Participatory management of desert angelands to improve food security and sustain the natural resource base in Uzbekistan

Abstract

This chapter presents an analysis of contemporary status of rangelands, vegetation, and land use in Uzbekistan. Constraints to development include the climate and other physical conditions, but the socioeconomic and the policy environment are also barriers to adoption of better land management. The large rural population in remote areas is in subsistence mode, and there is little opportunity to improve household income in the face of the lack of access to grazing lands, lack of secure land tenure, and limited rural financial services. Measures to introduce and implement sustainable land management concepts and practices are outlined.