Adoption of Sustainable Land Uses in Post-Soviet Central Asia: The Case for Agroforestry

Utkur Djanibekov (), Grace B. Villamor, Klara Dzhakypbekova, James Chamberlain and Jianchu Xu
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Grace B. Villamor: Center for Development Research (ZEF), University of Bonn, Walter-Flex-Str. 3, Bonn 53113, Germany
Klara Dzhakypbekova: Agricultural Sciences and Resource Management in Tropics and Subtropics, University of Bonn, Nussallee 1, Bonn 53115, Germany
James Chamberlain: Research Forest Products Technologist, Forest Service, Southern Research Station, FIA, 1710 Research Center Drive, Blacksburg, VA 24060, USA
Jianchu Xu: World Agroforestry Centre—East and Central Asia, c/o: Kunming Institute of Botany, Kunming 650201, China

Sustainability, 2016, vol. 8, issue 10, 1-16

Abstract: We examine constraints and opportunities to enhance adoption of agroforestry for ecosystem and livelihood improvement in post-Soviet economies, using Central Asian countries as examples. Using a coevolutionary socio-ecological systems framework, we describe how development efforts, especially agricultural policies, under centrally planned regimes and under transition to market economies have changed environmental conditions, and how they affect peoples’ welfare. We then discuss agroforestry as a sustainable land use practice to address these issues. We present regional-specific and -suitable agroforestry practices, and discuss their potential. We found that legacies from the previous period of central planning shape current land uses, institutions, infrastructure and decisions of farmers, and constrain development of agroforestry. By identifying opportunities and constraints of agroforestry, we provide recommendations for enhancing the use of agroforestry in Central Asia.

Keywords: agroforestry; coevolution; sustainable land use; socio-ecological systems; transition countries (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2016
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (7)

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