Kyrgyzstan as a Classical Mountain Country

By Ivan Zadorojny (Kyrgyz-Russian [Slavic] University, Kyrgyzstan)

Between China and Kazakhstan, between Tajikistan and Uzbekistan there is a country, lifted above the world by its mountains. It is a classical mountain country with its own unique beauty and achievements as well as typical common problems.

The total area of Kyrgyzstan is 198,500 sq km (76,640 sq mi), and it is almost completely mountainous. More than half of Kyrgyzstan lies at an elevation higher than 2,500 m (8,200 ft), and only about one-eighth of the country lies lower than 1,500 m (about 4,900 ft). Glaciers and permanent snowfields cover more than 3 percent of Kyrgyzstan’s total land area.

Kyrgyzstan is located at the juncture of two great Central Asian mountain systems (the Tian Shan and the Pamirs). These two systems are geologically separated from each other in southern Kyrgyzstan, between the Alai Mountains of the Tian Shan and the Trans-Alai Range (Qatorkuhi Pasi Oloy) of the Pamirs. The Trans-Alai Range, which is the northernmost part of the Pamirs, forms part of Kyrgyzstan’s southern border with Tajikistan. The main ridge of the Tian Shan extends along Kyrgyzstan’s eastern border with China, on a northeastern axis. Victory Peak (known as Pik Pobedy in Russian and Jenish Chokosu in Kyrgyz) is the highest peak in the Tian Shan system at an elevation of 7,439 m (24,406 ft) and located on the Kyrgyz-China border in northeastern Kyrgyzstan. Victory Peak is also the highest point in Kyrgyzstan and the second highest peak in the former USSR. A series of mountain chains that form part of the Tian Shan system, including the Alatau ranges, spur off into Kyrgyzstan. Most of these ranges run generally east to west, but the Fergana Mountains in the central portion of the country run southeast to northwest. The Fergana Valley in the west and the Chu Valley in the north are among the few significant lowland areas in Kyrgyzstan.

The country’s climate varies by region. The climate is subtropical in the Fergana Valley and temperate in the northern foothill zone. The lower mountain slopes have a dry continental climate, as they receive desert-warmed winds from Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, whereas the highest mountain elevations have a polar climate. In the valleys the average daily temperature in July is 28 C (82 F). In January daily averages are as low as -14 C (7 F). Conditions are much colder at high elevations, where in July the average daily temperature is 5 C (41 F) and in January, -28 C (-18 F). Precipitation is between 100 and 500 mm (4 and 20 in) in the valleys and from 180 to 1,000 mm (7 to 40 in) in the mountains.

The Naryn River, Kyrgyzstan’s largest river, originates in the mountains in the northeast and flows westward through the middle of the country. The Naryn then enters the Fergana Valley and crosses into Uzbekistan, where it joins with another river to form the Syr Darya, one of the Central Asia’s principal rivers. Numerous small and medium-sized rivers drain northern Kyrgyzstan and dissipate into the deserts and semi-deserts of southern Kazakhstan.

Lake Ysyk-Köl, the largest lake in Kyrgyzstan and one of the largest mountain lakes and the fourth-deepest lake in the world, is located at about 1.6 km (about 1 mi) above sea level in the northeastern portion of the country. It has an area of about 6200 sq km (about 2400 sq mi). The lake is fed by many streams but is drained by none. Its clear, slightly saline waters reach a maximum depth of 700 m (2298 ft). The lake does not freeze in winter.

Forests occupy 4 percent of the country’s land area. Coniferous trees such as the Tian Shan white spruce grow along lower valleys and on north-facing mountain slopes. Many rare animal species inhabit the woodlands, including the Tian Shan bear, the red wolf, and the snow leopard, which are protected by government decree. Other animals in Kyrgyzstan include deer, mountain goats and mountain sheep. Kyrgyzstan’s mountain lakes are an annual refuge for thousands of migrating birds, including the mountain goose and other rare species.

