Tropentag, September 20 - 22, 2017 in Bonn "Future Agriculture: Social-ecological transitions and bio-cultural shifts"

Regional Pasture Network: Knowledge Management and Experience Sharing in Central Asia, China and Mongolia

¹Regional Pasture Network, Kyrgyzstan
²Imperial College London, United Kingdom

Abstract

Sustainable management of pastures is linked to the ecological and socio-economic stability of Central Asian countries, especially under changing climatic conditions. In the last twenty years, the governance of pasturelands in Central and Inner Asia has transitioned from state-led pasture management to a variety of new tenure systems ranging from private to common property regimes. Although the political context in each country is different, the issues which they face are remarkably similar and include the reconciliation of aims such as wealth creation, provision of access to poorer users, and environmentally sustainable management. Reform processes are constantly evolving - Kyrgyzstan, China, and Tajikistan have implemented various forms of pasture-specific land tenure reform and are still evaluating the results; Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan are in the process of pasture-specific reforms; Uzbekistan and Mongolia have reformed general land codes and pasture-specific reforms are currently under consideration. These developments have resulted in the accumulation of a vast body of experience and knowledge; the potential benefits of experience sharing have never been greater.
The Regional Pasture Network (RPN) is an innovative and integrated approach for knowledge exchange on sustainable pasture management in Central Asia and Inner Asia (https://pasture.klink.asia/dms/projects/pasture-network/en). It was launched in 2016 with the aim to connect policy makers, practitioners and researchers to exchange experiences on pasture management, support the dissemination of these experiences between counties in the region and promote the application of new knowledge in Central Asian states. RPN members benefit from free access to collections of documents on its E-Library, regular updates via mailing list, and thematic discussions on the RPN Facebook Group. Currently, the RPN is supported by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH Regional Programme for Sustainable and Climate Sensitive Land Use for Economic Development in Central Asia. But over the longer term, it will be handed over to a regionally based institution.

Keywords: Central Asia, knowledge management, network, pasture management

Contact Address: Gulbahar Abdurasulova, Regional Pasture Network, 22, Erkindik Blvd., 720040 Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, e-mail: gulbaharposteo.de