Mountain Partnership

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Kyrgyz Republic

The Kyrgyz Republic is a small, mountainous country with a predominantly agricultural economy. Two mountain ranges, the Tian Shan range in the northeast, and the Pamir-Alai range in the southwest, dominate the terrain, with maximum elevations of 5,000-6,000 m. Due to the dry and cold conditions the country has very little forest cover, only about 5% of national territory. Some 60-70 years ago the Kyrgyz Republic along with neighbouring countries were well covered in artcha forests, but these forests have declined almost to the point of disappearance. The country has significant water, mineral and other natural resources. There are six national parks, five of which are managed by the Forest Department and six protected areas which are managed by the Ministry of Ecology.

Since declaring independence from the former Soviet Union in 1991, the Kyrgyz Republic has undergone drastic political, social and economic changes, and is currently in a process of transition from a state-managed to a market economy. The economy is still in crisis and mountain communities have been particularly hard hit since the farming system is also in transition and there are few sources of income other than agriculture. These communities are now on the verge of extreme poverty. This has resulted in steady migration to the lowlands and cities, and in mountain areas a great deal of pressure is placed on natural resources.

Interregional cooperation is particularly important within the mountain territories of the Central Asian States where similar farming methods have had a similarly negative impact on mountain resources. Water management is also of crucial importance throughout the Central Asian Republics, and the Kyrgyz Republic has initiated a regional watershed management training project along with Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Turkey to build the capacity to manage watersheds effectively.

There are a large number of agencies working in the Kyrgyz Republic and in the Central Asian Republics in general. The Central Asian Mountain Information Network (CAMIN) is headquartered in Bishkek and has received technical assistance from the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation and ICIMOD. In 2001, as part of a technical project financed by the Asian Development Bank, a group of experts drafted a Strategy of Sustainable Mountain Development for Central Asia. The Central Asian Mountain Partnership Programme (CAMP) funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation and implemented by the Centre for Development and Environment of the University of Berne, carries out research and training projects on themes such as tourism, land use, hazards and water and nature protection. This programme has launched small projects such as the mountain products project, which helps to promote yak meat processing, felt and mountain cheese production.

HELVETAS has been active in Kyrgyzstan in support of agriculture and rural development and latterly, mountain tourism. A particularly good example of a project that generates new sources of income for mountain dwellers is the yak-breeding development programme financed by CAMP. The yak population had drastically diminished but yaks are now being reared again in large numbers to graze on alpine pastures. Yak products are quite valuable and varied, and also cheap and ecologically clean to produce.

The Kyrgyz National Centre for the Development of Mountain Areas was established in 1999 to work towards a strategy for sustainable mountain development, and is composed of the International University of Kyrgyzstan, Mountain International Institute, the National Foundation for the Development of Mountain Areas, the Central Asian Mountain Information Net and the 'Gornaya Derevnya - Too Aiyly' mountain village project.

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