President of Kyrgyzstan Sadyr Japarov gave an interview to the British The Independent media outlet. Spokesman for the President Erbol Sultanbaev posted the Russian version of the interview on his Facebook page.
The President told about the impact of climate change on mountainous countries, including Kyrgyzstan, about environmental problems and the importance of taking comprehensive measures to combat the consequences of the negative impact of climate change.
Sadyr Japarov called on the world not to ignore countries like his hit by the consequence of global warming and the damage done to livelihoods and the local environment as thousand-year-old glaciers melt.
The President said that the devastating impact of climate change on nations in mountainous countries is too often overlocked.
«The world is facing global climate change, which is fraught with dangerous consequences,» he said. «This is especially true for us mountain countries because these problems are more dynamic and specific: glaciers melting and natural water reserves decreasing, which can lead to imminent disaster.»
That is why the international community should pay special attention to the needs of the developing mountainous countries that have been badly hit by climate change and note the importance of the «climate justice» concept while taking actions in order to address climate change.
Sadyr Japarov
Answering the questions, Sadyr Japarov stressed that Kyrgyzstan is home for almost ten thousand glaciers. «Over the last twenty years, we are witnessing an irreversible melting of those century old glaciers that is leading to gradual shrinking of water resources,» the head of the republic said.
As The Independent stresses, Mr Japarov has become a leading figure in the global warming debate since he gave an emotion speech at COP26 in Glasgow.
In it, he called on the world to recognize it was not just low-lying countries that faced the greatest danger from climate change but also those at far higher altitudes, like Kyrgyzstan, where the impact too often goes unrecognized.
Since then he has become a global figurehead for such states demanding a reduction in carbon emissions, most recently through presenting at the United Nations last month a five-year plan for mountain countries to work together to try to protect their unique ecosystems.
Talking in his presidential office in the country’s capital Bishkek, Japarov explained that his determination to raise awareness about the issue is particularly acute as he had grown up in a mountainous region of the country and has witnessed for himself how the environment there is changing.
The land-locked nation of Kyrgyzstan borders China and became independent with the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. Settled by Kyrgyz tribes from Siberia and Altay before and during the time of Genghis Khan, the area was ruled by various regional powers before coming under Russian and then Soviet rule. It is home to 158 mountain ranges and most of its six million people are Turkic-speaking Muslims.
Sadyr Japarov said the country was taking its own steps to tackle carbon emissions.
Since his election a new initiative called Green Heritage aims for six million new trees to be planted in the country each year, and it is gradually transitioning from carbon-producing energy to renewable sources of power, particularly hydroelectric.
«We are doing our best to counter the adverse effects of climate change that are in our control,» he said. «I signed the Decree ‘On Declaring 2022 the Year of Protection of Mountain Ecosystems and Climate Sustainability’ in order to address environmental and climate change adaptation challenges and help preserve those glaciers and rivers from drying up.»
«Given the growing scarcity of water resources, we are working to introduce water-sparing technologies in agriculture and other sectors of the national economy. We are also expanding public access to the clean potable water and increase efficiency of its daily use by offering financial incentives and raising awareness,» the President added.
However, according to the President, it would not be enough unless there was recognition and support from the international community of the particular challenges global warming caused to countries like Kyrgyzstan.
«Kyrgyzstan will welcome any unconditional assistance of the international community that will underpin our efforts to mitigate and adapt to the climate change,» he said.
At the end of the interview, the President told about his childhood. «When I was a child I used to travel in the mountains with my father. He was a forester and his job was to cut back the long glass. I used to go with him and I remember when I was a boy he suddenly told me to stop and look. He had binoculars. I looked through them and there, crawling on the mountain, for the first time I saw a snow leopard. Here in Kyrgyzstan we are doing all we can to protect snow leopards like that one but, unless the international community acts, then I am afraid that my grandchildren will never experience the same sights I did as a child with my father,» Sadyr Japarov said.
