Visiting Yuri Gagarin’s Bust – Postcard from Kyrgyzstan
As the
According to
Following his historic space flight,
Other interesting tourist destinations in the area include the remains of a burial mound dating between the 5th and 3rd centuries BC, and remains of an ancient Silk Road settlement, dating from the 8th to 12th centuries
The Barskoon road also leads to the small village of Ak Shyrak. It is approximately 18 km eastward of the headquarters of the Sarychat Ertash Nature Reserve, and the main access point to the southern border of the Reserve which had also been the center of attention of complains about the Kumtor mine about which I blogged previously (Biodiversity & Positioning – Problem or Solution? and Biodiversity Management Strategy & Plan for Gold Mine).
Ak Shyrak has a population of about 120. This includes a number of the rangers tasked with protecting the Sarychat Ertash Nature Reserve (Zapovednik), which is home to snow leopards and Marco Polo sheep. The village is located well above the tree line elevation and originates from Soviet-era geological camps and outposts.
Tourism remains an important sector in the Kyrgyz economy. However, recent violent demonstrations appear to have spooked some regular tourists (
Can we expect to see a normalization in 2013? This may be influenced by the on-going negotiations between
Do you think that an amicable agreement can be reached? Can the expectations of local communities and politicians be met? Will Centerra’s shareholders be happy with the outcome? And will the tourism sector return back to normal?
[…] « Visiting Yuri Gagarin’s Bust – Postcard from Kyrgyzstan […]
To answer accurately one would have to have a crystal ball. Nationalism I think plays a big part. It is an emotional issue, never very predictable. Anytime you’ve got one industry, particularly natural-resourced based, representing a large part of national GDP, you will deal with a lot of it.
Kumtor is facing an uphill battle. When times are good for the industry there is a tendency for governments to whittle away at (if not appropriate themselves of) assets. Negotiations are never symmetrical, but governments want to at least appear fair. How Kumtor fares will largely be dependent on the quality of its arguments, studies, and its ability to address the concerns of its stakeholders.
[…] Postcard from Kyrgyzstan […]
[…] Postcard from Kyrgyzstan […]