Part 3. Climate and environment

What kind of imagery comes to one’s mind when thinking about Central Asia? An idyllic steppe against the backdrop of magnificent mountains, a green jayloo (highland pasture) under a blue sky with heavy white clouds, cattle grazing here and there, white specks of yurts — these are the kinds of sceneries one usually associates with Central Asia. But if you look closer and see beyond the blooming poppies, the waters of the river will turn out to be not as clean as they appear, the mountains will turn out to be man-made hills of garbage, and the clouds will turn out to be swirls of smoke produced by trash fires.

The Central Asian countries of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Tajikistan gained their independence from the Soviet Union in the early 1990s and have since been facing a growing number of economic, social and political challenges. While discussions regarding regional security and economic growth remain in the spotlight, the growing threat of climate change is largely being overlooked or ignored. According to the German Agency for International Cooperation (2017), the Central Asian region is suffering more than other regions of the world from the consequences of climate change. It is predicted that the expansion of deserts and arid areas – which already make up 80 percent of the region’s total territory – will continue. On top of that, above-average increases in temperature combined with water shortages are also being observed. In a longitudinal study, Zhang et al (2019) concluded that the annual mean temperature, mean maximum and minimum temperature in the region significantly increased at a rate far higher than the increasing rates either globally or across the Northern Hemisphere.

The exhibition shows photographs made by Vlad Ushakov and Iskender Aliev, who are a part of the civil society movement Ecostan. This movement aimed at informing and involving the population in the solving of environmental problems, strengthening the role of public control over the use of natural resources, and increasing the responsibility of businesses for environmental violations. These three photographs were made at a landfill near the village of Altyn-Kazyk in Kyrgyzstan:

A twenty-minute drive from the center of Bishkek [the capital of Kyrgyzstan] and you already see the smoke of the landfill, you breathe it in. When we got to the residential area [nearby] the smell made me sick at first. Then you get used to it and sometimes it’s not so strong, depending on the direction of the wind, but landfill smoke is a part of everyday life for locals. The landfill is smoking around the clock, and in the evening, in addition to the smoke, it is also lit by the fire. You breathe in these acrid fumes mixed with the dust of the unpaved roads. Tonight I dreamt that the landfill was a part of Bishkek. Even though it’s really a part of Bishkek, we either don’t know about it or pretend to not know since it is hidden from our sight and smell for the most part. In reality we are all affected by it in varying degrees of intensity. For some of us it is lethal.

— artist and activist Diana Ukhina wrote as a reflection on her work with the people of Altyn-Kazyk.

Ukhina is one of co-founders of an artistic and activist initiative called Bishkek School of Contemporary Art (BiSCA). The school for several years organizes TRASH Festival, which addresses problems of environmental equality and creates a conscious dialogue between artists, activists, scientists, politicians, and the public.

In 2021 the festival took place in Altyn-Kazyk, which is located very close to the Bishkek city dump. There is a drastic difference between the two worlds of Bishkek, the relatively clean and metropolitan capital city, and Altyn-Kazyk, where people live without clean water, cultural centers, libraries, cinemas and much more. The festival included lectures, performances, happenings, workshops, and an exhibition:

<...> art can raise political questions and involve people in saving the fragile balance of the environment. And it’s a great example of the struggle against reality when Power and Big Capital destroy Nature in their quest for superprofit. Twelve years ago, <...> we initiated the environmental festival TRASH. At the time, we had no idea how this experience would change our lives, not only with knowledge, but also with a worldview and sensitivity to the essence of life.

— another founder of BiSCA, Bermet Boronbayeva wrote about the festival.

The same approach to environmental problems was chosen by artists from Kazakhstan, who during the past few years have constantly brought people’s attention to a variety of local problems. One of them is the situation regarding the Taldykol Lakes in Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan. In 2020, the city administration announced plans to implement a project to build a park near the Big Taldykol Lake, and at the same time to drain the lake system of Small Taldykol, which consists of 7 water ponds. On this territory, they planned to build residential houses, social facilities, business centers, as well as a 2 Billion Euros tourist quarter. Eco-activists and concerned citizens of the city advocated for the preservation of Small Taldykol. Specialists also spoke out against the elimination of water pounds since it could lead to greater environmental problems connected to the complicated system of ground waters. Rare species of birds such as flamingos, pelicans and swans have long considered the lake their home. They eat there, live there and breed there.