 

Population

Kyrgyzstan has a population (1999 estimate) of about 4,822,921, giving it an average population density of 23 persons per sq km (59 per sq mi). The population is clustered in two principal areas: the Fergana Valley in the southwest and the Chu Valley in the north. Only 39 percent of the population lives in urban areas. The two largest cities are Bishkek, the capital, located on the Chu River in the far north, and Osh, located in the Fergana Valley. Russians, who live principally in Bishkek and other industrial centers, are the largest minority group, comprising approximately 18 percent of the population. Uzbeks live primarily in the Fergana Valley and constitute about 14 percent of the population. Other ethnic groups include Ukrainians, Tatars, Germans, Kazakhs, Hui (Dungans or Chinese Muslims), Uygurs (Uighurs), and Tajiks.

Economy

Owing to various factors and conditions, Kyrgyzstan, like the majority of other mountainous countries, experiences difficulties with economic, social and cultural development. It is a newly formed country, which faces very complicated problems such as the development of democracy, reconstruction of the economy, creation of a modern infrastructure and communications and maintenance of a worthy level and quality of life of the population.

The breakdown of established trading relationships following the dissolution of the USSR severely depressed the economy of Kyrgyzstan. Markets for the country’s highly specialized industries disappeared, and the high cost of fuel imports – subsidized during the Soviet era – drained the country’s money reserves. By 1995 the gross domestic product (GDP), which measures the total value of goods and services, had fallen to 54 percent of its level in 1990. Beginning in the mid-1990s, however, the economy began to reverse its decline, led by increased agricultural output and a growing private sector. In 1997 the GDP was an estimated $1.76 billion.

Formerly based almost exclusively on agriculture, the Kyrgyz economy underwent extensive industrialization during the Soviet period. Industry at that time contributed about 38 percent of total gross domestic product (GDP) and accounted for 28 percent of total employment. Mining and its supporting services constitute the bulk of industrial activities. Kyrgyzstan has vast mineral resources, including extensive deposits of coal, gold, antimony, and uranium.

At the same time the contribution of the mining industry to the gross national product hardly exceeds 20 percent, half of which derives from one gold mining enterprise: „Kumtor.“ In the next five years this operation will finish its work and the mine will close. It is then possible to expect a further decline of industrial production and its share in the gross national product.

Deposits of oil and natural gas have been found in the Fergana Valley, but the Republic is still highly dependent on fuel imports. The Naryn and Chu rivers are used for hydroelectric power, although considerable hydroelectric potential remains undeveloped. The manufacturing base is limited primarily to processing agricultural products such as wool, meat and leather.

The basic cross-linking spheres in the formation of the gross national product during the years of reforms were the agricultural sector, which contributed approximately 40 percent of the gross national product, and the service sector, which provided more than 30 percent. These two spheres are very unstable and cannot form a solid base of economic growth. The agricultural sector is totally dependent on climatic conditions, which put Kyrgyzstan into the category of high agrarian risk.

Agriculture is still a very important sector of the republic’s economy. Now it accounts for 28.4 percent of the total GDP and nearly one-third of total employment. The raising of livestock, especially of horses and sheep, remains the dominant agricultural occupation. The essential reduction of the number of cattle is the principal cause of the decrease in cattle-breeding production. Extensive irrigation permits the production of cotton, grain and fruit at lower elevations. Other agricultural crops include tobacco, silk and opium poppies.

Productivity in many agricultural cultures has decreased today in comparison with 1990. In recent years there has been an insignificant increase in total crop production, compared to the previous years (1995-1997), basically due to an extension of the crop area. The expansion of crop production is not possible because of the limitations of land and water resources.

