Yesterday, on November 18, a meeting took place involving representatives from the Ministry of Culture, Information and Youth Policy, the Deputy Minister, as well as the leadership of the Osh city administration and specialists from the historical and archaeological museum complex "Sulayman-Too" and city architecture.
The working group inspected the territory around Sulayman-Too and the buffer zone, and then met with Mayor Jenishbek Toktorbaev for further discussion on the matter.
According to local authorities, the mayor, along with the working group, inspected the buffer zone on-site. "Proposals for optimizing the boundaries of the buffer zone of the sacred mountain Sulayman-Too were discussed," the municipality's press release stated.
As explained by the Deputy Minister of Culture, Information and Youth Policy Askaraly Madaminov, resolving this issue requires coordination with UNESCO's central office and cannot be decided solely at the ministry level.
"Neither the mayor's office nor the ministry can solve this issue alone. This is a serious problem that requires significant time. We are actively cooperating with the mayor's office and relevant departments, as well as with the UNESCO office in Kyrgyzstan. New projects are being developed in Osh, and additional land space is needed for their implementation, which is located in the buffer zone of Sulayman-Too," he added.
According to Madaminov, there are proposals to reduce the buffer zone, but the exact dimensions have not yet been determined and will be clarified after the joint project between the ministry and local authorities is agreed upon.
"There are various opinions and proposals, but the area is still unknown. We will only be able to determine it after the boundaries of the new buffer zone of Sulayman-Too are defined," he noted.
Rysbek Tokoev, Deputy Head of the Osh Regional Department of Urban Development and Architecture, reported that initially local authorities proposed to maintain the boundaries of the buffer zone at the level of the mountain's protective zone. However, the specialists from the Ministry of Culture disagreed, emphasizing the need to comply with UNESCO's requirements.
"The area of Sulayman-Too is 79 hectares. The protective zone covers the areas of Kurmanjan Datka Street, Gaparai Aitieva Street, and Alisher Navoi Street. We proposed to keep the buffer zone within the protective zone, but other options were also considered — to exclude a 32-hectare section near the Manas monument and change the boundaries through the Ak-Buura River, Kurmanjan Datka Street, and the northern part of the mountain. We agree to this, as most new projects, such as 'Osh City' and 'Aiti City', are located there. The 32 hectares near the Manas monument are also necessary," he added.
Tokoev also clarified that the current buffer zone of Sulayman-Too is about 5,000 hectares, which creates difficulties for the further expansion of the city.
"The existing buffer zone is too large. Its boundaries cover Rysbai Abdykadyrov Street, the 'Dom Byta' microdistrict, Uzgen Street, then along Isakbek Moniev Street to the banks of the Ak-Buura River and to the 'Dostuk' border checkpoint, passing through the village of Surut-Tash and the border with Uzbekistan, reaching the borders of the city of Osh and the Aravan district, including the Kerme-Too mountain. All promising areas for the city's development fall within the buffer zone," Tokoev stated.
Deputy Minister A. Madaminov emphasized that it is necessary to prepare substantial proposals for UNESCO and create a clear project that meets their requirements.
"A precise and correct project must be prepared for UNESCO. Then it is necessary to preserve visual corridors between the three mountains. Yesterday we discussed this with the mayor's office and the Ministry of Construction. We have just completed a working visit, and we cannot immediately present the project to UNESCO. The process takes time. We have 1-2 months to prepare the final decision, which will be sent to UNESCO," he concluded.
According to Khayrullo Ibaiullayev, Deputy Director for Scientific Work of the Sulayman-Too museum complex, the protective zone of the mountain is 134.7 hectares, while the buffer zone occupies more than 4,800 hectares, although this information may not be entirely accurate.
The issue of the buffer zone is raised with every new mayor. During the tenure of the previous mayor, Talaybek Sarybashov, proposals to reduce it were also considered, but they remained unresolved.
At present, the acting mayor, following the inspection at Sulayman-Too, stated that he proposed to transfer the management of the mountain to the operational subordination of the city municipality, but this is currently not possible.
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