How got Milieukontakt started in Talas Oblast?
In April 2006 a group of local inhabitants of the Talas District contacted Milieukontakt for support. What was their greatest concern? They were worried about possible negative impacts on their livelihoods when the mining project that is planned would start. The population only heard rumors, which were not based on any official information. They feared that their pasture grounds would be affected and that the company could take away their property. They just wanted to get clarity about the rumors. Furthermore, they were concerned about possible effects to environment of the Gold mining. Kyrgyzstan has a history in Gold mining with the Canadian owned Kumtor Goldmine a the Issyk Kul lake. An accident with cyanide in 1998 had a lot of negative effects on environment and the Kyrgyz learned that gold mining companies do not have environment in their list of priorities. In Andash we provided the community with training on how to exercise their rights on participation. Also we explained the c
