http://www.cacilm.org/en/articles/detail/618%22
Land degradation in Central Asian countries is a serious threat, particularly considering the sizeable share of agriculture in these countries’ GDP. Causes of land degradation are not only in irrational use of water resources, but also in the legacy of the pre-independence (pre-1991) system of land management when maintenance of soil health was considered least. Among different types of degradation soil salinization, erosion, and desertification are prevalent in Central Asia from such causes as high water losses from irrigation networks and overgrazing.
In its effort to consolidate existing (indigenous) knowledge and practices on sustainable land management (SLM) used by local agricultural producers, as well as promote their outscaling, Knowledge Management in CACILM II project has gathered and systematized more than 90 practices. Most of these practices, applicable to four main agro-ecosystems of the region: rainfed, irrigated, mountains and rangelands, have been tested at demonstration sites in each of the five countries: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.
