Ecology & Safety ISSN 1314-7234, Volume 11, 2017 Journal of International Scientific Publications www.scientific-publications.net Page 361 DEVELOPING AND SCREENING SUSTAINABLE TOURISM INDICATORS IN THE ILE- ALATAU STATE NATIONAL NATURE PARK Mereke Sakypbek, Aliya Aktymbayeva Al-Farabi Kazakh National University, 71 al-Farabi avenue, Almaty, Kazakhstan Abstract The concept sustainable tourism does not work without monitoring, assessing and implementing indicators for a destination. The idea of sustainability concept, have a well-established connection with the protected areas but has received limited attention. Consequently, the development of sustainable tourism indicators for the national parks have not developed conveniently. Tourism in protected areas produces benefits and costs for the local community, therefore the indicators help to identify both. This paper investigates the question of how to monitor sustainable tourism development in the Ile-Alatau state national park (hereafter the Park) in Kazakhstan. It describes some of the methodological tools used in the development of sustainable tourism development indicators. This paper is part of a PhD thesis and the research is not finished yet. Key words: sustainable tourism, development, indicators, protected areas, Kazakhstan 1. INTRODUCTION According to the Development Strategy of the Republic of Kazakhstan until 2030, the country should become clean and green, with fresh air and clear water. To achieve these goals, Kazakhstan became an active participant in international programs and agreements on the issues of ecology and sustainable development. Since independence, institutional foundations for sustainable development have been formed in Kazakhstan, which include ministries of environmental protection, labor and social protection, health, special bodies for the management and protection of forests, biodiversity, water and land resources. In the early nineties, the state environmental council and the first commission on sustainable development were established. Various interdepartmental commissions and working groups were created and successfully worked: on health, employment, environment, climate change, education and other target structures, and mechanisms. The ratification of global conventions on climate change, biodiversity conservation, combating desertification, as well as regional conventions on transboundary watercourses, public participation (Aarhus Convention) and others promoted the reform of management systems and the achievement of certain results (Yesekin, 2013). In 2007, the Concept of the country's transition to sustainable development until 2024 was adopted, which later became invalid. Despite many achievements and participation in international programs, the problems of the environment have not been resolved, for example, the deterioration of the ecological situation in the Aral Sea, the Caspian Sea and the Balkhash Basin. One of the tools for achieving sustainable development is the creation of a system of specially protected natural areas. According to Woodley (1993), sustainable tourism in parks (and other destinations) should be determined primarily from the point of view of sustainable ecosystems. In Kazakhstan, only 8.5% of the entire territory is allocated for specially protected natural areas and by 2020 it is planned to increase to 10%, which is equated to world standards. Among the specially protected areas, national natural parks have developed in Kazakhstan only in the last 30 years. The first national park was established in 1986. The main idea of creating national parks is to preserve the unique corners of the wild nature while providing people with opportunities to engage in recreational activities, to get knowledge about nature. Natural parks and tourism are interrelated, while there is a need for tourists to travel to ecologically clean areas of the earth. In Kazakhstan, there are 12 national parks, 3 more are planned to open. Ile-Alatau State national nature park (hereafter the Park), one of the 12 national parks of Kazakhstan, was created in 1996 with the 164 450 hectares territory in the southeast part of the country (Decree of the Government of Republic of