The Issyk-Kul Institute of Resort Tourism has completed the first stage of the General Scheme for the district planning of the Issyk-Kul resort-recreational zone by order of the State Construction Agency of the Kyrgyz Republic. As a result of this work, a presentation was held at a meeting of the Government of the Kyrgyz Republic, where it was approved and accepted for further development of the second stage. However, all of this can only happen with proper funding, which depends on understanding the depth of the lake's problems and the reasons for their occurrence. There are more than enough issues, including those that are essentially "man-made," which are simply apparent.
It should be noted that the Issyk-Kul basin has all the potential to become one of the main centers for health recreation, tourism, sports, and culture in general for the Central Asian region and a distinctive calling card for Kyrgyzstan in the global community. Overall, for the republic, Lake Issyk-Kul is a powerful urban-forming and, accordingly, urban-creating factor and a renewable source of wealth.
However, despite the existence of a whole series (more than 40) of various state acts regulating the procedure for maintaining and the conditions for urban development and arrangement of the Issyk-Kul basin territory, it is necessary to note the prevailing nature of its self-sustaining (spontaneous) development of the coastal area of the lake, which has been formed in recent years mainly on the principles of the local community's business environment. The dubious transformation of arable land, the disregard for ecological requirements, and norms of urban planning discipline essentially lead to the devaluation of state laws and general plans for urban development of the territory. Today, there is practically no specific and sustainable understanding by the state of the main priorities and strategic role of Issyk-Kul in the system of the international community and the national program for elevating the Issyk-Kul resort-recreational zone to a global level. The Issyk-Kul resort zone is an international biosphere reserve under the auspices of UNESCO. However, this obligates little, as is evident from the report of the Government of the Republic in the collection "Business Companion" for 2013, No. 37, from the content of the article "Issyk-Kul Lives Not Only by Resorts," where there is not a single word about the problems of development in the resort-recreational zone and the ecological state of the lake.
These problems essentially lie on the surface in both the literal and figurative sense – this is the so-called "creeping transformation" of land. It is not so obvious to the average person and is even more dangerous, like a ticking time bomb. "Creeping transformation" is a hidden and direct violation of the intended purpose of the land, discrediting urban planning documentation, which ultimately leads to the emergence of surrogate rural settlements (kyshtaks) in the recreation area and, consequently, to social tension among the population, which is misled by the business community, not without the help of local authorities.
However, everything must be in order, as the situation evidently requires clarification. One form of "creeping transformation" of land is as follows. An enterprising investor, taking advantage of his financial position and the lack of understanding by the district administration of the ultimate negative result of his actions, designs and builds a recreation facility (a boarding house) in the form of one-story cottages resembling family homes with a separate fenced area. This approach allows him to sell cottages to clients, thereby accelerating the return on investment. However, the sale of cottages occurs under the guise of residential houses, while the entire territory is designated for the placement of recreation facilities - boarding houses. This is the first violation, which is not obvious to the administration.
The next step for the investor is the sale of the land plots under the cottages, which consequently transforms the cottages into private ownership, ultimately leading to a complete change in the intended purpose of the entire territory of the recreation facility. Over time, in the process of operation and further through buying and selling, there is also a final change of ownership of the cottage-private property. The new owner now views his property as an independent structure that he wishes to adapt to the needs of his family and new demands (expand, start a farm, etc.). Furthermore, with the arrival of children, there arises a need for a kindergarten, a school, etc., for which the territory of the resort-recreational zone is not intended at all, of which the new homeowner has no idea and is thus misled.
Thus, as a result of the cottage development of the territory of the recreation facility through not obvious violations of the intended purpose of the territory and urban planning discipline, it transforms into a surrogate rural settlement (kyshtak) within the resort-recreational zone with all the ensuing negative consequences. As a result, the local government, instead of one taxpayer subject that was the former recreation facility, acquires several taxpayer subjects equal to the number of existing cottage-private properties on its territory and the same headache for its management. Hence arise all possible social tensions among the newly minted homeowners, dissatisfied with the existing situation for which they paid a considerable amount of money. This is the "creeping transformation" of lands in the resort-recreational zone of the lake, which must be stopped.
The second form of "creeping transformation" of lands in the resort-recreational zone is also not so obvious to local authorities because it occurs due to the fault of the landowners themselves. This concerns the lands of the forestry located in the territory of the resort-recreational zone of Lake Issyk-Kul. It should be noted that the intended (functional) purpose of forestry lands is necessarily taken into account when developing urban planning documentation as a natural factor for the formation and improvement of the park-beach zone of the lake. However, what actually happens?