The general area of land within the administrative borders of the Republic is about 20 million hectares (January, 1, 2000), of which agricultural land comprises more than 10 million hectares, including 1.4 million hectares of arable land, 176.3 thousand hectares of hay fields and 9.2 million hectares of pastureland. The irrigated lands make up about 900 thousand hectares. In the year 2000 there were in the Republic 57 state farms, 605 collectives and more than 60,000 rural farms being worked. Kyrgyzstan, widely seen as the leader in economic reform among former Soviet Republics in Central Asia, has been undergoing economic stagnation ever since it achieved independence. GDP dropped by about 25 percent in 1992, with an even greater proportional decline in coal and gas output. The government has resorted to issuing Soviet-style production targets for the energy sector in order to combat the drop in production.

Kyrgyzstan has vast mineral resources, including extensive deposits of gold, antimony, and mercury, and the country has entered into agreements with foreign companies to assist in developing its gold reserves, estimated to be among the richest in the world. Antimony and mercury refineries are the largest among the former Soviet republics. Coal mining is significant, although production is falling because of aging equipment and increased extraction costs.

The Naryn and Chu rivers are used for hydroelectric power, although considerable hydroelectric potential remains undeveloped. In hydro resources Kyrgyzstan takes third place among the countries of the CIS after Russia and Tajikistan. Only on the river Naryn and its inflows has it been possible to construct 22 hydroelectric power stations with an annual production of 30 billion kw/h of electric power. Some 92.43 percent of the country’s electricity is generated in hydroelectric facilities. The remaining 7.57 percent comes from thermal plants burning coal. Sales to China, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan make electricity Kyrgyzstan’s principal export.

Mountains and the Penury of the Population

From time immemorial mountains have attracted people as a symbol of the grandeur of nature, elevation of the spirit and purity of thought. However, despite the enduring positive values of mountains for humankind, the territories of many mountainous countries remain afflicted with a mass of economic, social and political problems.

The natural conditions of mountains have resulted in severe limitations of economic activity, while increasing the cost of industrial production. This situation, in turn, has caused social problems, a high level of poverty and unemployment, low educational level, poor public health services and social protection and a backward social infrastructure. These factors have created a favorable social environment for the distribution of the ideas of religious and ethnic fanaticism as well as for the preservation of patriarchal traditions and customs, which serve as a risk factor for causing conflicts.

Unfortunately, many of the hot spots on our globe that are either in conflict or fraught with the risk of conflict are areas in mountainous countries and regions. They are: Afghanistan, Kosovo, the Chechen Republic, Tibet, the mountain territories of Columbia and Bolivia, Turkey and Iraq and many others. Alas, Kyrgyzstan in 1999 and 2000 had experienced such a problem, when a group of international terrorists invaded its territory.

The most determining feature of the agricultural population in Kyrgyzstan at present is the growing poverty. The standard of living of the majority of the population continues to fall, and, according to various studies, from 53 up to 80 percent of the population lives below the poverty line. Although the official level of unemployment does not exceed 3-4 percent of the working population, the actual number of unemployed is greater. Some 400 thousand people are compelled to work in Russia and other countries of the CIS. This situation of high unemployment stands as an absolute obstacle to economic growth.

More than 80 percent of all the poor people in the Republic live in rural districts. According to many research studies, women are on the whole poorer than men, and the tendency of the feminization of poverty quickly progresses. National distinctions in the poverty level are also to a greater degree connected to regional factors: the majority of poor people live in the mountain areas.

In recent years in the Republic the property stratification of the population has continued intensively, and the social composition of the needy population has expanded considerably. Analysis of the structure of income distribution shows that 20 percent of the most affluent segment of the population has about 48 % of all income, whereas 20 percent of the poorest citizens have only 7 percent. At the present time the average nominal wage (including special privileges and material aid) hardly amounts to 25 U. S. dollars.

Between 1991 and 1999 the total number of employed in Kyrgyzstan has declined from 1835.9 to 1764.3 people. Although employment has fallen more than twice, the number of people working in trade has increased, three quarters of whom are individual businessmen. Employment in agriculture for these years has also increased by 1.7 times.

