Development of green tourism in Kyrgyzstan needs complex measures, experts say. In particular, the country needs the system and institutions that will be responsible for garbage recycling, as well as monitoring authorities that will work together with the civil society.
Earlier this year, the UN General Assembly declared 2027 the International Year of Sustainable and Resilient Tourism. The resolution binds the members of the Organisation to take effective measures to develop sustainable tourism, including initiatives in eco-tourism. The initiative concerns Kyrgyzstan, too.
Tourism is a priority direction in the country. Keeping up with the green agenda, last year national authorities made a few amendments to laws and regulations. In particular, the concept of ‘sustainable tourism’ was introduced to the law “On tourism”, and the Concept of Green Economy Development, which provides the vision of green tourism in the short term, is pending enactment today. But the last document is not publicly accessible so far.
In general, if we take the data of the National Statistical Committee, we will see the growth in the number of foreign tourists who visit the country to enjoy the nature and biodiversity of the country in the last 5 years. Thus, the number of visitors in 2023 was over 2.8 million people, which is 1.5 times as much as in 2022. The significant portion of travel services was provided in Issyk-Kul region, where 1,639 rest facilities and tourism organisations, including guest houses, provided accommodation and travel services.
Nevertheless, tourists from the CIS visit Kyrgyzstan most often, while foreign citizens from other countries account for a small share. According to the Border Service, last year 8.7 million foreign citizens crossed the border of Kyrgyzstan, mainly from Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Russia.
What does the law say?
The tourist sphere of Kyrgyzstan is currently regulated by the law “On tourism”, which assigns responsibility for preservation of the environment to actors of the tourist activity, including during reconstruction and construction of tourist facilities.
According to the “Union of Journalists”, the law gives no vector of development of the sustainable tourism.
“Neither article 5 “Rights and responsibilities of tourist activity entities”, nor article 6 “Rights and responsibilities of a tourist” gives the list of essential requirements that ensure the compliance with the standards and principles of sustainable/ecological tourism. In this regard, the statement ‘to treat the natural environment, historical and cultural monuments, sanctities and special protection sites carefully’ is an essential requirement,” according to the review.
According to the law “On protection of the environment”, individuals and legal entities shall have disciplinary, administrative, criminal, civil liability for ecological offences.
The damage is calculated according to the pollution charge calculation method of the Kyrgyz Republic. According to the Ministry of Natural Resources, nearly 300 offences were identified in 2023 in the sphere of flora and fauna protection in the amount of 4.6 million Kyrgyz som.
What about green tourism in neighbouring countries?
In neighbouring countries, the green tourism develops by leaps and bounds, while responsibility and the principle of careful treatment of the environment is set forth in law.
Thus, the new Environmental Code of Kazakhstan sets forth the requirements to be followed by tour operators when organising trips to preserved areas. The document requires that tour operators plan tours and use vehicles, which cause less damage to the environment, when organising tours, and also assigns liability for littering.
The country has the operating Association of Environmental Organisations of Kazakhstan, which carries out work with local residents on organising sustainable tourism.
Uzbekistan also pursues coherent policy in the field of sustainable tourism development. The country adopted the Strategy to shift to ‘green’ economy for 2019-2030, as well as the Strategy of development of new Uzbekistan for 2022-2026, where one of priority directions is the transition to ‘green’ economy. The new version of the Constitution of the republic contains the norms of environmental preservation.
In Tajikistan, development of green tourism is set forth in law. Last year, the country adopted the Strategy of development of ‘green’ economy for 2023-2027, which set forth the events meant to introduce the principles of ‘green’ economy.
Kyrgyzstan has no clear concept of ecotourism development
“Ecological tourism is a tourism that causes no harm to ecology and treats the environment with care. There was no clear concept of ecotourism development as such, but now it is set forth in the programme of green economy development for 2024-2028,” said Arstan Kadyrov, chair of the board of the Association of Legal Entities “Green Alliance of Kyrgyzstan”.
According to him, the following measures should be taken to develop this direction:
- Cause no harm to the environment and fight against garbage.
“Unfortunately, it’s our locals who leave garbage, not foreign tourists, who are accustomed to take garbage with them and leave it in special places. Therefore, we need to sort garbage and recycle it so that all the garbage is transported down from the mountains right to landfills,” Kadyrov said.
- The issue of efficient use of resources and controlling carbon dioxide emissions. Touristic facilities need to replace generators with solar power stations, or small capacity hydroelectric stations, which cause no harm.
- Install treatment facilities not only on the lake, but also in the mountains.
