A forum was dedicated to problems in new informal residential settlements that emerged around Bishkek and Osh since 90s.

The purpose of the event was to discuss the problems faced by new  informal residential settlements and find ways to solve them. The forum also discussed issues of cooperation between local governments and residents, access to services and employment for women.

According to the Director of the Bishkek City Development and Investment Attraction Agency Kurmanbek Moldokulov, the Araket project has proven its effectiveness and relevance in a short period of time. For its part, the mayor’s office is ready to continue joint work aimed at improving life in new buildings.

Ilgiz Kambarov (Executive Director of Green Alliance KG), together with Maral Sagynalieva (Open Innovations researcher and member of the board of Green Alliance KG), and Zhursun Alymbaeva (project manager of Green4) presented the results of a research conducted by Green Alliance KG together with the consulting company Green4 on the environmental problems those informal residential areas. Measures to solve them were also proposed.

During his presentation, Kambarov Ilgiz noted that in order to optimize the environmental situation, new small green areas should be created, which consist of creating “green corridors”, greening courtyards, roads, creating green areas on the site of new or moved outside the city limits industrial enterprises, and applying methods of mandatory greening of industrial areas. “Based on the results of this study, it is necessary to conduct additional applied research such as groundwater analysis, geochemical and geophysical studies of anthropogenic impact on water and air in residential areas.” – added the director of the Green Alliance KG.

Maral Sagynalieva, speaking with a presentation, emphasized that the study used a combination of quantitative and qualitative approaches to data collection, and used three data collection tools depending on the measured indicators. “The combination of these methods allowed us to get an idea of ​ multiple points of view, and also contributed to the validation of the research results,” the researcher noted. In its turn, the project manager of the consulting company Green4 – Zhursun Alymbaeva, added that this study examined the current environmental conditions of new residential areas built illegally outside of Bishkek in the early 2000s. “The results of the study showed that women and children spend most of their daytime in households and are directly exposed to negative environmental impacts. The analysis also showed that respondents’ satisfaction (80%) with green areas of residential buildings was the lowest, which may be due to the lack of green parks. Age and level of education can significantly affect residents’ satisfaction with environmental conditions and infrastructure of the residential environment,” the consultant summarized.

The project “ARAKET – FOR IMPROVING LIFE IN NEW DEVELOPMENTS IN KYRGYZSTAN” aims to improve living conditions and reduce vulnerability of residents of new developments in the cities of Bishkek and Osh. The project will apply a participatory and inclusive development approach by supporting residents of new developments in identifying their problems, developing solutions and interacting with relevant stakeholders to resolve them. The ultimate goal of the Project is that after 12 years, the project will not only have directly improved the living conditions of vulnerable groups living in new developments, but also created favorable sustainable conditions for cooperation between residents of new developments and government authorities.