“Youth for Clean Kyrgyzstan!”

“Sary-Chelek for me is a miracle in our region.” Speaking about the mountain lake and nature reserve, Adyljan Shamshiev, a youth activist and creator of the Ecoharmony project, wants to inspire others to protect the environment and, by doing so, invest in Kyrgyzstan’s future.

Ecoharmony is just one of nearly 100 youth projects supported by the Open Society Foundations Youth Initiative in Kyrgyzstan. Since their inception in 2009, the youth projects have grown in popularity and have helped the foundation identify, facilitate, and support small groups of young people who can mobilize and impact their peers in order to promote the ideals of open society in Kyrgyzstan.

Adyljan began the project by installing trashcans in his home city of Kerben in the Jalal-Abad Province of western Kyrgyzstan. With the help of other young people he expanded to the Padysha-Ata nature reserve and installed 10 containers. Soon Adyljan had the idea for a second project in Sary-Chelek. The reserve’s administration agreed to provide the workers, tools, and cement to install the trashcans and to be responsible to the waste collection. Today trashcans are installed along the beach of Sary-Chelek lake keeping the area tidy.

Kyrgyzstan has eight national reserves and Sary-Chelek is one of its most picturesque. Founded in 1959 on the southern slopes of Chatkal ridge, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization designated Sary-Chelek as a World Biosphere reserve in 1979. It's now part of an international network of biosphere reserves.

“This wonder appeared at such high altitude and among 20,000-year-old mountains. People come here for recreation and perceive it as a special place. The garbage is around and people do not think about their future. Therefore, we made the sign on cans 'Youth for Clean Kyrgyzstan!,' so that everybody could read and join our movement. We should begin with ourselves. If it is clean everywhere, the visitors of our country will much enjoy joining the nature,” says Adyljan.

The administration of Sary-Chelek hopes that Adyljan’s initiative will be supported by the lake’s visitors.  “We may state that due to the events of the current year, the lake had some rest, there were not many visitors,” said Kalychbek Botobekov, director of the reserve. “Our staff does their best to keep Sary-Chelek clean.  We are highly inspired by our youth, and we agreed to actively cooperate in future in addressing the lake’s problems.  It would be good to build tidy shelters to arrange a place for visitors of the reserve.”

There are still many problems in Sary-Chelek. Informational signs are obsolete and discolored, and there is no basic information about the lake. The reserve would also benefit from the construction of an access road to the village and the lake, but that will take a large-scale project. In the meantime, Adyljan’s project is a step in the right direction. Energizing his peers, the administration of Sary-Chelek, and visitors to the reserve, Adyljan is helping to keep the area for years to come.