- Use green technology: renewable power sources, solar panels to get warm water, small-scale hydroelectric power plants.
As the head of “Green Alliance” emphasised, today there are positive trends in the sphere of service provision to foreign tourists.
“The tourism department jointly with the Fund for Tourism Development tries to take some measures, but their actions still lack unity. Nevertheless, they have some improvements. Thus, this year they have implemented projects to build rest points, where tourists may take a shower, go to a WC, and generally acquire all necessary information. This is a very good initiative that needs to be supported comprehensively because any tourist will look for such conditions in the first place,” he said.
According to Arstan Kadyrov, international organisations rather than local authorities provide assistance to the business in a green direction.
“This June, we carried out a touristic festival in Naryn region, and local administration and aiyl okmotu assisted us in some organisational issues, and they also repaired the roads. Generally speaking, international organisations help us more in a ‘green’ direction, and we do not receive any assistance from the state. So, we take part in various acceleration programmes and create investment projects. We have participated in the Accelerate Prosperity programme and won a project on construction of eco-friendly mini hotel. Now we have completed the project by 70 per cent. The project is absolutely energy-efficient one, and uses green technology only. There is more assistance from international programmes and the Development Fund,” said Arstan Kadyrov.
Waste is enemy to green tourism
According to Vladislav Ushakov, head of the Union of Photo Journalists, Kyrgyzstan has the nature and infrastructure, yet no culture of tourism.
“We have a big problem of garbage. Unfortunately, landfills in Kyrgyzstan are not what they must be according to international standards. They are legalised spontaneous dumps. Today, not a single landfill complies with sanitary and ecological standards. To improve ecotourism, we need to adjust the infrastructure. Instead, our primary method is restoration, i.e. they cover up the garbage with soil, so there is a risk of contamination of subsoil water. Ecotourism we are talking about is not actually ecotourism, but our mission is to speak more about it,” he said.
According to Ushakov, the country needs the system and institutions that will be responsible for garbage recycling, as well as monitoring bodies that will work jointly with the civil society.
“Now we can arrange glamping tents, and say they are good and beautiful, but where should we dispose of the garbage? Where does it go? We do not ask this question. Our mission is to convey to the people that this is their business they make profit from, and the nature must remain in good condition. Tourists will not go to the mountains to look at the piles of garbage. People who are involved in the sphere of tourism must raise these questions and demand that the government take measures to solve the issues,” the ecoactivist said.
Sergei Glukhoverov, head of the Kyrgyz Association of Tour Operators (KATO), suggests imposing penalties on tourists who leave garbage behind them as a measure to minimise the damage caused to the environment.
“Today all tour operators pass personal trainings on how to organise tours with the least use of plastic, how to organise routes correctly. However, this is not enough – we need to make propaganda among locals. We need to impose penalties on those tourists who leave garbage behind, start a fire. This is the only case when people will get the perception,” KATO representative said.
In turn, expert Arstan Kadyrov noted that the state should make a dedicated propaganda of the ecological tourism.
“In the next 5 years, we will see how the ecological tourism will be developing because people become more or less conscientious. In this regard, social clean-up events will help change the perception, yet the state needs to promote ecotourism persistently, telling that garbage should be picked up, that there should be no littering, and also help the entrepreneurs in the regions because they experience a significant flow of tourists. Moreover, the school curriculum should contain this subject,” he said.
Tourism business is willing to introduce green technology
Currently, Kyrgyzstan introduces a lot of projects that call on business entities, including tourism, to use green technology in their activities.
According to S. Glukhoverov, head of KATO, the tourism business is willing to introduce resource-saving technology and many guesthouses, hotels, yurt camps have already shifted to renewable power sources, trying to minimise the damage to the environment, use solar cells, use generators in case of urgency.
According to Maksat Damir uulu, ex-head of the Tourism Department, complex measures should be taken to develop sustainable tourism, including:
- Teaching service providers how to treat the environment carefully, how to use minimum resources to increase profits from their activity.
- Providing general assistance to apply innovative and green technology that can help reduce energy and resource consumption.
- Strengthening the law in terms of penalties for the damage caused to the environment (ecology) by tourists.
- Attracting more funds to support ecological tourism facilities. Introducing ecological standards and possibly applying environmental fees, which will be used accurately to solve environmental issues and travel infrastructure matters.
“Ecotourism must be the main focus in developing the sphere of tourism in our country. It will help us preserve our environment, which is one of the main resources in tourism. Foreign tourists visit us for the nature, among other things,” he said.