In the second of the series following Maria Kolesnikova’s fight against air pollution in Kyrgyzstan, we will first cover the background and severity of air pollution in the country. Next, we will then focus on MoveGreen’s (the NGO Maria Kolesnikova volunteers at) impact in tackling air pollution and what it means for equity. 

Kyrgyzstan as a nation, still remains largely reliant on coal especially in terms of heating (i.e. industrial and household included) as observed from the breakdown of coal usage below, with more than 50% going towards heating and energy generation (Figure 1) (Sabyrbekov & Ukueva, 2019). 

Furthermore, as a large proportion of households continue to use coal, it also signals the severity of household air pollution levels alongside ambient air pollution (Gemert et al., 2019). This is especially so in lower-income and rural households that still rely on coal as solid fuel for heating as they cannot afford to transition to cleaner sources of energy (Sabyrbekov & Ukueva, 2019). Even the wealthier households continue to use coal when using steam boilers for heating purposes (Sabyrbekov & Ukueva, 2019). Figure 2 highlights how the ambient air quality in Bishkek is alarmingly higher than WHO’s recommended PM2.5 levels (Dzushupov et al., 2022). 

Unfortunately, prior to Maria’s efforts in fighting against air pollution in 2016, there was a lack of access and collection to Kyrgyzstan’s air quality levels (United Nations Environment Programme, 2021). This served as a huge obstacle to her raising the issue of the hazardous air quality levels as she could not obtain data to support her case. Considering that the air quality levels in Figure 2 already seemed alarmingly high, these levels of air quality were “improved” levels since Maria’s strategy to tackle air pollution in Bishkek. 

So what did Maria Kolesnikova do to tackle this issue? 

She and her organisation, MoveGreen, decided to collect their own air quality data by installing sensors in school compounds and starting the movement called “School Breathes Easily” (United Nations Environment Programme, 2021). In raising the issue of such dangerous air quality at school compounds, Maria and MoveGreen finally gained the attention of relevant authorities and public visibility (UN Women, 2020). This resulted not only in policy changes but also a start in the transition away from coal usage towards renewables such as hydropower (United Nations Environment Programme, 2021). Furthermore, her efforts in pioneering this movement has also materialised in the form of live updates of Kyrgyzstan’s air quality on the MoveGreen website, to provide the public accessible and accurate data. 

What Maria did was inspiring because of how she needed to fight for her own voice to be heard, but more importantly because of what she did to improve the air quality across the country. While it may seem that making the poor air quality levels near school compounds was a purely strategic move, it also served to signal how she wanted to first help a largely marginalised yet vulnerable group in improving their air quality. In advocating for these school-going children first, it highlighted her efforts to provide aid for these children who were unevenly impacted by poor air quality and who did not have the resources or power to help themselves. While the blog entries the past few weeks mainly focused on how women have been unfairly impacted and seemingly helpless in the face of environmental pollution, I hope that this series on Maria Kolesnikova can provide a motivational perspective in how women can also be the voice in sparking a change. 

References 

Sabyrbekov, R., & Ukueva, N. (2019). Transitions from dirty to clean energy in low-income countries: Insights from Kyrgyzstan. Central Asian Survey, 38(2), 255–274. https://doi.org/10.1080/02634937.2019.1605976 

Gemert, F. van, Jong, C. de, Kirenga, B., Musinguzi, P., Buteme, S., Sooronbaev, T., Tabyshova, A., Emilov, B., Mademilov, M., An, P. L., Quynh, N. N., Dang, T. N., Hong, L. H., Chartier, R., Brakema, E. A., van Boven, J. F., Kocks, J., Nantanda, R., Katagira, W., … de Sousa, J. C. (2019). Effects and acceptability of implementing improved cookstoves and heaters to reduce household air pollution: A fresh air study. Npj Primary Care Respiratory Medicine, 29(1). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41533-019-0144-8 

Dzushupov, K. O., Buban, J. M., Aidaraliev, A. A., Ahmadi, A., Chahal, P., Ibrahim, M., Lin, X., & Kouwenhoven, M. B. (2022). Air pollution in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan: Driving factors and state response. Public Health Challenges, 1(4). https://doi.org/10.1002/puh2.22 

United Nations Environment Programme. (2021). Maria Kolesnikova. Champions of the Earth. Retrieved April 4, 2023, from https://www.unep.org/championsofearth/laureates/2021/maria-kolesnikova 

UN Women. (2020). Maria Kolesnikova: An activist from Kyrgyzstan leading the eco-movement and spreading green values. UN Women – Headquarters. Retrieved April 4, 2023, from https://www.unwomen.org/en/news/stories/2020/4/feature-maria-kolesnikova-an-activist-from-kyrgyzstan-leading-the-eco-movement