In many respects the existing situation results from the backwardness of the remote highlands, the backwardness of their economy and a low level of life in comparison with that of advanced countries. Therefore, recognition of the problems of the highlands and the development of mountain territories will undoubtedly promote the preservation of stability and calmness in all regions of the world and lead to the reduction of the threat of conflicts and international terrorism.

Furthermore, in the 21st century the processes of globalizing the life activities of humankind, the growing interdependence of peoples and countries, of regions and continents are greatly extended. In this context, the realization of every possible measure aimed at aligning the conditions of people’s lives in various countries and regions in order to reduce the huge gulf in the level of social and economic development between advanced and less developed countries, will have universal, beneficial value for the world.

The National Program “ À r à ket,“ authorized in 1998 to help overcome poverty in the Kyrgyz Republic, should represent an essential contribution to the resolution of this problem. At present the program is undergoing revision, which is necessary for better coordination with the preparation of the Complex Bases of Development of the Kyrgyz Republic. The National Program of Poverty, which is gradually replacing “ À r à ket“ during the years 2001-2003, is the major element of the first stage of the implementation of the Complex Bases of Development program. Only steady and complex development will make it possible to solve the problems of the highlands, including the task of reducing conflicts.

Development of Natural Potential

Problems of the highlands are in many respects caused by natural factors, such as their remoteness from the world industrial, financial and cultural centers as well as from transport lines and sites. In addition there is difficulty in the accessibility for purposes of development, severity of natural and climatic conditions, limitation of the utilizable land areas and susceptibility to natural cataclysms. Natural phenomena are aggravated by human factors such as people destroying the ecological balance of mountain territories.

Mountains are very vulnerable ecosystems and vital for all the world as „water towers“ of the Earth, as keepers of a rich biological variety and as places of vacation and tourism. And, on the contrary, if mountains cease to carry out these exclusive roles of „water towers“ and „keepers“ of the richest fauna and flora, they soon become the decisive factors causing the destruction of all systems of life support for hundreds of millions of inhabitants of the plains.

Natural ecosystems are the unique, reliable source of ecological stability. The fact that they occupy in Kyrgyzstan about 80 percent of its territory has important value for the maintenance of ecological stability in the country and the adjoining regions of Central Asia. The high mountain systems reaching the heights, where there is eternal snow and glaciers, provide existence for the huge variety of natural communities and species of fauna and flora amid the surrounding of deserted, lifeless, flat territories.

Of natural ecosystems the most valuable are the forests. Despite their insignificant area, they play an exclusive role in the regulation of water, protection of hillside soil, preservation of biological variety and stabilization of the ecology. During the last decades the status of the forests (especially of the unique nut-bearing woods, where natural renewal has practically stopped) has appreciably worsened.

The major natural resource of Kyrgyzstan is water, which is generated by river drain, underground sources, lakes and glaciers. The Republic uses 12-17 percent of the available stock of fresh water, of which 90 percent is used for irrigation. Within the territory of the country there are ten large water basins.

The variety of biological forms in Kyrgyzstan far exceeds the world parameters and those of Central Asia, lending special importance to the preservation of the country’s natural potential. Among the fauna and flora of Kyrgyzstan there is an abundance of species that are of particular interest, for example, ancestors of such cultural plants as apple, pear, plum, apricot, almond, pistachio and walnut trees as well as currants, grapes, pomegranates, etc. The world’s largest forests of nut-trees grow here in the Republic. In Macedonian times a walnut was delivered to Greece and took perfect root there. About 600 kinds of plants can be used as sources of industrial and medicinal raw material as well as of natural dyes. Some ten varieties of mushrooms represent food value.

Kyrgyzstan has long been blessed with an abundance of hunting game. During the last half-century the stocks of game and fish were essentially depleted, but the supply of hunting animals is still adequate. This allows carrying out a so-called currency hunt, mainly of argali (of Marko Polo) or of mountain goats (Capricorn). In 1999 alone 42 permits were granted to foreign hunters to shoot argali of Marko Polo and 269 for Capricorn. Hunters from such countries as the USA, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, France, Mexico, Luxembourg, Italy, Sweden, Spain, Belgium and Denmark took specimens to hunt and shoot for trophies.

