OSCE, Japan government provide equipment for environmental monitoring around Issyk-Kul lake in Kyrgyzstan

BALYKCHY, Kyrgyzstan, 17 February 2014 – New environmental monitoring equipment to enhance the protection of Kyrgyzstan’s largest lake was handed over to staff from the Issyk-Kul Biosphere Territory by the Embassy of Japan and the OSCE Centre in Bishkek today in the lakeside town of Balykchy.

The equipment, provided by the Japan’s government, includes laboratory packages of portable and stationary water, air, and soil together with radiation meters and monitors to detect toxic particles in food products and air. According to the project experts, the instruments will allow for regular, comprehensive and environmentally-friendly evaluation of the ecology across the biosphere encircling the lake.

As part of the project, the OSCE Centre in Bishkek will also support the production and distribution of textbooks, educational posters and pamphlets on the biodiversity of Issyk-Kul. The OSCE will assist in organizing expert training sessions for laboratory professionals.

“This initiative aimed at fostering preservation of the ecosystem and natural features of Issyk-Kul constitutes one of the key pillars of OSCE Centre’s environmental security and sustainability programme,” said Yulia Minaeva, Head of the Economic and Environmental Dimension Section of the OSCE Centre in Bishkek. “I trust that our joint efforts will bring tangible results and enhance public access to environmental and ecological information about the Issyk-Kul lake.”

Last year, the OSCE Centre in Bishkek conducted a number of initiatives aimed at combatting oil pollution in Issyk-Kul; supporting the integrity, accountability and efficient management of natural resources; enhancing citizen’s rights in environment protection by implementing the Aarhus Convention, and raising awareness about environmental hazards.