built, it will create problems.

Gulnara

Although an overwhelming majority of Kazakhs voted in favor of the plant and international observers deemed the Oct. 6 referendum transparent and fair, the country’s media landscape remains tightly controlled by the government. Reporters Without Borders describes it as ‘’essentially a propaganda outlet for the Kazakh regime.’’ As a result, critical issues — such as the environmental impact of the proposed nuclear power plant on Balkhash’s fragile ecosystem — have received little to no coverage in local media. This raises serious questions about whether Kazakhs were fully informed of the potential consequences when casting their votes.

Aigerim believes people were not adequately aware of the effects of the plant on the lake before they cast their vote. ‘’The problems of Lake Balkhash were hushed up before the referendum. The government said the lake is not in danger, although there is not a single study of how the nuclear power plant will affect the environment.’’

Anuar Duisenbinov, a 39-year-old queer poet from the southern side of Balkhash, believes platforms such as Artcom are important to show there is opposition against the government’s plans. ‘’I think [Artcom] is important to show that people care about this place. Balkhash is the place of power from my childhood, so I [started writing] about my childhood in Balkhash. Now I write about the place. It is a beautiful circle.’’

Sitting in a coffee shop in Almaty, Anuar recalls, ‘’when I saw Balkhash for the first time, I remember how beautiful it was, it was a strong feeling. I was very happy to go there every summer and communicate with the water and the sand. The disappearance of Balkhash is not a nice feeling.’’ He sees Artcom as an opportunity to examine the history and future of the lake from different lenses. ‘’[Artcom] shows we can see this place and this process from a different perspective besides political or scientific. You can have different layers of understanding of what this place is. You can go politically, and ecologically, you can go through art or through poetry. [Aigerim] wants all of this to come together,’’ concludes Anuar.