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NATURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT > Secondary Use of Rangeland Resources

Secondary Use of Rangeland Resources

Rangelands in the Kyrgyz Republic constitute 83% of all agricultural lands and are home to such diverse resources as forests, medicinal plants, meadows for honey production, wildlife and minerals. These resources provide important and well-timed sources from which local communities derive their livelihoods. However, inadequate regulatory arrangements that do not take into account the evident disjuncture between formal resource tenure and customary practices give rise to numerous conflicts among different users. The resulting inconsistencies in the tenure regimes of rangeland resources spur multiple users to compete between each other in exploitative extraction of the same rangelands, leading to overexploitation of the available resource stocks. 

Project aims

The objective of the research was to evaluate the formal and customary tenurial regimes for gaining access to and using rangeland resources by different group of users. Specifically, the research aimed at identifying competing and overlapping resource uses and developing recommendations for institutional changes which would best contribute to the sustainable economic growth and reduction of poverty in rural communities.   

Project area

The research was undertaken in three of the following communities:

- Aknazarov ayil okmotu, Bakai-Ata rayon, Talas Province;

- Kashka-Suu ayil okmotu, Chong-Alai rayon, Osh Province;

- Kok-Oirok ayil okmotu, Kemin rayon, Chui Province.

Project approach and methods used

The research approach has centered on the combination of different types of qualitative methods. It notably involved community researchersas a primary instrument to delve into the characteristics and dimensions of the customary resource tenure. This was supplemented with participatory rural appraisal (PRA), extensive group discussions and documentation of case studies.

Main project activities

The research project run from May 20, 2008 to August 1, 2008 and included the following activities:

- Involving of community researchers, and collection of information and data from the community researchers, analysis of their reports, and preparation of an outline for the legal and institutional study.

- Preparation of participatory resource maps with local consultants and community researchers in the three study areas.

- Establishment and facilitation of a Working Group on Community-Based Natural Resources Management (CBNRM)

Project stakeholders involved

The research project involved various stakeholders at different level. It specifically engaged representatives of the State Agency for Environment and Forestry, Department of Pasturelands under the Ministry of Agriculture, Water Resources and Processing Industry, private sector (professional associations, pharmaceutical companies), local municipalities (ayil okmotu), NGOs and local communities.

Rural Development Fund

102-104, Toktogul Street, Office 1

Bishkek, 720040, Kyrgyz Republic 

Phone: +996 (312) 976 100

Fax: +996 (312) 976 103

E-mail: general@rdf.in.kg

© 2008-2011
Rural Development Fund