Kazakhstan wants Alakol lake in UNESCO Biosphere Reserves

Kazakhstan wants to see Alakol lake (a salt lake located in Almaty and Shyghyz oblasts, east central Kazakhstan) included into the UNESCO biosphere reserves list, KazTAG reports referring to Sergey Lazarev, Director of the UNESCO Cluster Office in Almaty. “Kazakhstan’s Man and Biosphere Committee has drafted a good document for including Alakol lake into the UNESCO World Network of Biosphere Reserves. It will be submitted to the organization by the end of September. Then the proposal will be assessed for some time and the decision will be made whether the lake should be included into the network or not. This decision will be made by the next summer,” he said on the sidelines of the 3rd Session of the UNESCO National Commissions and Committees of TURKSOY (an international organization of Turkiс countries, the UNESCO of Turkiс world) that was held on Thursday, September 13. According to Lazarev, Alakol lake deserves to be included into the Network of Biosphere Reserves. Roman Yashenko, UNESCO Man and Biosphere National Committee’s chairman, explained that the biosphere reserve is the entity of three interconnected zones: a conservation zone that is protected by strict regulations, buffer zone that girds the conservation zone and a partnership zone that is used by people. Korgalzhinskiy State Nature Reserve (a reserve area in Akmola oblast of Kazakhstan) was awarded a status of the UNESCO biosphere reserve and a special UNESCO Diploma during the session. This decision was made by the UNESCO Man and Biosphere International Co-ordinating Council on July 11, 2012. Representatives of 14 states and autonomous regions from TURKSOY, officials from Russia and UNESCO regional offices took part in the Meeting. Conservation and inventory procedures to protect the common TURKSOY nations’ cultural, nature and documentary heritage were discussed during the meeting. World Network of Biosphere Reserves (WNBR) was established in the framework of the UNESCO Man and Biosphere program. It joins specially protected natural territories called and ensures development and coordination of a worldwide network of places acting as demonstration areas and learning sites with the aim of maintaining and developing ecological and cultural diversity and a concept of sustainable development. As of 2012 total membership has reached 598 biosphere reserves in 117 countries occurring in all regions of the world.