The Socio-Economic Causes and Consequences of Desertification in Central Asia (NATO Science for Peace and Security Series C: Environmental Security)

This book contains a selection of papers presented at the Advanced Research Workshop on ‘The Socio-economic causes and consequences of desertification in Central Asia’ held in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, in June 2006. The meeting provided a forum for scientists from Central Asia and NATO countries to discuss the human dimensions of the desertification process. Papers presented to the meeting examined recent scientific evidence on the impact of desertification and contributed to the formulation of coherent national and regional policies for the management of watersheds, rangelands, and irrigated agriculture. These issues were examined from the perspective of environmental policy formulation, with respect to overgrazing by livestock, and in terms of a series of case studies of natural resource degradation and desertification control. This book contains a selection of papers presented at the Advanced Research Workshop on 'The Socio-economic causes and consequences of desertification in Central Asia' held in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, in June 2006. The meeting provided a forum for twenty-six scientists from Central Asia and NATO countries to discuss the human dimensions of the desertifi- tion process. Papers presented to the meeting examined recent scientific evidence on the impact of desertification on livestock production, public health, and biodiversity, and contributed to the formulation of coh- ent national and regional policies for the management of watersheds, rangelands, and irrigated agriculture. The meeting was co-directed by Roy Behnke of the Macaulay Institute, UK, and by Lapas Alibekov of the Samarkand State University, Uzbekistan. Both the workshop and this subsequent publication have been financed by the NATO Scientific Affairs Division and we gratefully acknowledge this support. The Bishkek meeting was ably hosted by the Kyrgyz Sheep Breeders Association under the dir- tion of Akylbek Rakaev who contributed substantially to the successful running of the workshop. Deliberations at the workshop emphasized that policy failures at national level had promoted desertification within the region Cover......Page 1 The Socio-Economic Causes and Consequences of Desertification in Central Asia......Page 2 Preface......Page 6 Contents......Page 13 Contributors......Page 15 1-The Link between Desertification and Security in Central Asia......Page 18 2-From Global Environmental Discourse to Local Adaptations and Responses......Page 27 3-Causes and Socio-Economic Consequences of Desertification in Central Asia......Page 46 4-Forage Distributions......Page 55 5-The Impact of Livestock Grazing on Soils and Vegetation Around Settlements in Southeast Kazakhstan......Page 91 6-Livestock Mobility and Degradation in Kazakhstan’s Semi-Arid Rangelands......Page 123 7-Human and Natural Factors that Influence Livestock Distributions and Rangeland Desertification in Turkmenistan......Page 151 8-Land Reform in Tajikistan......Page 179 9-Israeli Experience in Prevention of Processes of Desertification......Page 212 10-Potential Effects of Global Warming on Atmospheric Lead Contamination in the Mountains......Page 237 11-The Influence of Environmental Factors on Human Health in Uzbekistan......Page 254