Abstract
This article synthesizes findings from a review of the state of research on sustainable land management in Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan and from an analysis of the interface between research and action. Using the Global Land Project (GLP 2005) analytical framework, we analyzed the distribution of 131 selected publications (including a clearly defined set of local and international academic and gray literature) across the framework's components and links in a social–ecological system. There is a strong emphasis in the literature on the impact of changes in land use and management on ecosystems; however, there is little research on the implications for ecosystem services. This finding is opposed to that of a similar analysis of publications at the global scale (Bjornsen Gurung et al 2012). Another major gap was the lack of research on Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan regarding the influence of global factors on social and ecological systems, despite social, economic, and political integration into global structures since the collapse of the Soviet Union and the increasing influence of climate change. Our analysis disaggregated academic literature published in the region and international academic literature, revealing stark differences. These differences are partly attributable to the legacy of the late Soviet era principle of “rational use of land resources,” which fit the planned economy but lacks approaches for decentralized resource governance. Finally, the emphasis of research on systems knowledge, the lack of transdisciplinary research, and the critical feedback of stakeholders at a regional sustainable land management forum suggest that actionable sustainable land management research on Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan is rare. Recommendations are made for targeted, application-focused, multistakeholder research and knowledge sharing, including local and international researchers as well as practitioners, policy-makers, and land users.
Highlights
Mountain societies in Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan have transitioned from a centrally planned, Soviet mode of land use and management to a de jure and de facto, more decentralized, market-oriented system with new drivers of land degradation (Kerven et al 2012) and greater socioeconomic, political, and environmental uncertainties
The state of research on sustainable land management (SLM) in Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan and the interface between research and action were assessed in a thorough review of local and international academic and gray literature (Shigaeva et al 2013)
While the review of literature presented in this paper focuses on SLM, it includes publications more closely aligned with contemporary applications of rational use of land resources (RULR) and, to some degree, analyzes the differences and tensions between these 2 concepts
Summary
Mountain societies in Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan have transitioned from a centrally planned, Soviet mode of land use and management to a de jure and de facto, more decentralized, market-oriented system with new drivers of land degradation (Kerven et al 2012) and greater socioeconomic, political, and environmental uncertainties. The state of research on SLM in Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan and the interface between research and action were assessed in a thorough review of local and international academic and gray literature (in Russian and in English) (Shigaeva et al 2013). The present paper is a synthesis of the state of research assessment and focuses on identified knowledge gaps, comparisons between local and international literature, and an analysis of barriers between research, policy, and implementation. A brief comparison was made with Bjornsen Gurung et al’s (2012) state-of-the-art assessment of research needs for sustainable development in the world’s mountains
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