The forestry, apparently with the knowledge of the higher authority (agency), easing its own production activities and economic condition, leases the subordinate territory for 49 years. At the same time, the intended purpose of the territory must be preserved, which is not in doubt, and upon its return after the lease term, the territory must correspond to this quality. However, over 49 years, according to the existing saying "either the king will die, or his donkey," the intended purpose of forestry lands is actually distorted by the construction of dubious lightweight recreation facilities, and this serves as justification for essentially violating land legislation. However, according to the land code, construction on forestry land is only possible for the needs of the forestry (guardhouses, utility buildings). Lightweight structures on the territory leased for 49 years for the needs of the resort-recreational zone as recreation facilities have no relation to the main functions of the forestry, which the higher authorities apparently have.
The third form of "creeping transformation" of lands is also not so obvious, simply because it seems that hardly anyone asks anyone anything here. This concerns the regulated territories (nature reserves, sanctuaries, etc.) along the shores of Lake Issyk-Kul. To this day, the regulated territories of the "Issyk-Kul" biosphere do not have established (marked) physical boundaries, controlled only visually, so to speak, by eye, and violating them does not pose particular difficulties. This cannot help but raise doubts about the proper control over the protection of regulated territories, which are the foundation of the biosphere of Lake Issyk-Kul. Moreover, representatives of the "Issyk-Kul" biosphere are completely excluded from the commission for selecting land plots for the needs of investors. Yet the territory of the Issyk-Kul resort-recreational zone is not an ordinary province within the region but a territory of international significance as a biosphere reserve under the auspices of UNESCO.
It should be noted that excluding the facts of "creeping transformation" of the intended purpose of lands in the resort-recreational zone does not require special financial costs, but merely a state approach and understanding that the condition of the resort-recreational zone of Lake Issyk-Kul depends on the qualified actions of the district and regional administrations. Everything is very simple.
The current situation with the development of the resort-recreational zone of the lake in recent years has led to a decrease in water transparency in the coastal zone from 7 m to 5 m, and the exceedance of the permissible concentration of nitrogen (urea) in the water has reached 4.5 in the area of the city of Cholpon-Ata. In essence, the implementation of Government Resolution No. 455 of October 2, 2007, "On the Approval of the Rules for the Development of the Resort-Recreational Zone of Lake Issyk-Kul," as well as the KR Law No. 115 "On the Sustainable Development of the Ecological and Economic System of Issyk-Kul," has been left to its own devices and is not controlled by anyone.
These and other systemic deficiencies ultimately lead to the exacerbation of the ecological balance of the biosphere of Lake Issyk-Kul, deterioration of its self-restoring ability, and its gradual and irreversible degradation.
Based on the analysis of the current situation and the experience of socio-economic development along the shores of Lake Issyk-Kul, several paths for its development are possible.
1st path – "spontaneous" (as it actually is).
This is the path of spontaneous, unregulated formation of development and arrangement along the shores of Lake Issyk-Kul.
The result of this path of development may be the loss of clientele (tourists, vacationers, etc.) and, in general, the overall attractiveness of the coast, prolonged stagnation of the situation, overall ecological degradation, and a negative reaction from the international community (UNESCO).
2nd path – "preventive" (warning).
This involves the creation by the state of engineering and transport infrastructure (centralized sewage system, water supply, energy supply, trolleybus communication) to ensure the overall viability of the social environment; ensuring effective urban planning and ecological control by the district and regional administrations to mitigate the negative impact of capital construction on the ecology of the lake.
3rd path – "priority" (stable).
This is the path of state-directed and prioritized formation of the resort-tourism complex "Issyk-Kul" based on public-private investments, overall management, and control, aimed at elevating it to an international level. However, the main restraining factor on this path is the prohibition of direct land sales to foreign investors.
And most importantly, it is necessary to conduct scientific research on the comprehensive study of the ecological state of the "Issyk-Kul" biosphere to determine the threshold and standards of socio-economic load on the nature of Lake Issyk-Kul. This will allow regulating pressure on the ecology of the lake and mitigating its degradation based on scientific and practical recommendations.
Overall, it should be noted that the problems of Lake Issyk-Kul are far from being exhausted by addressing the above issues, but attention must be paid to them now and all measures must be taken to implement them by uniting the efforts of the State Construction Agency of the Kyrgyz Republic, the administrations of the districts and regions to prevent the "creeping transformation" of the Issyk-Kul resort-recreational zone.
