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SECTION 4. SOCIAL-ECONOMICAL DEVELOPMENT OF THE COASTAL ZONE 4.3. The Coastal zone of Astrakhan oblast. Social-economical activity in the coastal zone is under a constant effect of two holding factors: 1 – the mast part of the territory is in the threatening zone of flooding due to annual high waters of Volga and the raising of the sea level of the Caspian Sea in 1978-1995, and 2 – the regime of the strict protection of natural reserve territory of Astrakhan oblast is set on the most part of the territory. 4.3.1. Demography The quantity of the population of the coastal zone is 187 thousand people, or 18,4% of the whole population of the oblast. He Russians prevail in the national composition of the population. The rest are kazakhs, tatars, and representative of other nations. IN villages people mainly live all mixed up, quite compact, preserving their national traditions and customs. The population is mainly concentrated in villages – 121 thousand people (65% of whole population). The share of the urbanized population is 66 thousand people – 35%. The dynamics of the quantity of the population is characterized by little growth thanks to natural growth of the population, mainly due to the flow of migrants, including the refugees, arriving from other parts of Russia. He annual speed of growth of the population in cities and villages is several tenths of one per cent. The system of the settling has historically formed by the placement of inhabited points along the ship passing sleeves of Volga. On the coastal territory there are: Kazimyak city, 10 city type settlements, and 173 settlements. The further development of the settling is limited by the requirements of safety and the conditions of the vibration of the sea level and by the necessity to preserve the unique natural complex of Volga delta. At present 10 thousand people must be removed from the flooded places.
4.3.2. Social sphere. The worsening of the condition of all fields of the social sphere was registered in 90s. This was bond with the decrease of the volumes of its financing and logistical provision. The raising of the sea level in 1978-1995 has also effected the process. More than 30% of all medical organizations are placed in non-adapted premises, many suffer from the shortage of medical staff. There is a sharp shortage of medicines and medical equipment. The population is not provided y the expected and required medical help, the sickness rate has increased and this is bound also with the use of not good drinking water. The majority of schools (up to 1/3 of them) are in unsatisfactory condition, 10% of them are in emergency situation. Not all the schools have the engineering equipment, including 11% of schools that do not have water-pipeline, 13% do not have central heating and 22 % do not have drainage systems. Due to small square most of schools work two shifts. There are no institutions for receiving high education on the coastal zones. The organizations of culture are in the same condition. Their basis are the houses of culture and clubs. The recreational possibilities of the coastal zone are not used fully. There are only few rest houses and tourist bases on the coastal area.
4.3.3. Economical activity. The coastal zone plays important role in the economy of Astrakhan oblast. The fifth part of all industrial potential of the oblast is concentrated here, including the main powers of the field of specialization – fish industry and more than 1/3 pf the agricultural industry. The fish catching industry and agriculture are the main fields of the activity of the population. In general the industry, excluding the fish-farming complex, is weakly developed and is aimed only for the local requirements. The food, fuel and machine building fields occupy the leading place in its structure. Fuel industry is represented by the oil and gas exploring on the Promisloviy deposit in Limanskiy rayon. The refining does not play big role in the formation of the oil and gas exploring industry, however, due to the flooding and increase of the support of the ground water it is dangerous for ecology. The enterprises of food industry play big role in the economy of the coastal area. It is producing 65% of the whole production of the industry. 2/3 of the whole industrial staff is engaged by the enterprise. The ship repairing division of the machine building industry is most developed one. There are several enterprises on production of constructing materials. Fish-farming complex plays a very special role. It defines the specialization of not only coastal area, but also the whole Astrakhan oblast as its is on the Russian market. In the conditions of the economic crisis the complex remained relatively effective production wise, providing the social stability in the coastal zone and oblast. Almost all big fish farming complexes are placed on the coastal area: 28 of 30 fish catching enterprises, 7 of 8 sturgeon fish plants, 38 of 44 fish trade enterprises, 6 of 11 fish remaking enterprises. Among them we should note the Oranjereyniy fish complex (1,9 thousand people), The fish plant after Kirov (1,0 thousand people) and others. The source of raw material consists of valuable connecting and semi-connecting species of fish of Volgo-Caspian trade basin – sturgeons, vobla, bream, pike perch, sazan and others. (table 4.3.3.1). In the conditions of the crisis in 90s the fish catches decreased to 72%, its remaking decreased to 65%. The trade and additional fleet is need of replenishment by modern ships, while the coastal infrastructure is in need of the reconstruction and technical renewal. At present the powers of the fish farming complex is not used fully. The reanimation of the activity of the complex took place in the end of 90s, the tendency of the growth of the fish catch was noted too. The prevailing part of products of fish production is exported to other regions of Russia and abroad. The problem of use of fish resources of the Caspian Sea, including the sturgeons, became a problem in 90s. The poaching catch and break of previously fixed rules of the catch regulation by trasncaspain states, especially on the catch of sturgeons, can lead to the complete loss of the object as the food one and this can lead to international sanctions. The significant part of the fish production is in shares, the rest remain as a part of state and municipal property. Table 4.3.3.1.