The preservation of species is provided for by the establishment of especially protected natural areas: primarily in reserves and to a lesser degree in natural parks and hunting sanctuaries. The general area of the 82 reserves comprises 777.3 thousand hectares or 3.9 percent of the area of the country. The general area of the sanctuaries is 289.2 thousand hectares or about half of all of the reserve area. There are 52 sanctuaries, including 11 forest, 23 botanical, 16 zoological and 6 complex sanctuaries. There are 18 nature sanctuaries with a general area of 60 hectares.

The environment of Kyrgyzstan suffers from the results of decades of ecological mismanagement. Industrial pollution is a problem in the cities. Water pollution is also a major problem, especially in the south, where water-borne diseases are prevalent. In agricultural areas, excessive irrigation and the unrestrained use of agricultural chemicals have severely degraded soil quality. The overgrazing of livestock has also contributed to soil degradation, and a significant portion of Kyrgyzstan’s available grasslands has disappeared. Kyrgyzstan contains many abandoned uranium mines that constitute a potential threat to the environment.

Inadequate protective measures became the reason for the degradation of natural lands as well as for the reduction in the number of species of fauna and flora, some of which are on the verge of extinction. The kinds of plants and animals that are especially threatened are listed in the Red book. Nevertheless, their threatened existence continues to worsen.

In addition to all of its other positive features, the preservation of mountain ecosystems provides a lasting value for human life. For example, mountains furnish basic stocks of pure, natural, potable water. They serve as a zone, where nature, including its fauna and flora, remains in a primeval state. Mineral, power, water, wood and other natural resources have gained increased value for the world economy as their stocks in the more accessible territories gradually decrease. This, in turn, has caused more and more human exploitation of the mountains.

From the time it gained independence, Kyrgyzstan began to enter into the international legal sphere with respect to wildlife management by joining the international conventions and concluding bilateral and multilateral agreements. The process of adopting the major conventions concerning the preservation of the environment will be basically completed in the near future. Within the framework of the CIS countries, Kyrgyzstan is participating in the preparation of the Red book of the CIS. In terms of Central Asia, Kyrgyzstan has concluded a regional contract for the protection of the environment, including wildlife management, with Kazakhstan, Tadjikistan and Uzbekistan.

In recent years the international community has begun to pay serious attention to the problems of mountain territories. In 1992, under the aegis of the United Nations, the World Forum, meeting in Rio de Janeiro, dealt with the problems of ecology, including that of mountain territories, which comprise about 20 percent of the Republic. The agenda for the 21st century, ratified by the forum, outlines the main tasks and the course of action to be taken for the development and improvement of mountain territories. This has been designated the International Year of Mountains in order to encourage the implementation of the recommended program.

In this context, the growing accumulation of especially dangerous toxic waste products is causing particular anxiety and concern. Enterprises that have ceased production without providing any safeguards have left behind a significant amount of toxic waste products, posing serious danger both to the environment and to the health and lives of people. The problem of operating tailing dumps, which contain highly toxic and radioactive substances and are not provided with reliable protection to prevent the pollution of the water sources and the surrounding environment, has not yet found a satisfactory solution.

The uniqueness of mountain territories demands that much greater attention be devoted to such concerns as the preservation of the ecological balance between industrial and agricultural activity, development of tourism, water-power engineering, maintenance of traditional agricultural and livestock production as well as of other matters. Serious questions need to be addressed concerning the rational use of land and water resources, the creation of an economic and social infrastructure, and an improvement of the living standard. Since the economic potential of the highlands does not provide the people there with the means to enable them to solve the problems they face, they require the economic, financial and technical support of advanced countries and international organizations in order to succeed.

The present level of financing environmental preservation testifies that the ecological well being of the country was never a state priority. This neglect in protecting the environment has inevitably resulted in the huge costs necessary today to remedy the situation.

