Page "Geography of Kyrgyzstan" Paragraph 10

Kyrgyzstan has been spared many of the enormous environmental problems faced by its Central Asian neighbors, primarily because its designated roles in the Soviet system involved neither heavy industry nor large-scale cotton production.

Also, the economic downturn of the early 1990s reduced some of the more serious effects of industrial and agricultural policy.

Nevertheless, Kyrgyzstan has serious problems because of inefficient use and pollution of water resources, land degradation, and improper agricultural practices.