Kyrgyzstan has proposed to the UN the creation of a fund to preserve Issyk-Kul and is prepared to contribute $10 million

Kyrgyzstan has proposed the creation, under the auspices of the UN, of a special joint trust fund for the preservation of Lake Issyk-Kul. This was announced by President Sadyr Zhaparov at the 81st session of the UN General Assembly.

According to him, Kyrgyzstan is prepared to allocate $10 million from the state budget to the proposed fund.

The President noted that climate change is having a particularly severe impact on mountainous regions. As one example, he cited the shrinking area of the Tien Shan glaciers, which are the main source of water for Issyk-Kul.

According to figures cited by Zaparov, the area of the region’s mountain glaciers has shrunk by more than 30 per cent over the last 70 years. Around 20 per cent of this decline has occurred in the last 7–10 years.

According to the President, this process poses a threat to the region’s biodiversity and the economic stability of hundreds of thousands of people.

Kyrgyzstan is already implementing the concept of sustainable development of the Issyk-Kul ecological and economic system up to 2030, tightening environmental restrictions, and launching projects to monitor the lake’s depth using underwater robotic technology.

Zaparov called on the UN, international financial institutions and donor countries to support the establishment of the fund.

“Issyk-Kul is our shared climatic trust,” the president stated.

He emphasised that Kyrgyzstan is offering not merely financial assistance, but an international partnership to preserve the lake.