Money against
The mayor of Osh proposed removing Mount Sulaiman-Too from the UNESCO World Heritage List.
Money vs.
Osh Mayor Zhanar Akayev has made a bold proposal to change the international legal status of the sacred Sulaiman-Too mountain. According to the head of the city administration, the existing strict UNESCO regulations significantly limit the development of tourism infrastructure around the natural site and hinder the attraction of foreign investment.
As an example, the mayor cited the failed project to build a cable car from a shopping mall to the mountain's summit. However, the official assured that this does not entail chaotic development, the creation of restaurants, or spontaneous trading; rather, the area should simply receive landscaped areas for walking and recreation, which will enhance the area's appeal to visitors.
The mayor's proposal immediately sparked a wave of negative reactions from the public and experts in the field of historical heritage protection. Analysts point out that the international practice of removing sites from UNESCO registers has always led to dire consequences for the environment and unique landscapes. Precedents such as the exclusion of a sanctuary in Oman due to oil production, a highway bridge in the Elbe Valley in Germany, and the reconstruction of a port area in Liverpool, UK, demonstrate that concessions to commercial interests inevitably lead to the irreparable loss of the original historical and cultural appearance of monuments of global significance.