Kumtor Gold Company planted more than 332,000 saplings on an area of 300 hectares in Karkyra tract in Issyk-Kul region. Since the collapse of the USSR, this is the first large-scale forest planting campaign. It was called «Ecosezim» — a long-term environmental initiative conducted as part of Zhashyl Muras national campaign.
Almazbek Baryktabasov, President of Kumtor Gold Company, emphasized the importance of such events in the context of the deteriorating environmental situation on the planet. He noted that the company is actively involved in projects to minimize harm to nature and will continue to fund environmental initiatives. «We are witnessing how quickly and irreversibly the ecosystem of our planet is changing. Climate change as a result of desertification, deforestation, drought — all this is the result of high human activity,» he said.
In the near future, the company plans to launch a waste recycling project at the mine’s tailings dump and a complete abandonment of the use of plastic bags at the mine.
The trees were planted in conjunction with Forest Service personnel, which was necessary to ensure that all planting regulations were followed in the high altitude environment. Kanat Toitukov, chief forester of Jeti-Oguz Forestry, said that some of the planted seedlings are birch trees, which grow faster than conifers and create favorable conditions for their growth.
Kumtor Gold Company calls on all concerned citizens to join environmental campaigns and contribute to the preservation of nature for future generations.
