Full Report
In early October, Bellingcat’s Tech team organised its second ever in-person hackathon, this time in Naryn, Kyrgyzstan with the theme “Visualising Nature’s Stories”. This student-only hackathon, in collaboration with the University of Central Asia, saw 30 participants from three international universities in Kyrgyzstan put their heads together to brainstorm ways to communicate one of the […] The post Visualising Tree Cutting, Air Pollution and Mudflows in Kyrgyzstan: Bellingcat’s First Hackathon Where Everyone Was A Winner appeared first on bellingcat.
Analysis Summary
# Main Topic
Bellingcat's student-only hackathon in Naryn, Kyrgyzstan, focused on "Visualising Nature’s Stories," culminating in several projects that used open source intelligence (OSINT) and data visualization techniques to document pressing environmental issues in Central Asia, specifically tree cutting, air pollution (NO2 and PM2.5), and mudflows.
## Key Points
- The event engaged 30 participants from three international universities in Kyrgyzstan.
- A key focus was applying OSINT, verification, geolocation, mapping, and visualization tools (like Google Earth Engine and Datawrapper) to environmental monitoring.
- Projects highlighted severe regional issues, including high vulnerability to climate change impacts and severe winter air pollution in Central Asian cities.
- One project visualizing tree cutting along a Naryn road resulted in a published article by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL)’s Kyrgyz Service.
## Threat Actors
- No malicious threat actors (cybercriminals, state-sponsored groups) were mentioned in the context of this event.
- Associated entities are environmental factors and pollution sources:
- Causes of tree cutting (implied infrastructure projects like road expansion).
- Sources of air pollution (households and power plants burning low-quality coal).
- Natural forces leading to mudflows (heavy rains).
## TTPs
The information pertains to defensive/investigative TTPs used by the participants, not offensive cyber TTPs:
- **Environmental Data Visualization:** Utilizing satellite imagery indices (e.g., Sentinel's Normalized Difference Vegetation Index - NDVI) to track changes invisible to the naked eye or standard satellite view.
- **Geolocation and Multi-Source Corroboration:** Combining satellite images, public CCTV footage, social media photos, and fieldwork to verify and visualize environmental changes (e.g., tree cutting visualization).
- **Climate Data Analysis:** Analyzing historical precipitation rates against historical disaster records (Planet satellite imagery used for mudflow areas).
- **Air Quality Data Analysis:** Utilizing publicly available air quality data (World Air Quality Index Project) and declassified historical data for visualization.
## Affected Systems
The focus is on affected geographical systems and environmental metrics, not IT systems:
- **Geographical Areas:** Naryn (tree cutting), Issyk-Kul region (mudflows), Osh city (mudflows), Bishkek (air pollution), Semipalatinsk Test Site (radiation levels).
- **Environmental Metrics:** Vegetation index (NDVI), NO2 concentrations, PM2.5 particulate matter levels.
- **Infrastructure:** A main road in Naryn affected by tree clearing for expansion.
## Mitigations
Mitigations focus on environmental awareness, policy response, and data-driven advocacy:
- **Increased Awareness:** Utilizing data visualization to clearly communicate the scale of environmental degradation (tree loss, pollution levels) to the public and authorities.
- **Policy Advocacy:** Documenting issues like high NO2 and PM2.5 levels in cities like Bishkek, which face health impacts from burning low-quality coal.
- **Historical Documentation:** Using declassified data to visualize long-term environmental impact, such as radiation legacy from the Semipalatinsk Test Site.
## Conclusion
This event highlights the growing application of OSINT and data science techniques by researchers and students in Central Asia to document and visualize critical, localized environmental threats. While no cyber threats were analyzed, the methodology employed—rigorous data aggregation, verification, and public visualization—serves as a model for non-traditional threat intelligence gathering focused on climate vulnerability and public health risks. Continued tracking of this type of environmental reporting could signal future areas of public concern or political disputes in the region.