Green Foundation
Green Foundation
Bishkek used to be known as the “greenest city on earth“, but in recent years this claim has come under scrutiny and some recent counter claims not only suggest that it has lost this title, but is now one of the most polluted cities.
Not being an expert, I won’t comment on that, but the statistics seem to be quite stark: In the days of the Soviet Union, it was estimated that there were about 100 square meters of greenery for every citizen living in the city, compared to a recommended figure of just 24 square meters. The equivalent figure today is said to be just 6.4 square meters.
Now, this is partly a mathematical quirk arising out of “urban drift” and the rapid growth of the city’s population; as the population has grown, the denominator in the ratio is larger, thus making the overall result smaller. However, the city has also lost a lot of trees and parkland as a result of the extensive building work that has taken place. Whereas a “Green Zone” used to circle the city in Soviet times, much of it has now replaced by new settlements that have risen up around the suburbs. “There used to be 200 hectares of trees,” according to the head of Bishkek Zelenostroi, (the municipal authority responsible for maintaining the city’s parks and reserves), but a third of it had now been lost.
In an attempt to address this issue, the Kyrgyz Investment Credit Bank, together with the Aga Khan Foundation, the Public Broadcasting Corporation of the Kyrgyz Republic (and with the support of Bishkek Municipal Authority), have launched the “Green Foundation“; a non-profit organization established to help make Kyrgyzstan greener and more ecological.
Formally, The Green Foundation has three proclaimed objectives – to:
- plant trees;
- develop research on environmental protection;
- raise awareness about environmental protection.
It is hoped that the work of the foundation will help preserve and revitalize the parks and gardens of Kyrgyzstan – and thus help to revive the spirit of Bishkek as the “greenest city on earth”, and encouraging ecologically responsible growth.
Although I have problems with the way statistics are often quoted and used, amongst the facts that they cite in support of the Fund were:
- of all living things, trees live the longest and grow to the greatest heights;
- urban trees provide a lasting and soothing sense of calm and harmony in a high-speed, high intensity world;
- one mature tree provides four individuals with their daily ration of oxygen;
- one average sized tree absorbs some 2.5kg of carbon a year;
- one mature tree can draw over 450 litres of water from the soil which is then released into the atmosphere in the form of water vapour;
- the presence of 2 single trees in close proximity to a house or building can reduce air conditioning demand by up to 30%;
- trees, when located in residential areas can increase property values by over 18%.
At the beginning of April, the foundation held an function in which a hundred trees were planted on Tynalieva Street, (between Ahunbaeva and Suhoimlinova streets). This is only a start – they hope to plant between 1000 and 1500 saplings. It is not just a question of quantity, however, and they aim to chose the “right” trees to plant in different places, and thereby they hope to enhance the diversity of trees.
What is more, they recognize that planting is not, (or, at least, should not be), the end of the story. The saplings will need care and maintenance, irrigation and monitoring with programmes of follow-up care and attention.
They also plan to create special media and educational programmes which will be aimed at highlighting tree planting actions, but also drawing attention to the importance of ecological issues, hoping to encourage young people to participate in such activities. Children from the “Hallelujah” Charity fund, for example, participated in the tree planting in April.
Bishkek