Improving the Safety of Tailings Management Facilities in Kyrgyzstan

The advisory assistance project „Improving the safety of tailings management facilities in Kyrgyzstan“ coordinated by the German Environment Agency and funded by the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety aims at strengthening the management capacity of the facility operators and authority inspectors working at/on mining tailings management facilities (TMFs) in Central Asia. Its objective is to raise awareness to safety deficiencies and could be used by competent authorities and TMF operators to improve the safety level of TMFs. Moreover, also land use planning issues are in the scope of the project. By identifying risk zones (sanitary zones, vulnerable areas, for people living in risk zones), early warning can be provided, and for the protection of the environment, proposals are made to establish an early warning and early alarm system for river catchments that may have potential transboundary impacts on neighboring country.

Funding source: 

• The objective of the project was to improve the safety of tailings management and operation in Kyrgyzstan and neighboring Central Asian countries based on the UNECE Guidelines and Good Practices for Tailings Management Facilities, the Tailings Safety Improvement Methodology and the Checklist.

• Training of TMF operators and inspectors on application and integrating of the TMF Safety Checklist Methodology;

• Conducting an inventory of TMFs; of Kyrgyzstan and developing of offline and online maps of TMFs

• Considering the land use planning aspects;

• Discussion of development of the contingency planning and alert system;

• Development and introduction of the cadaster system;

• Developing of policy recommendations on TMF safety for competent authorities of Kyrgyzstan;

• Documenting and dissemination of Project findings.

• MFs;

• Ministry of Natural Resources, Environment and Technical Supervision of the Kyrgyz Republic;

• Ministry of Emergency Situations of the Kyrgyz Republic;

• Ministry of Health of the Kyrgyz Republic.

• trainers on the application of the UNECE Methodology on TMF Safety Assessment and also improved and supplemented the Checklist methodology for assessing the TMF safety conditions.

• conducted an inventory of Kyrgyz TMFs, assessed potential risks and prepared an online map of the TMFs;

• initiated and launched work on updating the TMF cadastre system;

• initiated and conducted discussions on developing a transboundary alert system and contingency planning regarding accidents on TMFs;

• developed an educational training video on the application of the TMF Safety Methodology;

• developed and presented practical recommendations for using the project results and ensuring the safety of TMF in the future.

Project manager: Umut Zholdoshova

  E-mail: kyrgyzstan@carececo.org