Kyrgyzstan: green activists sound alarm over air pollution in Bishkek
BISHKEK (TCA) — Environmentalists are asking the President of Kyrgyzstan to declare 2019 the year of ecology. This was announced at the recent roundtable on air pollution problems in the capital Bishkek. Parliament members, representatives of the Achyk Asman (Clean Air) youth environmental movement, civil society, and the media took part in the discussions. It is encouraging that industrial production is developing in the country, mainly at small enterprises, but they often do not take into account environmental aspects. The State usually draws attention to the environment only when problems arise, Achyk Asman head Ermek Adylbekov said. Kyrgyzstan remains among the seldom countries in the world where nature is still relatively well preserved. It would be a big mistake of the Government and an irreparable loss for the nation if the environment deteriorates as a result of human negligence and mismanagement, MP Dastan Bekeshev said. Kyrgyzstan is an agrarian country. But even the development of agriculture leads to a deterioration of the ecological situation in the country. Incorrect cultivation of arable land, introduction of pesticides, outdated irrigation and drainage systems, which have not been updated since Soviet times – all this negatively affects the ecological situation in Kyrgyzstan, Bekeshev said. The MP also expressed outrage at the way the country uses clean water. "We mindlessly use drinking water spending it for washing cars and other things," he said. Cutting trees The Bishkek authorities are massively cutting trees, which leads to environmental degradation in the city, said the head of the Green Party movement Erkin Bulekbaev. In 2017, about three thousand trees were cut down for the expansion of roads, which caused discontent from environmentalists and local residents. Bishkek authorities explained that the firewood was given to poor families, as well as the felled trees were sold and the money has been spent for the city’s needs. Last year, 2,938 trees were felled in Bishkek, of which 840 trees were in emergency, the city administration clarified. However, residents and activists suspected city officials of corrupt sales of timber for their own benefit. Environmentalists believe that mass tree cutting will affect the ecology and health of Bishkek residents. According to the city administration, instead of cut down trees they planted more than 10,000 seedlings. However, most of those seedlings did not take root. No matter how many trees are planted, this will not change anything, because the problem is in the competence and professionalism of the city officials, well-known environmental scientist Emil Shukurov said. Landscapers kill the environment, primarily by their incompetence, he added. Many of the imported seedlings could not accommodate to local natural conditions, because they are designed for another environment, he explained. The trees bought by the city administration are dozens of times more expensive than local trees, so they cannot afford to landscape the whole city, but some specific areas only. All trees in the city grew out of ordinary seedlings. This means that previous landscapers knew how to grow them, while the current ones do not cope...
