When oil was discovered in 1979 near the village of Sarykamys, in northwest Kazakhstan, the Soviet Union immediately considered relocating the population. These plans did not materialise, and the village remained for the next 23 years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
By the early 2000s, doctors said<\/a> 90% of the people of Sarykamys were ill, and the average life expectancy was 46. Out of a population of 3,450, 189 people aged 24-53 died in Sarykamys between the start of development at the Tengiz oil field<\/a> and the village\u2019s relocation in 2002. This was 5.5% of the population. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Too often, the extraction of natural resources comes at great cost to workers and local communities. Human rights issues, such as hazardous working conditions, labour rights abuses, effects on the health of local populations<\/a> and severe environmental impacts, are rampant in the extractives sector. Kazakhstan is no exception.<\/p>\n\n\n\n