Can 'Kumtor Gold Company' again get access to protected areas for development? 28 July 2022

[Translation provided by Business & Human Rights Resource Centre]

The National Holding "Heritage of the Great Nomads" announced that in order to increase production volumes, the Koendu and Bordu sites near the Kumtor deposit will be put into operation.

But environmentalists say that the legislation of the Kyrgyz Republic prohibits this, since the designated areas are a specially protected zone...

On June 29, during the presentation of a report at the Jogorku Kenesh, the head of the National Holding 'Heritage of the Great Nomads' Tengiz Bolturuk said that in order to increase production volumes, it is necessary to develop new territories located near the Kumtor mine...

According to experts, the Koendu, Bordu, Uch-Koshkon, Sary-Bulak, Togolok, Sarysay and Zhangart sites located near Kumtor are included in the territory of the Sary-Chat-Eer-Tash nature reserve (some are in the buffer zone, others are in the main area) , and some of them are also surrounded by glaciers of the Ak-Shyirak ridge, which feed the Naryn and Sary-Jaz rivers. According to the Water Code of the Kyrgyz Republic, it is forbidden to destroy glaciers for the purpose of mining...