In the International Year of Mountains in 2002, CIPRA initiated collaboration with the "Alliance in the Alps" and the Swiss Agency for Development and Co-operation (SDC) to create a community network in Central Asia. Today the Alliance of Central Asian Mountain Communities has twenty members in Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan.

To promote co-operation between the Alliance of Central Asian Mountain Communities and the "Alliance in the Alps", a foundation was established and sponsorship agreements signed between municipalities in the Alps and mountain communities in Central Asia. Current activities relate primarily to knowledge-sharing and collaboration in the field of energy, e.g. stove construction and housing insulation.

As a forum for the exchange of information, annual international conferences are held in various countries of Central Asia, at which CIPRA contributes its experiences in the Alps. In November 2005 about 150 delegates from six mountain regions – Pamir, Tien Shan, Altai, the Carpathians, the Caucasus and the Alps – met in Bishkek (Kyrgyzstan) to discuss the role of the local authorities in the context of sustainable development. Working groups were organised to identify the keys to success and draw up recommendations for strengthening the local authorities in mountain regions. The results were used to prepare a resolution that was addressed to the governments of all mountainous countries, the United Nations, the contracting parties to the Alpine Convention, and other interested groups.

Impressions from Central Asia

Excursion to --- where???	Old fireplace © CIPRA
New fireplace - © CIPRA	Fuel © CIPRA
Excursion© CIPRA	Photo exhibition on the subject of insulation © CIPRA
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Delegates at the conference in Bishkek/ Kyrgyzstan 2002 © CIPRA	© CIPRA
© CIPRA	© CIPRA
© CIPRA	© CIPRA
© CIPRA	© CIPRA
© CIPRA	© CIPRA