Article 31 of the Constitution of the Republic of Kazakhstan states: «the State aims to protect the environment that is favorable for human life and health^[185]». Thus, the state guarantees a person to live in normal conditions that meet the requirements of standards and requires that everyone complies with the requirements for protection and protection of the environment.

According to the Environmental Code of our country, the ecological foundations of Kazakhstan's sustainable development are:

- formation and maintenance of sustainable production and consumption patterns characterized by improving the well-being and quality of life of the population while minimizing the anthropogenic impact on the environment, reducing the consumption of non-renewable natural resources, reducing the level of waste generation and disposal, as well as stimulating their use as secondary resources;

- sustainable functioning of natural ecological systems, conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity (hereinafter-biodiversity), prevention of degradation of the natural environment and implementation of measures to improve it, combating desertification;

- participation of the Republic of Kazakhstan in the global response to the threat of climate change by implementing measures to prevent climate change and adapt to climate change, as well as to protect the ozone layer of the Earth's atmosphere;

- international cooperation of the Republic of Kazakhstan in order to preserve, protect and restore the healthy state and integrity of the Earth's ecosystem;

- harmonization of the environmental legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan with the principles and norms of international law and promotion of the development of international environmental law;

- deter, prevent the transfer and transfer to the Republic of Kazakhstan from other States and from the Republic of Kazakhstan to other States of any activities and substances that cause environmental damage or harm to human life and (or) health, as well as take preventive measures in accordance with the precautionary principle^[186].

Article 13 of the Environmental Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan establishes the fundamental environmental rights of citizens of the country:

- the right to a favorable environment;

- the right to access timely, complete and reliable environmental information in accordance with the laws of the Republic of Kazakhstan;

- the right to participate in the process of making decisions on environmental issues by state bodies and officials in accordance with the procedure established by this Code;

- the right to participate in the discussion of draft regulatory legal acts on environmental protection and submit their comments to the developers for consideration in accordance with the Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan «On Legal Acts»;

- the right to apply to the authorized body in the field of environmental protection and other state bodies, officials in accordance with their competence with a statement about any alleged facts of causing environmental damage, violation of the requirements of the environmental legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan or other circumstances that create a threat of such consequences, as well as to receive responses from relevant state bodies and officials on the results of consideration of applications and decisions taken in accordance with the procedure established by the laws of the Republic of Kazakhstan;

- the right to appeal to the court with an application to challenge the legality of actions (inaction) and decisions of state bodies, local self-government bodies, officials and civil servants on environmental protection issues, including those related to the elimination of environmental damage caused and the suppression of violations of the requirements of the environmental legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan;

- the right to appeal to the court in accordance with the civil and civil procedure legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan for the protection of property or non-property benefits and rights that are harmed as a result of violation by third parties of the requirements of the environmental legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan^[187].

Environmental security of Kazakhstan is the state of protection of the rights and vital interests of a person, society and the state from threats arising as a result of anthropogenic and natural impacts on the environment.

Problems of ensuring environmental safety of the Republic of Kazakhstan:

Global challenges:

- climate change that occurs due to the «greenhouse effect», which is a global problem and poses a serious potential threat to the state of the environment;

- destruction of the earth's ozone layer, which is a potential threat to human, animal, plant and microbial health;

- the disappearance of plant and animal species, the main cause of which is the destruction and degradation of habitats, mainly forest destruction, soil erosion, pollution of inland and marine reservoirs, excessive harvesting of plant and animal species;

- desertification and land degradation, which is a real internal threat to Kazakhstan, which can gradually develop into a cross-border problem as a result of the occurrence of salt storms and the transport of pollutants by air masses over long distances.

National issues:

- presence of ecological disaster zones (the Aral and Semipalatinsk regions);

- problems related to the plans for intensive development of the resources of the Caspian Sea shelf, since the active development of hydrocarbon resources by the states of the Caspian Sea basin will increase the scale of negative impact on marine and coastal ecosystems;

- Depletion and pollution of water resources, as Kazakhstan belongs to the category of countries with a large shortage of water resources;

- historical contamination, which includes objects that are currently unattended: oil and gas and hydrogeological wells, mines, mines (including those with radioactive waste), tailings dumps and waste water storage facilities;

- the impact of landfills of military space and test complexes, including rocket fragments that have fallen and are falling to the ground, spills of highly toxic fuel, and other factors that have a negative impact on the environment and the population living in the immediate vicinity.

Local environmental issues:

- pollution of the air basin;

- radioactive contamination;

- bacteriological and chemical contamination;

- industrial and household waste;

- natural and man-made emergencies.

Thus, the ideas of environmental protection and sustainable development are included in the main strategic documents and plans, and are fixed as a long-term policy line. Currently, Kazakhstan has formed a certain regulatory framework in the environmental sphere, and its further updating and replenishment will be related to the policy and prospects of socio-economic development of the republic.

Strict adherence to the new Environmental Code should also accelerate the country's transition to a green economy. The attention paid to the role of the public in the amended code is also positive. Some countries already have automated online monitoring systems for water, air, soil quality, noise and vibration levels. This is one of the areas that Kazakhstan needs to strive for. However, every person should be conscious, rational and careful about the environment.

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^[185] Constitution of the Republic of Kazakhstan https://online.zakon.kz/Document/?doc_id=1005029&pos=298;-47#pos=298;-47. Date of access 23.04.2025

^[186] Environmental Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan. https://adilet.zan.kz/rus/docs/K2100000400. Date of access 23.04.2025

^[187] Environmental Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan. https://adilet.zan.kz/rus/docs/K2100000400. Date of access 23.04.2025