The Strategy of the Steady Human Development of the Kyrgyz Republic, authorized in 1998, outlines some short-term, intermediate-term and long-term tasks, which are designed to harmonize the relationship between society and nature in the country and to improve the ecological situation.

Mountains and People

The history of human civilization testifies that the first humans started to master the planet from the lowlands, from agricultural regions. But as soon as the first people looked up and began to glance around, they saw towering above all else the mountains, which appeared to be propping up the huge, infinite sky. They saw the high peaks looming majestically above white clouds, proud, mysterious and beautifully framing the horizon.

And so they, the first inhabitants of our planet, were directed to the mountains, which they proceeded to occupy at ever higher elevations. In this way the human development of the mountainous regions of the globe began, with thousands of years of ascending the mountains to their peaks, to the highest points in the world. The attraction of mountains, their high, irresistible charm, appeared to be so powerful, that people usually did not leave again but remained there forever. They mastered the mountainous regions of the planet, rendered habitable the highest mountain valleys and geographical zones, despite all of the difficulties, despite the climatic changes and the severe living conditions in the high mountains. By their work and intelligence they influenced the life of the mountains, and in turn the mountains affected the life and customs, the world perception and character of the inhabitants.

Mountains are not only a nature reserve, but they also serve as a place of human habitation. For centuries people have created a unique system for managing in mountains, as reflected in their lifestyle, traditions and culture. Nowadays one tenth of the world’s population lives in mountains. The preservation and development of the mountains will allow their population to take an appropriate place in the varied universe of cultures and traditions.

Actually that is how all of human civilization, human culture and history was created. Yet up to now nobody has estimated what a unique, what an enormous role mountains, these proud rulers of the earth’s crust, have played in the development of humankind.

Therefore, it is not surprising that the General Assembly of the United Nations has declared the first year of the 21st century as the International Year of Mountains. It is a completely natural and logical decision of the international community, which recognizes and is ready to acknowledge not only the lasting value of the mountainous regions of the Earth in the history of civilization, but also the existence of their major problems. It also understands that unless or until these matters are resolved, it is very difficult to expect a normal and safe future of the Earth.

The Year of the Mountains calls appropriate attention to the mountains and to the unique role, which they have played and still play for the people of today, providing invaluable benefits. The real task in order to realize the aims of the Year of the Mountains is to pay basic attention first of all to increasing the ecological stability of these initially vulnerable areas and to improving the living standard of their inhabitants.

Mountains have always been bearers of unique spiritual and cultural values. For the people of Kyrgyz, mountains are a core concept, fundamental, because our mountains in a literal sense are a part of our national history, indeed, its integral part. They have always played an important role in the ordinary life and creed of the Kyrgyz people. During more than two centuries of their history they experienced the influence of almost all religions, but nevertheless ancient Kyrgyz people have worshiped the four natural elements: Sky, Land, Fire and Water. On our paternal ground – in the Altai mountains, on the shores of the sacred mother, the river Enesaj, and at the foot of the great Ala-Too and Tien Shan, among Alai ranges and peaks of the world – Pamir, our ancestors idolized the mountains, turned to the mountains and have never abandoned them.

Today mountains in the world are a harbor for a huge number of ethnic groups, various ancient cultural traditions, knowledge of an environment and experience of adaptation to mountain conditions. For this reason the problems of the high mountains should become a subject for scientific research. Today all scientists recognize that mountains are the perfect field laboratory for the early detection of the first signs of climatic changes, such as general warming, the influence of ozone gaps on the health of people and many other things.

Simultaneously, the mountains of the planet are faced with the most severe environmental problems, problems confronting the biosphere as a whole. The main focus of the Year of the Mountains internationally should be the mutual relation and interaction of mountains and human beings, because these two key elements encompass all of the diverse global problems, which have caused the world community to pronounce the current year as the International Year of the Mountains.