The Uzun-Akhmat Grape is listed in the country's Red Book as an endangered flora species. Its uniqueness is that it can be only found in the mountains of the Western Tian Shan and nowhere else in the world. Having this specific endemic status, it was unable to withstand harmful human intervention. Due to the intensive invasion in the territories and predatory harvesting of the fruits accompanied by crushing of shoots, the area under grapes has considerably reduced.

However, thanks to activists of the Aktektir village in the Toktogul district, the Uzun-Akhmat Grape is now experiencing its second birth. According to the Kelechek jamaat leader Akmat Chalov, “In the second half of the 90s many trees were cut down. People had to survive, they had nothing to heat the cooker, and so all the surrounding forests were chopped. However, the demolition of trees did not stop. In order to clear the area for haymaking, people started to burn the remains of trees, and as a result, 99% of the forest was completely burned out.”

Local eco-activists sounded the alarm and to preserve the local flora they united in a jamaat, calling it “Kelechek” (“the Future”). Today, the jamaat has set up a 20,000 sq.m. demonstration plot, where over 500 seedlings of this red-listed grape have already been planted. Moreover, they have grown 150 seedlings of grapes in their nursery garden and are ready to provide them to the aiyl okmotu and local schools, so that they too can organize their plots for cultivation and subsequent reproduction as well as for ecological education of schoolchildren. 

“To create favorable conditions when growing grapes, there is a need for a space to grow, sufficient light, water and, of course, a support structure that the vines can cling to, or a treillage. It is a special construction that prevents the vines from sagging, helps create and ensure natural ventilation for the leaves and berries and helps increase yields. Our jamaat approached UNDP and the project helped us buy materials for the treillage. Without it, as we have seen this year, it would have been extremely difficult to continue growing grapes,” Akmat Chalov says.

The UNDP/GEF project procured materials for making and installing a treillage for the red-listed grape. The eco-activists believe that with this construction, it will be easier for them to cultivate, increase and further spread this species of the endangered grape. In total, Kelechek rents 28 hectares of forest and pasture land for the restoration of endangered forest cultures. Along with selected tree varieties, jamaat also cultivates another endangered species, the Nedzvetsky Apple, which is described in the Red Book as “a very rare, endemic, endangered species, with low numbers and valuable for breeding”. This is how activists in the Toktogul district are fighting to save the biodiversity of the Western Tian Shan.

UNDP is currently implementing the project "Conservation of globally important biodiversity and associated land and forest resources of Western Tian Shan mountain ecosystems to support sustainable livelihoods" to preserve unique natural complexes and biodiversity, to promote the protection of rare and endangered species of fauna and flora. The project is funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and is being implemented in partnership with the State Agency for Environmental Protection and Forestry under the Kyrgyz Republic Government. More about the project here.

About the Western Tian Shan

Western Tian Shan is a mountain system characterized by a high level of endemism and rich flora and fauna. The region is included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. It is one of the 34 Global Biodiversity Hotspots and is included in the World Ecoregion Rating of Global 200, according to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). The territory of the Western Tian Shan is inhabited by 27 species of animals, which are on the verge of extinction, and 54 Red Book species of plants grow here.