Every year in the first ten days of September, the International Coastal Cleanup Day is celebrated throughout the world, during which various measures for cleaning domestic garbage in coastal zones are held with the participation of public services and public. Unfortunately, in Kyrgyzstan this Day is celebrated only by amateurs-enthusiasts of environmental NGOs.

Thus, the Aarhus Center in Bishkek, with its partners from the KGZ / Water-Issyk-Kul Project and the Voluntary Movement “Pure Issyk-Kul”, organized various events in the Issyk-Kul region on September 1 to 4, 2017, dedicated to this Day. The first event was a two-day marathon swim across Lake Issyk-Kul, which was started on September 1 at 10.00 hours from the pier of the regional office of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of the Kyrgyz Republic in Cholpon-Ata, and ended on the morning of September 2 in Tammga village at Zheti-Oguz district. As a result, the marathon ended successfully and without incident, and the total length of the route was more than 65 km.

Swimmers of the Voluntary Movement “Pure Issyk-Kul” participated in the swim, and they were accompanied by the rescue services of the region on the research ship “Moltur” and on high-speed boats. Marathon was covered in the media by international television channel “Mir 24”.  It should be noted that the head of the state administration of the Issyk-Kul district, D.B. Ibraimov, organized the departure of the participants. On Participants were given a very warm welcome on other side of lake by  local government of Jeti-Oguz district.

On September 4, in the conference hall of Ak Bermet boarding house, a round table was held on the topic “Support for the International Coastal Cleanup Day – a pledge for the Conservation of Natural Riches of Kyrgyzstan”. Thare were representatives of the public, local government, state administrations, environmental structures, international organizations and pupils from Bishkek and Cholpon-Ata schools. Deputy Head of the State Administration of the Issyk-Kul District M.S. Sarbagyshev, Advisor of OSCE Office in Bishkek D.Prudtskih and Deputy Director of the Issyk-Kul Territorial Administration of the SAEPF Kulataev M.M., spoke with welcoming words.

The participants of the round table were presented with information – about the work done by the Aarhus Center and the monitoring of the lake’s water quality within the framework of the KGZ / Water-Issyk-Kul project. Our guests from the Finnish Environment Institute presented materials on the problems of the use of microplastics in the world and the experience of the International Coastal Cleanup Day in the Baltic region. Director of the “Pure Issyk-Kul” spoke about the experience of organizing activities related to the purification of the Issyk-Kul Lake in the framework of the International Coastal Cleanup Day, and the results of the marathon swim conducted on September 1-2.

Parallel to the round table Festival-drawing competition was organized. The competition was among pupils of the Osmonov secondary school in Cholpon-Ata. The contest was attended by up to 30 school children of various classes, and the jury selected the winners, which included high school students from the high school with an ecological bias in Bishkek. Students also presented the materials prepared for their peers about environmental problems. The winners of the contest received valuable gifts. Also Aarhus Center passed books to library fund of school.

At the end of the round table and competition, all took part in the clean-up of the coastal zone on the public beach of Cholpon-Ata. Divers of “Pure Issyk-Kul” collected and raised domestic garbage from bottom of coastal zone. This garbage was taken out on a special vehicle to a municipal garbage dump.

After the end of all the activities the participants were photographed for the memory of the spent days on the Issyk-Kul lake. At the end, the participants of the round table adopted an Appeal to the Government of the Kyrgyz Republic on the accession of the Kyrgyz Republic to the International Coastal Cleanup Day and to grant official status to one of the days of the first ten days of September “Coastal Cleanup Day in Kyrgyzstan”. The text of the appeal in russian language can be found on the link below.

Appeal