SWITCH-Asia GREEN TOUR launches waste management campaign in Kyrgyzstan ›

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SWITCH-Asia GREEN TOUR launches waste management campaign in Kyrgyzstan

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Country: Kyrgyzstan

6.8 tons of garbage collected at Lenin Peak

On August 8, 2020, a two-week campaign for the collection and disposal of garbage started at the Lenin Peak (height 7,134 meters). The event was initiated by the Tourism Department under the Ministry of Culture, Information and Tourism of the Kyrgyz Republic with financial support from the Government of Switzerland, the European Union's SWITCH-Asia Programme, Helvetas, the Aga Khan Foundation and UNDP.

The above mentioned International organizations have allocated about 28,000 US dollars. These funds were allocated on provision of food, accommodation and payment for services of mountain climbers, transportation of the household garbage from the peak to the landfill in Daroot-Korgon village (Chon-Alay), as well as bags, gloves, masks and other necessary equipment.

Today, as a result of mountaineering tourism at the Lenin Peak in Osh region, a huge amount of household garbage has accumulated since Soviet times. In this regard, the Department of Tourism under the Ministry of Culture, Information and Tourism of the Kyrgyz Republic decided to organize the seasonal garbage collection, ensuring the maintenance of proper sanitary condition of the camps and organizing environmental monitoring at the peak of Lenin, said the head of the Association of Tour Operators of the Lenin Peak Vladimir Komissarov.

The complexity of the organization of cleaning lies in the fact that in the garbage is at high-altitude areas at the locations of climbers' camps (3600 m - 6300 m). In this regard, garbage collection is possible only with the participation and coordination of professional climbers. As a result, mountaineers from Bishkek and local youth from Chon-Alai region collected 6,8 tons of garbage, which was sent to a landfill in Daroot-Korgon village.

It’s worth noting that only part of the garbage from the glacier was collected during the campaign. According to preliminary estimates of the Association of Tour Operators of the Lenin Peak, the total amount of accumulated garbage at the peak can reach 40-60 tons.

At the moment, the Association of Tour Operators of the Lenin Peak and the Kashka-Suu municipal administration are working on a mechanism for carrying out such campaigns in the future and preventing the accumulation of garbage on the glacier.

Along with improving and restoring the ecology in the region, this initiative will contribute to the promotion of tourism in the region and in the country as a whole, and will also attract new tourists. Due to the fact that the tourism sector has been significantly affected by the current crisis, this joint action will increase the attractiveness of Kyrgyzstan for tourists in the coming seasons.