Ñåëüñêîå õîçÿéñòâî óñòîé÷èâî ñîõðàíÿåò ñïåöèàëèçàöèþ â ðàñòåíèåâîäñòâå - íà âûðàùèâàíèè îâîùíûõ è áàõ÷åâûõ êóëüòóð. There are 481 thousand ha of agricultural areas on the territory of the coastal zone. Pastures occupy main place – 295 thousand ha (61,3^), tillage takes only 74 thousand ha of lands. The main massif of the irrigated lands of the oblast is also situated here. 79 big agricultural farms deal with agricultural production, among them there are 37 collective farms, 17 state farms, part of them are now converted into associations, cooperatives, collective farms without significant change of the economic content of the production. The private sector is represented by farms. The plant growing is based on the irrigated farming (82% of the growths are situated on irrigated lands). Vegetable growing, garden growing, food production are the main directions of plant growing, the cotton-growing is being entered now too. The irrigational systems became technically out of date, more than 75% of them need reconstructions. Main part of all irrigated lands are salinated. The problem of usefulness to grow rice on the irrigational systems the sewage of which is the source of pollution of waters of Volga and of the Northern Caspian is now ecologically sharp. The decrease of the total yield reached over 20% for crops, 60% for vegetables and 80% for melon and gourds. One of the reasons of the decrease is decrease of state purchases due to the limitation of market. The heads of cattle decreased less, say, only 20% for sheep breeding sector. At the same time there is constant growth of the cattle in private farms o the population, the specific mass has reached 40-50%. The overall production of the agricultural goods is two times less now and remains on low revenue level, especially in the social sector. In the end of 90s a small growth of the production of cattle breeding and plant growing was noted in accordance with the overall activisation of the economic activity. The sphere of services is developed mainly in fuel and communal areas, its growth is hold back by the low buying ability of the populations. The main part of the used goods of the industry and food are imported from other regions of Russia. Vegetables, melon and gourds and the fish products are exported. The modern level of the occupation of the population of the coastal zone is about 40%, this is quite low in comparison with the occupation of the population of oblast, the unemployment reaches 6-7%. Monetary revenues and the expenses of the population are 10-20 points lower than that in the oblast and that is in general 50-60^ of the average Russian level.
4.3.4. Communal and productive infrastructures. A low level of development with the pile up consequences of flooding and half-flooding of objects and constructions during the raising of water level in 1978-1995 is characteristic for all types of infrastructure of the coastal area. The condition of the infrastructure does not provide normal conditions for the life activities of the population and industry. Electrical provision is realized through the lines of electrical transfer of the Volgograd energetic system, the zone does not own any sources of electrical energy at all. More than 50% of electrical provision are physically out of date and most part of transforming substations require reconstruction and enlargement. The systems of water provision of some inhabited points work mainly on expensive liquid or hard fuel. He possibilities of the gasification on the basis of local gas deposits are used only for 15%. The basis of the system of water provision is composed by regional group and between settlement water pipes. The population of the coastal area experience a sharp shortage of qualitative drinking water, that would answer the sanitary-hygienic requirements. The sharpness of the problem is defined by the high level of the pollution of the river water in Volga delta, where all the polluting substances, arriving into the water objects of the basin of Volga river are accumulated. The existing systems of centralised water provision became technically and physically out of date, do not have necessary stations of water preparation. The drainage systems are set only in big inhabited areas and work without full set of different types of water purifying constructions. Significant volumes of sewage waters of industrial and communal enterprises are escaped without purification. The high level of chemical and bacterial infection of water reservoirs is the factor for high risk for the health of the population. The transport network of the coastal zone gets formed thanks to the net of local automobile roads, that mainly do not have hard covers, ferry transfers and ship ways of Volga delta. The automobile roads do not provide a safe transport connection, the level of their engineering and service provision is very low. The ferry transfers that do not have any modern equipment are also just a narrow passage. The main element of the infrastructure is the system of water dams, that protect the safely of the population of the inhabited areas and the territories from the flooding during the spring high waters. All the inhabited points of Volodarskiy and Kazimyakskiy rayons as well as the majority of inhabited settlements of Ikryaninskiy and limanskiy rayons are under the threat of flooding. At present the parameters and technical condition of the dams do not answer the normative requirements and this leads to the appearance of emergency conditions, dangerous for the life of people.
4.3.5. Ecological risks The global ecological risk for Volga delta and the ecosystem, bound with it, is the washout of polluting substances from the whole territory of Volga basin and the decrease of the arrival (and the change of its regime) of the river flow below Volgograd hydrological knot. The management of this ecological risk is realized on the federal level. On the most part of the coastal area there is a regime of strictly protected natural area of Astrakhan state natural reserve (66,8 ha). That is why any economical activity is bound with the appearance of the ecological risks. On this background we can emphasis main ecological risks (table 4.3.5.1), which represent:
Table 4.3.5.1. The estimation of the ecological risks in the coastal area of the Astrakhan oblast (considering the ecological significance of the object of effect).
1-ordinary level of effect; 2- increased; 3 – high
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