Farmers' Decision-making and Land Use Changes in Kyrgyz Agropastoral Systems

Munavar Zhumanova,Dietrich Darr,Nicole Wrage-Mönnig

doi:10.1659/mrd-journal-d-16-00030.1

Abstract

The 2009 Law On Pastures in Kyrgyzstan led to implementation of a community-based pasture management plan (CBPMP) as of 2010, aimed at strengthening pasture governance through improving current pasture use practices and controlling stocking rates at pastures. In the context of implementing CBPMP tools, this research explored farmers' decision-making on herd sizes and land use. This contributes to addressing the theme “Transformations Towards Sustainability” of the Future Earth Strategic Research Agenda 2014, especially how environmental and socioeconomic changes affect individual and collective attitudes and behaviors. Questionnaire-based interviews were conducted with 127 pasture users who obtained pasture tickets (ie the right to use a certain pasture) from 5 Pasture Committees. We divided pasture users into large-herd owners and herders, based on livestock numbers owned and herding practices. In its first use of this type, we employed the Heckman 2-stage model to examine the likely impact of diverse fa...

Highlights

IntroductionOver the past 15–20 years, empirical evidence has shown that stocking pressure has little permanent impact on the condition of rangeland in most semiarid plain and mountain landscapes, and that many of these dryland grazing systems are well managed by local agropastoral communities (Anderson et al 2010)
Over the past 15–20 years, empirical evidence has shown that stocking pressure has little permanent impact on the condition of rangeland in most semiarid plain and mountain landscapes, and that many of these dryland grazing systems are well managed by local agropastoral communities (Anderson et al 2010). Changes in these systems are induced by factors such as inherently uncertain rainfall patterns that shift forage availability (Behnke and Mortimore 2016) or longer growing seasons brought about by global change creating new land use opportunities (Dong et al 2011; FIC 2013; Gong et al 2015)
Many agropastoral systems worldwide face new challenges, risks, and opportunities—all of which increase uncertainty and the complexity of decisions and render previous management strategies largely inappropriate. Many of these systems are currently undergoing significant transformations with regard to their ecological condition, economic performance, and/or sociocultural importance (Dong et al 2011; Gong et al 2015). This is addressed in one of the 3 themes of the Future Earth Strategic Research Agenda 2014 (Future Earth 2014), in which a focus on trade-offs and conflicts triggered by environmental and socioeconomic changes is suggested among other societal transformations

Summary

Introduction

Over the past 15–20 years, empirical evidence has shown that stocking pressure has little permanent impact on the condition of rangeland in most semiarid plain and mountain landscapes, and that many of these dryland grazing systems are well managed by local agropastoral communities (Anderson et al 2010). Changes in these systems are induced by factors such as inherently uncertain rainfall patterns that shift forage availability (Behnke and Mortimore 2016) or longer growing seasons brought about by global change creating new land use opportunities (Dong et al 2011; FIC 2013; Gong et al 2015) Driven by such factors, many agropastoral systems worldwide face new challenges, risks, and opportunities—all of which increase uncertainty and the complexity of decisions and render previous management strategies largely inappropriate. Many agropastoral systems worldwide face new challenges, risks, and opportunities—all of which increase uncertainty and the complexity of decisions and render previous management strategies largely inappropriate Many of these systems are currently undergoing significant transformations with regard to their ecological condition, economic performance, and/or sociocultural importance (Dong et al 2011; Gong et al 2015).

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