Bio-diversity

Talgar district of Almaty area has appeal to tourists. Such nature-protective territories like Almaty State Natural Reserve and Ile-Alatau National Park are located here. The settlements adjacent to the nature-protective territories have population over hundred thousands of people, and over a million and a half live in Almaty. Thus, the negative impact on the environment of the protected areas has increased. Fire numbers increase every year, non-organized tourists stream is becoming more aggressive, and this results with littering and cluttering up, disappearance of wild flora and fauna. Local people gather and sell herbs, mushrooms, berries, spring primroses, and these actions lead to reduction of rare endemic species, such as tulips, irises, peonies, and other species. Due to felling and intensive house-building on the mountain hills, the natural habitat of the Red Data Book apricot tree, the Siverse wild apple, and others has cut down. The environmental culture level of the local community and tourists is very poor. Local communities have no any interest to conserve the wild nature. And in that case, ecotourism development with active participation of local people is one of the method the problems could be solved. Project aim and tasks: - Decreasing of negative tourist impact on the ecosystem through development of nature-protecting program for excursions on the tourist tracks, organization of tourist routs with informational boards, parking places and sight platforms, coastal fortification of the existed eco-tracks in the mostly destructed places, attraction of unorganized tourists to interesting ecological objects; - Raising awareness of the local communities through training and involvement to the environmental tourism activities (training for local people on how to render complex eco-tourism services, rendering financial support to stimulate eco-tourist activities, promotion of the local tour-product); - Propaganda of eco-tourism as a meaning for both nature protection activities and increasing of local community livelihood (through information campaign). Project results: - The program and activity plan will be developed to decrease the negative impact of non-organized tourism on the Natural Reserve environment (the tourists steams will be regulated according to the developed and approved maximum permissible load, felling will be cut down, the tourist routs will be equipped with 15 informational boards, 9 parking places and 12 sight platforms will be set up, coastal fortification of the existed eco-tracks in the mostly destructed places (over 2 km) - Awareness of the local communities will rise (due to lectures, seminars, trainings. On the basis of Almaty State Natural Reserve and Talkhyz EcoClub e special education program will be realized, a constant video lecture hall will be established) - The awareness of the local community about ecotourism as s method to conserve biodiversity will rise

Kazakhstan