A meeting of the Steering Committee for Preparation and Holding of the Year of Water Protection Areas in the Republic of Tatarstan was held at the Ministry of Ecology
A meeting of the Steering Committee for Preparation and Holding of the Year of Water Protection Areas in the Republic of Tatarstan was held in Kazan under the chairmanship of the Ministry for Ecology and Natural Resources of the Republic of Tatarstan, Farid Abdulganiev.The Minister denoted elaboration of a complex of measures aimed at protection of water bodies and water protection areas as one of the top-priority directions of the future work. “For that matter, we need coordinated work of the authorities of state control, surveillance, Prosecutor’s office, as well as local self-governing authorities. In such a way, in the course of preparation for the World Aquatics Championshiplast year, coordinated work of all the authorities allowed to host the event at a very high level”, acknowledged Farid Abdulganiev. According to the Head of the Ministry of Ecology of the Republic of Tatarstan, arrangement of work on beautification of territories adjacent to water bodies and creation of comfortable conditions for the people to stay near water bodies plays a very important role. “The project of Parks and Square gardens has been successfully implemented in the Republic. I am sure that the events aimed at beautification of coastal areas of water bodies will become consistent continuation of such work”, emphasized the Minister.
Assistant to the President of the Republic of Tatarstan, Natalya Fishman, Deputy Volga Interregional Nature ProtectionProsecutor, Oleg Daminov, Tatar Interdistrict Nature Protection Prosecutor, Ilsur Gilmutdinov, Kazan Interdistrict Nature Protection Prosecutor, Albert Khabirov, Head of the Department for the Use of Mineral Resources and Natural Resources, and Environmental Protection under theAdministration of the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Tatarstan, Marat Faskhutdinov, Deputy Minister for Ecology and Natural Resources – Chief State Inspector in the Republic of Tatarstan for Environmental Protection, Fayaz Shakirov, Deputy Minister for Construction, Architecture and Housing / Communal services of the Republic of Tatarstan, Vladimir Kudryashev, Head of Zelenodolsk Municipal District of the Republic of Tatarstan, Alexander Tygin, Head of AlmetyevskMunicipal District of the Republic of Tatarstan, Ayrat Khayrullin, as well as representatives of nature protection authorities, ministries and bodies of the Republic of Tatarstan participated in the meeting.
Deputy Volga Interregional Nature ProtectionProsecutor, Oleg Daminov, said that the problems related to the water protection areas require clear and duly arranged mechanisms of all authorized authorities both for this year and another year to come. He mentioned the problem of unsatisfactory state of water treatment facilities among the main problems, since, according to Daminov, discharge of contaminated sewage waters poses hazard for the health of the population. Right now, prosecutor’s investigation is carried out pertaining to the fact of discharge of pollutants into the water body by Alekseevsk Vodokanal. The materials were referred to the Nature Protection Prosecutor’s Office by the experts of the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of the Republic of Tatarstan. Deputy Minister for Ecology, Fayaz Shakirov, continued the topic of treatment facilities in his report. According to him, more than 120 sewage water treatment facilities are operated in the Republic. Moreover,40 facilities are under design and construction; at the same time, about 50% ofsewage treatment facilities have been operated for more than 25 years, they are morally obsolete, they work with low efficacy and overcharges, thus, requiringreconstruction and modernization.In 2016, discharge of sewage waters with exceedance of pollutants from treatment facilities in Apastovo, Tetyushi, Kamskoe Ustye, Buinsk, Pestretsy, Aznakaevo, Alekseevskoe districts of the Republic was revealed during surveillance measures.
Special attention will be paid to detection and prevention of violations in the field of restriction of free access of citizens to the public water body and its coastal area. The Ministry of Ecology established borders of water protection areas and coastal protection lines at 78 republican water bodies extending to over 7 thousand km, which allows to arrange the work operatively and efficiently, acknowledged Chief State Inspector of the Republic of Tatarstan for Environmental Protection. The work on identification of sites with special-purpose information signs was arranged at 24 water bodies. This March, overflights were held around the Republic, and more than 70 facts of the restriction ofaccess to water bodies have been revealed so far; administrative investigations have been initiated.
As for creation of recreation zones, this summer the citizens of the Republic will be able to relax near water bodies in a civilized manner. Pavements will appear along with small architectural constructions, landscaping, ladder-type descents, piers and quays forsmall size vessels and twin-hull boats, as well as video surveillance and a Wi-Fi zone – the characteristics will be properly adjusted depending on the water body location, as it was reported by Deputy Minister for Construction Vladimir Kudryashev. It is planned to put beautified facilities in commission already in July in Aznakaevo, Bugulma, Zainsk, Leninogorsk, Rybnaya Sloboda, Spasskoe, Tyulyachi, Artanysh, Alekseevskoe, Mamadysh, Muslyumovo, Sarmanovo, and Tyulyachi districts of Tatarstan, and in August such facilities will appear in Kazan, Naberezhnye Chelny, Nizhnekamsk, Almetyevsk, Zelenodolsk, Saby, Kukmor, and Arsk.
In his report, Head of Almetyevsk, Ayrat Khayrullin, informed that a unique project was developed and is implemented in Almetyevsk on creation of a tourist recreation area on the territory of a city lake.The project implies construction of a web-park, beautification of city beach, creation of the area for active family rest, an adventure park, children’s playgrounds, and a climbing wall. It is planned to finish works in summer. The project was approved of by Assistant to the President of the Republic, Natalya Fishman, and it was coordinated with experts of the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of the Republic of Tatarstan. The issue of enhancement in the tourist attractiveness was also supportedby the Head of Zelenodolsk, Alexander Tygin. He believes that Zelenodolsk is a district abundant in water with rich nature, so the absence of comfortable andlandscaped places for the recreation of the population gives rise to a new problem, i.e. barbarian attitude to nature. According to Tygin, even ecological proponents can’t always deal with all that trash and dirt left by holiday-makers. Only duly arranged beaches and recreation areas will help solve the problem.
When summarizing the results of the meeting, the Minister for Ecology, Farid Abdulganiev, identified the tasks for the current year – protection of water bodies, assurance of free access to them, as well as beautification of the adjacent territories.
Press Service of the Ministry