A lake in the Tian Shan mountains. Photo from unesco.org
Representatives from UNESCO and the International Union for Conservation of Nature recently visited the Western Tian Shan World Natural Heritage site, which spans Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan, to assess threats to this unique reserve. The public foundation «Rivers without Borders» reported this on their website.
The international experts arrived in Central Asia following reports of plans for economic development within the Western Tian Shan territory. All three countries have been implicated in potentially harmful activities.
In Kyrgyzstan, local officials have approved illegal gold mining near the center of the World Heritage site. Additionally, there are plans to construct a large hydroelectric power station on the Chatkal River, which would flood protected floodplain areas. Authorities also intend to build a Talas-Chatkal-Tashkent highway along the reservoir.
Kazakhstan has announced the construction of a cascade of hydroelectric power plants with reservoirs on the Ugam River. This project would divert part of the river's flow into a 210-kilometer pipe, redirecting water to regions of the Turkestan oblast. Experts familiar with the situation informed UNESCO colleagues that the government presents this project as the best alternative among those considered, despite the fact that dams and artificial reservoirs would destroy the river ecosystem and irreversibly alter the Ugam's flow.
In Uzbekistan, both rivers flowing from the Western Tian Shan territory — Chatkal and Ugam — are already dammed. Experts observed ongoing work to channel the Ugam into concrete canal banks. Scientists warn that this «barbarism,» aimed at building three hydroelectric power plants with a total capacity of about 5 MW, could lead to the extinction of rare and endemic fish species inhabiting the mountain river.
Evgeny Simonov, chief specialist of the «Rivers without Borders» foundation, emphasized, «Projects to create dams directly downstream from World Heritage sites also require a preliminary impact assessment coordinated with UNESCO, which likely did not occur in the case of Chatkal and Ugam."
He added that the construction of hydroelectric power plants and highways within the reserve would undoubtedly constitute a flagrant violation of the UNESCO Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage.
The international experts have concluded their work in Western Tian Shan and will present their report at the UNESCO World Heritage Committee session scheduled for next year in Bulgaria.
