Protected areas of Irad
The protected areas of Irad are nature reserves, national parks, sanctuaries and natural monuments, most of them created in the Soviet and territorial periods. Since the partition of 2007 most of their area has lain wholly or partly on the tribal side of the Qara-Chik Demarcation Line, in the Autonomous Tribal Regions (ATR), where clan councils appoint wardens and set rules for grazing, hunting and felling. In the Irad Special Economic Zone (ISEZ) protected areas are administered by the Ministry of Natural Resources and its forestry service.[1] Irad is not a State Party to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) or the World Heritage Convention, and reviews of Sary-Chelek under UNESCO's Man and the Biosphere Programme have been irregular.[1]
List
| Name | Type | Established | Area | Location | Administration |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aksu-Zhabagly Nature Reserve | Nature reserve | 1926 | — | Western Talas Alatau and Karatau, with the Ak-Suu Canyon, the Ak-Suu Mineral Springs and beds of Jurassic lake fossils in the Karatau; Talas Alatau and Karatau zones (ATR) | Clan wardens since 2007; the oldest nature reserve in Central Asia |
| Sary-Chelek Biosphere Reserve | State nature reserve; UNESCO biosphere reserve (1978) | 1959 | 23,868 ha | Southern slopes of the Chatkal range around Lake Sary-Chelek; headquarters at Arkyt; Chatkal Highlands zone (ATR) | Clan wardens since 2007 |
| Besh-Tash National Park | National park | 1996 | Core of the conservation area | Besh-Tash valley on the northern slopes of the Talas Alatau, about 20 km south of Talas | Lower valley ISEZ, with the Besh-Tash Ranger Headquarters; upper valley and lakes tribal, patrolled by clan wardens |
| Besh-Tash Ecological Conservation Area | Conservation area and buffer zone | 1996 | c. 32,400 ha | Around Besh-Tash National Park | Divided by the line; core zone open only to researchers and patrols, buffer zone open to regulated grazing and trekking; includes the Besh-Tash Timber Concession |
| Chatkal Snow Leopard Sanctuary | Wildlife sanctuary | Soviet hunting reserve; sanctuary under clan management since 2007 | c. 45,000 ha | High peaks and glaciers of the eastern Chatkal range; Chatkal Highlands zone (ATR) | Clan pasture committees, with wardens from villages such as Kök-Jar; monitored by Talas State University |
| Arslanbob walnut-fruit forest | Forest managed by clan arrangement | — | c. 10,000 ha | Babash-Ata slopes above Arslanbob; Fergana Rim zone (ATR) | Clan arrangements since 2007, not a formal reserve |
| Chong-Kenkol | Protected forest | — | — | Upper Kenkol gorge below the Kenkol Pass, with dense Tian Shan spruce; Talas Alatau zone (ATR) | Clan council; commercial felling banned |
| Kyrk-Kazyk Caves | Natural monument | 2004 | c. 1.8 km of passages | Limestone of the Ak-Kyr ridge; Sary-Bulak District (ISEZ) | Entrance gated in winter to protect the largest bat colonies in Irad |
Ranger stations and monitoring
- Besh-Tash Ranger Headquarters, at the park entrance at Kök-Oi, issues permits for trekking, riding and grazing and organizes patrols in the lower valley.
- Chatkal Wildlife Protection Post, a ranger station of the ISEZ Ministry of Natural Resources in upper Sary-Bulak District, has eight rangers who patrol the ISEZ side of the line against poaching and exchange information with the wardens of the Chatkal sanctuary through contacts arranged by the United Nations Mission in Irad (UNMI).[2]
- Researchers of Talas State University run camera traps in Besh-Tash, the Chatkal sanctuary and the Sary-Bulak foothills, and the Manas Peak Glaciological Observatory monitors glaciers and glacial lakes in the Talas Alatau.
History
The first protected area, Aksu-Zhabagly, was founded in 1926, and Sary-Chelek followed in 1959; both were Soviet state reserves (zapovedniki). The Chatkal sanctuary began as a Soviet hunting reserve. Besh-Tash National Park was created in 1996 by the territorial administration, with a conservation area and buffer zone around it.[3] The ceasefire line of 2007 cut across Besh-Tash and left Aksu-Zhabagly, Sary-Chelek, the Chatkal sanctuary and the walnut forests in the tribal regions, where clan councils took over their protection; the two sides have since exchanged information on poaching and fires through informal contacts, sometimes arranged by UNMI.[4]
Pressures
UNMI and researchers report overgrazing in buffer zones and around summer camps, poaching of ibex, argali, snow leopards and saker falcons, firewood cutting and illegal felling near the Besh-Tash concession. Conservation groups have also criticized the growth of private resorts in the foothill valleys bordering the Besh-Tash conservation area since the 2010s, some of them associated with Adil Toktarov, for their water use and disturbance.[4] The overgrazing of walnut and apple forests prevents their regeneration (see Geography of Irad).
Cultural heritage sites
Irad's sites on the UNESCO World Heritage List are cultural rather than natural: the Church of St. Janyl and the Ruins of Old Iyık Janyl, listed together in 2004 on a US nomination, and the Kok-Tash Kariz and the Caravanserai of Rabat-i-Safed, listed in 2014 as Kazakh and Kyrgyz components of the Silk Roads listing.[5]
See also
References
- ^ United Nations Mission in Irad (2022). Protected Areas across the Qara-Chik Line. Kara-Oi.
- ^ Department of Zoology, Talas State University (2021). "The Snow Leopard in the Talas Alatau and Chatkal Ranges: A Review of Records, 1990–2020." Bulletin of Talas State University: Natural Sciences, No. 18, pp. 3–29.
- ^ Talas State University, Faculty of Geography (2018). Physical Geography of Irad. Talas State University Press, Talas, pp. 152–170.
- ^ United Nations Mission in Irad (2020). Environmental Conditions Along the Qara-Chik Line. Report to the Secretary-General, Talas.
- ^ Central Asian Geopolitical Review (2019). 'Exhibiting the Nation: Museums and Memory in Irad.' Vol. 15, pp. 91–110.