Project overview:
Watershed areas in Central Asia and the Caucasus are facing severe degradation due to the impacts of unsustainable use of land and natural resources. Local communities are, in turn, adversely affected by the degradation of watershed areas as they are heavily dependent on rivers and streams fed by mountain areas. Inadequate public awareness and institutional capacities, as well as climate change, have all contributed to the degradation of watershed areas in Central Asia and the Caucasus. The project brought together partners to reverse this trend in the subregion.
Turkey’s experience in the field of natural resources rehabilitation in mountain watersheds served as a basis for the preparation of technical guidelines and the development of an integrated participatory rehabilitation plan for the pilot site.
Over 110 participants, including high-level decision-makers, attended regional workshops aimed at raising awareness of different approaches for the planning and implementation of integrated (multidisciplinary) sustainable management of mountain watersheds, as well as the preparation of an integrated participatory watershed rehabilitation plan for the pilot site in Kyrgyzstan. In order to identify problems and possible solutions, numerous Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) meetings were held with the aim of involving targeted villagers, communities and government authorities. This approach was instrumental in the preparation of the management plan for the pilot site in the Cholok Kaiyndy micro-catchment area.
Specialists were able to develop their capacities through regional workshops and training on integrated participatory watershed rehabilitation and management, nursery development, and seed and seedling production, as well as arid and semi-arid afforestation techniques.
The project was jointly financed by the FTPP, the Turkish Ministry of Forestry and Water Affairs, and the Turkish International Cooperation and Coordination Agency, along with many regional partners and agencies in the respective project countries.
Key results of the project:
- Technical guidelines for natural resources rehabilitation in mountain watersheds were prepared.
- An integrated participatory rehabilitation plan was prepared for the pilot site.
- 110 participants including high-level decision-makers attended regional workshops.