In 2021 the artistic group Kadmii Qyzyl in cooperation with Artcom Platform, a contemporary art and public engagement initiative, held a performance in defense of Small Taldykol. Several women (some of them local residents) dressed in white, holding a long white cloth, began their procession along the lake. They were walking to the place where the backfilling of the Small Taldykol was being carried out. A truck drove toward them. The women got in its way, so the driver had to stop. Then they wrapped a white ribbon around the truck, and invited present spectators to hold hands and stand around it:

White clothing is the symbol of swans. A kimeshek [a headdress] is the kindness of our mothers. We did a performance: we walked around Taldykol, came to the backfill, stopped the truck. And with this white ribbon around it we made a nest,

— creator of the performance Aliya Kanibekova commented.

In March 2022, the administrative court of Astana imposed a ban on the construction along the perimeter of the lake. However, by June, activists reported that Lake No. 4 was not only being backfilled, but it was also having its water pumped out of it, draining the lake in the process. The fight for the Small Taldykol continues.

CAG primarily supports initiatives and groups working within four main areas: ecological restoration, environmental protection and conservation, climate adaptation for vulnerable communities, and the revival of ecological cultures. For example, CAG also partnered with the organization Little Earth from Tajikistan to support a number of these objectives: the improvement of living conditions of local communities; the sustainable use of local natural resources through the introduction of sustainable energy technologies; the raising of awareness among the local communities; and the empowering of local women in the Alichur community in Eastern Pamir, Tajikistan.

In addition, CAG’s partners in Kyrgyzstan work to strengthen the capacity and ability of local communities of Cholpon rural municipality in the Kochkor district of Naryn province in the Kyrgyz Republic. They claim their rights and take control of their lives through sustainable governing, protecting and preserving the wetland ecosystems of Son Kul Lake, which is one of the International Bird and Biodiversity Areas. The Institute for Sustainable Development Strategy provides opportunities for local communities, especially for women and youth, to exercise their rights to a healthy environment and equally participate in decision-making processes that affect their livelihoods, communities and environment. The exhibition shows what the pastures of Son-Kul are like. In the first photo, one can see vast meadows rich in vegetation, including medicinal plants and cereals. The pastures of Son-Kul are an important part of the food base for both waterfowl and other animals living in this area. The second photo shows land which has degraded due to overgrazing. Pasture degradation contributes both to desertification and an increase in the number of undesirable weeds. Climate change processes directly affect desertification and the shrinking of pasture areas, which leads to the destruction of the species diversity of wetlands.

Art Group KADMII QYZYL (Kazakhstan)

ŞALQYMA (2021)

On the evening of September 14, 2021 with the support of the Artcom Platform several artists, members of the creative group KADMII QYZYL (in Engl.: cadmium red) held a performance Şalqyma (in Engl.: jubilation, the name of a folk tune) in defense of the lake Small Taldykol.

Art Group KADMII QYZYL (Kazakhstan)

ŞALQYMA (2021)

The artists of KADMII QYZYL dressed as swans, representing the birds of the lake, demanded an immediate stop to the lake’s backfilling and called for the protection of biodiversity and the entire ecosystem of the natural lakes of Small Taldykol. Artists walked around the lake and built a nest from the white cloth.

Ecostan Society Movement (Kyrgyzstan)

Altyn-Kazyk Landfill (2021)

Ecostan is a civil society movement that informs and involves the population in solving environmental problems. Co-founder of the movement and photographer Vlad Ushakov captured the landfill near the village AltynKazyk in Kyrgyzstan.

Ecostan Society Movement (Kyrgyzstan)

Altyn-Kazyk Landfill (2021)

Poppies blooming against the background of a smoking landfill near the village AltynKazyk in Kyrgyzstan. Photo by Vlad Ushakov.

Ecostan Society Movement (Kyrgyzstan)

A Garbage Sorter (2021)

A female garbage sorter walks on a smoking landfill near Altyn-Kazyk village in Kyrgyzstan. Photo by Iskender Aliev.

ISDS (Kyrgyzstan)

The Pastures of Son-Kul (2021)

The Institute for Sustainable Development Strategy (ISDS) is a non-governmental organization that promotes the concept of sustainable development. In 2021 ISDS went to Son-Kul together with scientists from the National Academy of Sciences, where they monitored the state of the flora and fauna of the area. The pastures of Son-Kul are vast meadows rich in vegetation, including medicinal plants and cereals.

ISDS (Kyrgyzstan)

The Pastures of Son-Kul (2021)

Due to overgrazing, the pastures are degraded. Such degradation is both a process of desertification and an increase in the volume of weeds. Son-Kul is an important part of the food base for both waterfowl and animals living in this area. Climate change processes directly affect desertification and the reduction of pasture areas, which leads to the destruction of the species diversity of the wetlands protected by the Ramsar Convention.