Abstract
Protected areas have been an integral part of contemporary nature
protection for about a century and a half. One of the most interesting
protected area networks was designed in the Union of Soviet Socialist
Republics (USSR). Here, we present a case study of the history of a
particular state nature reserve (or zapovednik) in Kyrgyzstan,
using key informant interviews and reviews of current and historical
documents. We examine the management of this area from the time of its
creation under Soviet rule, through the collapse of the USSR, to the
present day. We also make policy recommendations for the future, given the
profound changes in the post-Soviet economy and political structure. We
conclude that the collapse of the USSR has inflicted numerous changes on
the environmental protection sector in Kyrgyzstan, but that the Issyk-Kul
Nature Reserve continues to be run according to the Soviet paradigm, with
a few minor adjustments. Funding structures and mechanisms for the support
of conservation and other environmental issues are of paramount importance
in the changing economic climate and democratization throughout the former
USSR. Our work can be used as a template for studying protected areas in
the region and lays the groundwork for more comparative research that
could be carried out in and around Kyrgyzstan's other protected areas
and those in other republics of the former USSR.
