Context
Tajikistan is one of the countries most severely affected by climate change. Official forecasts point to an increasing incidence of natural disasters, such as landslides, floods and drought, and a general decline in the availability and quality of water. This vulnerability to climate change is being exacerbated by deforestation and forest degradation in water catchment areas, and because of overuse of the resources and conflicts over land use. Past conflicts of interest between forestry offices and local population have not yet been overcome.
The involvement of local people in resolving the land use conflicts and managing the forests sustainably in a number of pilot areas has shown that it is possible to reduce or stop the destruction of forests. Comprehensive measures to strengthen the management capacities of the forest agency and the forest users, and to resolve land conflicts have led to the restoration of degraded forest areas, while increasing the availability of fuel wood and improving forest-based incomes.
As yet, actors in many other regions of Tajikistan are still unable to apply participatory management models for the rehabilitation of degraded forests, in order to protect biodiversity and avoid the risks of climate change.
Objective
The forest agency, local forestry offices and forest users are rehabilitating degraded forests in the project areas in coordination with other land users, while taking into consideration climate change and the protection of biodiversity.
Approach
The project builds on successful experiences with collaborative forest management in the Pamir region of Tajikistan. The underlying idea of joint forest management (JFM) involves the long-term lease of degraded forest land to local people. The tenants rehabilitate and use their forest plots according to management plans. The forests are thus restored to their natural composition and the proportion of local, climate-resilient tree species will increase. The project aims to demonstrate the applicability and impact of collaborative forest management in different forest ecosystems in the country. This will pave the way for the wider use of JFM in Tajikistan.
The project is mobilising local people and assisting them with the conclusion of JFM contracts. This also involves arranging community agreements on land use changes, which above all exclude the use of forest land for cattle grazing. The interests and needs of women are given special consideration, and support is provided for the creation of forest user groups that carry out activities in the common interest. Ongoing activities include strengthening the capacities of the Forestry Agency and of the forest enterprises and their staff.
The project supports the development and implementation of vocational training courses for foresters. Best practices for climate change adaptation in land and forest management are being integrated into university curricula, and university graduates are encouraged to work in forest enterprises.
To increase their efficiency, self-reliance and transparency, the project is cooperating with forest enterprises and the forestry authorities to assess their current operating processes. It is also supporting the development and introduction of a monitoring system which will enable local forest enterprises to plan and monitor their forestry activities (including JFM) more effectively. Support is also provided for the establishment of seed management and seedling production systems for climate-resistant tree species and varieties.
Results achieved so far
JFM has been successfully introduced and adapted to the needs of six communities with different forest types. In the first year of the project approximately 60 JFM contracts were signed. The local communities have rated JFM as a helpful approach. In cooperation with, and financial support from KfW development bank some 1,500 JFM contracts are planned by the end of the project in 2018.
Biodiversity is being preserved, thereby contributing to the long-term stability of forests despite the pressures of climate change. The Forestry Agency, local forest enterprises and forest users have gained an extensive understanding of JFM, and are now better placed to share this approach more widely within and beyond the target areas. The development of the local by-laws completes the legal basis for JFM and provides the necessary documentation for its wider application.