Second environmental camp for AUCA students in the Chychkan Gorge

July 6, 2023

From June 25th to 29th, 2023, the Tian-Shan Policy Center organized a summer environmental camp for students "Sustainable Natural Resource Management and GIS in Chychkan." The objectives of the event were to raise students' awareness about the importance of preserving the Chychkan Gorge ecosystem and conducting research on the use of natural resources in this unique complex.

The camp was organized by the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund (CEPF) project in Kyrgyzstan, which focuses on sustainable rangeland management in Chychkan and Suusamyr. The CEPF project is implemented by the American University of Central Asia and aims to support and conserve biodiversity in the Suusamyr Valley and address threats associated with unsustainable livestock grazing.

The camp brought together experts, professors, and AUCA students from various fields, including Anthropology, Technology and International Development, Environmental Sustainability and Climatology, Applied Geology, and Liberal Arts and Sciences. Experienced trainers conducted a series of interesting lectures and presentations on topics such as the prospects of using various GIS platforms in Kyrgyzstan, the forests of Kyrgyzstan and their ecological role, sustainable management of mountain pastures, water resources, and the plant life of the Suusamyr Valley.

All the lectures were accompanied by practical experiments and fieldwork. Over the course of 5 days, the participants of the environmental camp conducted significant work, including studying grazing thresholds, learning to collect water samples and perform preliminary water composition analysis, working with GPS devices, herbarium collection, and labelling of various plant species. The knowledge and information gained by the camp participants will be further processed and analyzed, forming the basis for their term papers and theses. At the conclusion of the event, each student received a certificate of completion for the 5-day training.

This is already the second summer camp organized by TSPC, with the first one taking place last year. The environmental camp has become a nature conservation initiative for students, allowing young ecologists to apply their knowledge in practice and explore the latest methods of nature conservation under the guidance of professors and experts.

Within the CEPF project, all the necessary data will be collected to promote improved rangeland management plans and enhance public awareness through outreach activities with the local population. Enhanced rangeland management will contribute to improving the quality of life and conserving biodiversity.

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