On 7 June, 2018, the Issyk-Kul Aarhus Center, in cooperation with the project partener  “KGZ-Water / Issyk-Kul” held a round table on the theme “Environment of the Issyk-Kul region and its importance for the well-being of the population ” in the conference hall of the Issyk-Kul region State Administration. On the round table participated: Ismanaliev D.B. – the head of the Issyk-Kul region State Administration, Mamatairov B.K. – the head of the Environmental Monitoring Department of the State Agency for Environmental Protection and Forestry under the Government of the Kyrgyz Republic, Nurbekov A.- the head Aarhus Center of Bishkek, Syuyumbayev I.T. – Director General of Biosphere Territory “Issyk-Kul”, Miekela A. – Senior Technical Adviser of the Finnish Environment Institute, Project Manager “KGZ-Water / Issyk-Kul”, Gruzdova O. – specialist of the project “KGZ-Water / Issyk-Kul”, Shamsutdinov A. –  leader of PF “Clean Issyk-Kul”, as well as heads of ayyl aimaks of Issyk-Kul region, heads of boarding houses and guest houses.

At the beginning of the round table, the head of the Issyk-Kul District State Administration, Imanaliev D. B. presented with  a welcoming speech. He expressed gratitude to the organizers of the round table and briefed the audience on the state of the environment in the region, focused on the environmental problems of the district, on environmental protection activities, invited all organizations and the public to join efforts to solve environmental issues in the region, invoke the heads of ayilm aimaks and heads of boarding houses to responsibly refer to the natural reserves in the region.

The head of the environmental monitoring department of the State Agency for Environmental Protection and Forestry under the Government of the Kyrgyz Republic, Mamatairov B.K. also in his speech outlined the problems of ecology and informed about the work undertaken by the agency.

The managers of KGZ-Water / Issyk-Kul project Myakelya A.and Gruzdov O. informed the participants of the round table on the monitoring of the water quality of the Issyk-Kul lake and on the preparation of the regional report on the state of the environment of Issyk-Kul region.

The head of the Public Foundation Shamsutdinov A.  Presented the actions carried out by the fund to clean the coast of the Issyk-Kul Lake from the garbage with the help of divers, as well as a slide show about the state of the bottom of the Issyk-Kul Lake during the collection of household garbage.

Manager of Issyk-Kul Aarhus Center Tursunakunov S.S. presented information about Aarhus Centers of Kyrgyzstan and plans of Issyk-Kul Aarhus Center for 2018

The participants of the round table noted the special importance of preserving the environment, the dangers of plastic and cellophane products, the problems of garbage dumps and places of waste accumulation, the importance of familiarizing the younger generation with the preservation of nature, strengthen the work of environmental services to solve environmental issues and made proposals to address such problems.

Also, with the support of the OSCE Office in Bishkek, the official contest “Take Issyk-Kul – the pearl of Kyrgyzstan” among ayilm aimaks of Issyk-Kul district, boarding houses and guest houses was given an official start. The competition will be held from 7 June 2018 to 5 September 2018. Summing up the results of the contest will be held on September 14, 2018.

The winners will be determined in the following nominations:

• the cleanest aiyl aimak.
• the cleanest beach area.
• the most green boarding house (guest house)
• accessible modern technologies in solving environmental problems

Based on the issues discussed, the round table participants adopted a resolution:

1. Introduce the proposal to Jogorku Kenesh of the Kyrgyz Republic to develop and adopt a law prohibiting the use of plastic and cellophane packages.
2. Introduce the proposal to Jogorku Kenesh of the Kyrgyz Republic to amend the relevant law on the prohibition of the importation of fishing nets into the territory of Kyrgyzstan.
3. Ask the Issyk-Kul regional television and radio company to cover more often environmental programs.

Manager of Issyk-Kul Aarhus Center S.Tursunakunov.