The break up of the Soviet Union has had dramatic effects on Central Asia. Few parts of the world have experienced more rapid and diverse economic political and social changes in the last decade. This new order is having huge impacts on the livelihoods of rural people, on the use of natural resources and on the institutions that have an impact on peoples' lives.

KEY ISSUES

• Land tenure reform and its impact on rural livelihoods and natural resource management
• Rural poverty alleviation through improved access to international agricultural commodity markets
• Development of policies which allow producers to participate in new market economies
• Resource degradation, particularly of rangelands and water quality
• Enhancement of regional capacity to undertake policy-oriented, interdisciplinary research that is responsive to producer needs
• Balancing production and biodiversity aims for land management

WE CAN OFFER:

The Macaulay Land Use Research Institute has over thirty year's experience of research and consultancy in marginal areas. By combining its experience as the premier land use institute in Western Europe with its experience in Central Asia it is uniquely placed to offer research and consultancy on the major issues facing rural areas.

In particular we can provide:

• Support for land reform programmes and for efforts to develop community-based organisations for the management of communal property resources such as common grazings and water points
• Interdisciplinary teams with an integrated approach to rangeland and watershed degradation assessment and rehabilitation
• Experience in the extensive, low-cost management of ruminant livestock
• Expertise and laboratory facilities to support the development of specialised, fine-fibre production and marketing
• Assistance in the development of plans for the management of nature reserves and other protected areas
• Appropriate training facilities for visiting scholars, students and resource managers

SOME RECENT PROJECTS

• Desertification and regeneration: Modelling the impact of market reforms on Central Asian Rangelands (European Commission)
• Impacts of privatisation on livestock and rangeland management in Semi-arid Central Asia (DFID)
• Increasing food production from livestock in the Hindu Kush-Karakoram-Himalayan region (European Commission)
• Increasing producers' income from wool, fibre and pelts in Kazakstan and Turkmenistan (CGIAR, International Livestock Research Institute)
• Identifying opportunities to support the livelihoods of livestock producing communities in Kyrgyzstan (DFID)
• Large mammal conservation and sustainable resource use exploitation in Mongolia (Darwin Initiative)
• Nutrition courses in feed management and animal nutrition in Iran, Syria and India (IAEA)