Central Asia
Central Asia is a core region of the Asian continent from the Caspian Sea in the west, China in the east, Afghanistan in the south, and Russia in the north and west. The countries occupy a strategic location between Europe and Asia known in history as the 'Silk Road'.
Commonly, Central Asia includes the following core countries: Kazakhstan (pop. 16 mil), Kyrgyzstan (pop. 5.5 mil) Tajikistan (pop. 7.3 mil,) Turkmenistan (pop. 5.1 mil), and Uzbekistan (pop. 27.6 mil).
Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, Central Asia has resumed its strategic importance as the main land link between Asia and Europe and a source of natural resources. The region is rich in oil, gas, minerals, hydropower and livestock and irrigated agriculture. It has an educated workforce from their common recent Soviet past. However the countries vary widely in natural resource endowment and as a result their economies are moving apart.
Each country is facing significant development challenges, particularly in sustainable natural resources management; rangeland, irrigation system, and forests. The people in the region are in the midst of a generational change, from those who grew up and began to work under the command economy to those who have been educated since.
IID’s involvement in Central Asia began in 1995 in Uzbekistan, following its work in Mongolia, which began in 1992 - 2008 and has focussed on natural resource management, agriculture and livestock development. This experience along the 'silk road' extended into Azerbaijan in the Caucasus, in 2002, 2006 and 2010.
The most recent work has been through IID members engaged in the Central Asian Countries Initiative for Land Management (CACILM) both during preparation in 2005 and in evaluation in 2009 and of some individual projects in 2010 and the UNDP Multicountry Capacity Building Project in 2011.
CACILM is a multinational long term $1.5 billion partnership supported by 13 donors and the Global Environment Facility (GEF). The CACILM goal is to restore, maintain, and enhance the productive functions of land in Central Asia, leading to improved economic and social well-being of those who depend on these resources while preserving the ecological functions of the land.
IID's experience in Central Asia resulted in an invitation to IID Director John Leake to write the Concluding Chapter "Conclusions and the Way Forward" to the 2012 Springer Book Rangeland Stewardship: Balancing Improved Livelihoods, Biodiversity Conservation and Land Protection Squires (Ed.)
Commonly, Central Asia includes the following core countries: Kazakhstan (pop. 16 mil), Kyrgyzstan (pop. 5.5 mil) Tajikistan (pop. 7.3 mil,) Turkmenistan (pop. 5.1 mil), and Uzbekistan (pop. 27.6 mil).
Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, Central Asia has resumed its strategic importance as the main land link between Asia and Europe and a source of natural resources. The region is rich in oil, gas, minerals, hydropower and livestock and irrigated agriculture. It has an educated workforce from their common recent Soviet past. However the countries vary widely in natural resource endowment and as a result their economies are moving apart.
Each country is facing significant development challenges, particularly in sustainable natural resources management; rangeland, irrigation system, and forests. The people in the region are in the midst of a generational change, from those who grew up and began to work under the command economy to those who have been educated since.
IID’s involvement in Central Asia began in 1995 in Uzbekistan, following its work in Mongolia, which began in 1992 - 2008 and has focussed on natural resource management, agriculture and livestock development. This experience along the 'silk road' extended into Azerbaijan in the Caucasus, in 2002, 2006 and 2010.
The most recent work has been through IID members engaged in the Central Asian Countries Initiative for Land Management (CACILM) both during preparation in 2005 and in evaluation in 2009 and of some individual projects in 2010 and the UNDP Multicountry Capacity Building Project in 2011.
CACILM is a multinational long term $1.5 billion partnership supported by 13 donors and the Global Environment Facility (GEF). The CACILM goal is to restore, maintain, and enhance the productive functions of land in Central Asia, leading to improved economic and social well-being of those who depend on these resources while preserving the ecological functions of the land.
IID's experience in Central Asia resulted in an invitation to IID Director John Leake to write the Concluding Chapter "Conclusions and the Way Forward" to the 2012 Springer Book Rangeland Stewardship: Balancing Improved Livelihoods, Biodiversity Conservation and Land Protection Squires (Ed.)