Land degradation is a pressing concern that reaches across all republics of Central Asia and is increasingly affecting the economy and quality of life in each. The resulting loss of arable land particularly affects the rural poor, who depend directly on what the land can provide for their very survival and livelihoods. The breakup of the Soviet Union led to mass de-collectivisation of agricultural frameworks across Central Asia, with formerly centralised land management regimes dissolved. The reorganisation of boundaries and priorities quickly led to a conversion of natural landscapes and traditional fallows to agricultural and industrial landscapes dominated by monocrops, water mismanagement, and a net rise in livestock that now graze in the same pastures year-round, rather than traditional nomadic pastoralism on seasonal pastures. Induced by the establishment of land management planning that understandably focused on economic growth but lacked long-term, sustainable strategies, the land is now becoming dangerously impoverished under ever-growing demands.
This regional report, Broadening Land Management Options for Improved Economic Sustainability Across Central Asia, presents the findings of the research reports from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan, following the outline of the ELD approach and provides policy recommendations for sustainable land management for decision-makers on national and regional level.