The impact on natural territory under the Almaty Mountain Cluster project will be local and will affect only a small portion of the Ile-Alatau State National Nature Park, the Almaty city akimat's press service said, according to infohub.kz.
The Ile-Alatau State National Nature Park covers more than 200,000 hectares. According to the project's developers, the area affected by the Almaty Mountain Cluster will amount to 0.049% of the national park's total area.
This means the impact will be limited to specific sections rather than large-scale development of the national park. The infrastructure design takes into account the area's natural features, existing pressure and the need to minimize environmental impact.
Particular attention is being paid to preserving and restoring green cover. In line with legal requirements, compensatory planting of greenery is planned to replace vegetation affected by the project. Restoration work will be carried out in stages as part of the infrastructure plans.
The mountain cluster, meanwhile, is not just cable cars and ski slopes. It involves building an integrated mountain tourism system that includes safe routes, modern infrastructure, utilities, environmental solutions and conditions for year-round visits to the mountains.
This approach makes it possible to move away from scattered development of individual facilities toward systematic management of the mountain area, in which infrastructure decisions are planned with regard to natural features and the need to preserve the landscape.
Developing the mountains should create new opportunities for people without reducing the mountains' natural value. This is the principle underlying the Almaty Mountain Cluster concept.