Defenders of Balykchy. Public Foundation \"Danko\".

Balykchy is a small town located on the northwest coast of Lake Issyk-Kul. This territory has a mixed profile, in the form of beach holidays and ecotourism. Many people come here on vacation just to see beautiful natural places or go fishing. Balykchy is a good holiday destination for fishermen; even the name of the resort can be translated from the Kyrgyz language as “Fisherman”. Fish has always been found here, of all kinds and in large quantities. Now in Balykchy they catch carp, bream, tench, marinka, peled, carp and several varieties of trout.




Balykchy has preserved many historical monuments belonging to different eras. Archaeological excavations carried out here indicate that settlements in this area existed more than a thousand ago. The modern town was founded as a fishing village in the 19th century. It was built on the site of a post on the coast. You can go and look at the remains of the Toruaygyr settlement. There was a large trading city here, to which merchants came from even Armenia and Palestine. In the nearby gorge, rock paintings are preserved, the age of which is approximately 5000-6000 thousand years.




Many people come here to improve their health. On the territory of the city there is a small sanatorium that treats vacationers. Mountaineering, diving, hiking and eco-tourism have received great development in the area of the city of Balykchy. Every year the city is visited by thousands of tourists from different countries.




As ecologist and lawyer, Director of the Danko Public Fund Alexander Sadykov notes: “The human impact on ecosystems is constantly growing, leading them to gradual degradation. Committed to the conservation of wetlands, the Kyrgyz Republic acceded in 2002 to the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance, primarily as waterfowl habitat. Currently, 3 sites are included in the List of Wetlands of International Importance: Chatyr-Kul (since 2005) and Son-Kul (since 2011) and Lake Issyk-Kul (since 1976).




The bay of the city of Balykchy is one of the Ramsar sites. Many species of birds live here, spend the winter and nest here. Our public foundation for supporting women and youth “Danko” is also trying to contribute to their protection. Since 2012, we have been carrying out campaigns to clean up small rivers flowing into Issyk-Kul in the Balykchy region, fighting for the cleanliness of the coast, trying to create conditions for the development of ecotourism and bed-watching in the city of Balykchy.”
The ecologist sadly adds: “It is generally accepted that the Issyk-Kul region is an ecologically clean region, but there are plenty of problems that require immediate solutions.




For example, the threat of oil pollution of the lake, pesticides used uncontrollably in agriculture without observing safety precautions by farmers. During a national inventory of Soviet-era pesticide storage sites, a large number of destroyed storage facilities were discovered, the contents of which had leaked into the soil and groundwater. One of these warehouses is located in the city of Balykchy, three hundred meters from the lake.




A huge problem for the environment of Issyk-Kul and its waters are hundreds of tons of household waste, which threatens to pollute both the lake itself and the soil. The situation will probably change for the better when a waste recycling plant starts operating in Karakol.
In the meantime, we must do everything to curb the rate of destruction of nature and preserve the unique biodiversity of Issyk-Kul.”