Thousands of rural residents in Kyrgyzstan now have access to safe drinking water, thanks to a groundbreaking partnership between Kyrgyzstan and Chinese research institutions.
The initiative, led by Kyrgyz national geographer Salamat Kulombekovich Alamanov, involves collaboration with the Research Center for Ecology and Environment of Central Asia (RCEECA), a joint partnership with China, to introduce water purification systems to Kyrgyzstan.
So far, 11 such purification systems have been installed in seven regions, providing 20,000 people with clean drinking water.
"Based on the results of my many years of research into the quality of water in expeditionary conditions, in Kyrgyzstan we do not have a single body of clean water that is suitable for a drinking water supply," said Alamanov, who has spent his entire professional career working on hydrology.
One of the purification systems is located at the center for the elderly and the disabled in the village of Nijnaya Serafimovka, 35 kilometers southeast of the Kyrgyz capital Bishkek. Villagers there used to collect water from streams and canals stemming from the Naryn river.
The situation has undergone a remarkable transformation, bringing tangible benefits to the local community.
"In cooperation with the institutes of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, specifically with the Chongqing Institute of Green and Intelligent Technology, we installed these systems in different villages in our country. There are eleven such systems installed in seven regions of Kyrgyzstan," said Alamanov.
Apart from water purification projects, China's Luban Workshop, named after the renowned ancient Chinese craftsman and inventor Lu Ban, is also empowering students at Kyrgyz State Technical University by offering training in water resource management to strengthen local capacity.
Kyrgyzstan partners with China to ensure clean water access in rural regions
