Based on the rapid assessment of the villages, which helped to identify the main problems and needs of local communities, two exchange visits with representatives of five local authorities, ayil okmotu, under the project, “Mutual exchange of experience of local self-government bodies for conflict resolution in the Kyrgyz Republic “, funded by the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), USA, took place. During the exchange visits, the representatives had opportunities to discuss and share with each other their pressing problems, the vast majority of which is caused by unresolved conflicts and disputes on the natural resources, such as water, pastures and roads in the area.
These visits included not only discussion sections, but also practical demonstration parts in which participants travelled to the sites of conflicts, for example a drainage canal, and examined the problem to suggest resolution ideas. This sharing experience presented a good opportunity for representatives of the local authorities to acquire new knowledge and information in order to strive forward in solving emerging conflicts.
We will list some examples of local best practices in the second issue of the project report to summarizes the background of the conflicts and their subsequent resolutions.