State Land Tenure Committee of the Republic of Tajikistan
is the state agency responsible for development, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of state policies on land tenure and land management, including the on-going land reform in the country. Its activities are guided by the statue of the committee, by the State Constitution and the Land Code of the Republic Tajikistan, by relevant decisions of President and the Government of the Republic, as well as by related international legal agreements. The Chairman of the State Land Tenure Committee is the Focal Point for implementation of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD). In this regard, land degradation and soil erosion control are among its core responsibilities. The committee cooperates with other agencies, ministries and departments at the international, national as well as the local level of administration in carrying out its responsibilities.
Research Institute of Soil Sciences in
falls under the umbrella of the Tajik Agricultural Academy at the Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Tajikistan. The Institute conducts horticultural research and documents existing knowledge and indigenous land management best practices in the country. It has maintains 15 experimental demo sites in Tajikistan located in central and southern Tajikistan where rehabilitation of sandy and saline soils is being explored and conducted. The institute is currently expanding its work to the Pamir area, where it has established a small research unit of the Agricultural Academy in cooperation with the Pamir Biological Institute. Based on the soil classification of the Pamirs that the institute has conducted, it considers undertaking research on diversification of cropping systems, and on the applicability of gravity technology for irrigation, terracing, mulching, and tree planting for improved land management in the region.
Pamir Biological Institute
is one of the five institutes of the Biological and Medical Sciences Branch of the Tajik Academy of Sciences. It is located in Khorog, the administrative center of the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Oblast, which encompasses the major part of the Tajik Pamirs. The research carried out at the institute focuses on the exploration of different aspects of the flora and fauna of the high mountainous region.
National Center for Mountain Regions Development
(NCMRD) is the arm of the Ministry of Environment Protection of the Republic
of Kyrgyzstan in charge of the execution of the Pamir-Alai Sustainable Land Management
Initiative in the country. NCMRD's work aims at mainstreaming rational use of
natural resources and integrated development of mountain regions in Kyrgyzstan.
Its activities include coordination of research on the obstacles to and possibilities
for sustainable mountain development and information dissemination; development
and implementation of national and international collaborative projects related
to sustainable mountain development; establishment of mountain village development
models; development and submission to the government of proposals for projects,
policies and legal measures for sustainable mountain development in the country.
State Land Register Agency
is the state body responsible for land tenure policy development and implementation. It carries out analytical work in the area of land tenure and land management, registration, monitoring and evaluation of land resources, and develops proposals for the rational use of common lands, including for control of land degradation and soil erosion on such areas.
Ministry of Water, Agriculture and Processing Industry
carries out activities aimed at the development and implementation of the state policy on land reform, water use, agricultural development and processing. Its main directions of work include improvement of crop and pasture land productivity through introduction of effective land management systems, technologies, measures; research and forecasting of the danger and spread of pests, diseases, weeds, pollution of lands by harmful chemical substances; reform of agricultural enterprises and support of cooperation, production, processing and marketing of agricultural products. The Kyrgyz Irrigation Research Institute under the umbrella of the Ministry is the National Focal Point for implementation of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD).
Osh State University
, established in 1992, has nine faculties in the areas of natural sciences, medicine, physics and mathematics, pedagogy, history and law, art, theology, as well as Asian and Western philological studies. The faculty of the natural sciences, which includes the departments of geography, biology, chemistry and agriculture, conducts applied research in the Pamir-Alai mountain areas in close collaboration with local NGOs.
Global Environment Facility, established in 1991, is an independent financial organization that helps developing countries fund projects and programs that protect the global environment and promote sustainable livelihoods in local communities. GEF grants support to projects related to biodiversity, climate change, international waters, land degradation, the ozone layer, and persistent organic pollutants. Since 1991, the GEF has provided $4.5 billion in grants and generated $14.5 billion in co-financing from other partners for projects in developing countries and countries with economies in transition. GEF funds are contributed by donor countries. In 2002, 32 donor countries pledged $3 billion to fund operations between 2002 and 2006. GEF projects are managed by three Implementing Agencies, namely the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and the World Bank (WB). Other International Organizations contribute to the management and execution of GEF projects as GEF Executing Agencies.
United Nations Environment Programme
was established by the UN General Assembly in 1972 with the goal to provide leadership and encourage partnership in caring for the environment by inspiring, informing, and enabling nations and peoples to improve their quality of life without compromising that of future generations. UNEP's work is targeted at addressing problematic issues in 16 thematic areas including Environmental Assessment, Biodiversity, Chemicals, Freshwater, Marine and Coastal Areas, Asian Tsunami Disaster, Land, Ozone, Climate Change, Energy, Urban Issues, Sports and Environment, Business and Industry, Environmental Law, Sustainable Consumption, Poverty and Environment. It operates through eight functional programmes focusing on Environmental Policy Development and Law, Early Warning and Assessment, Environmental Policy Implementation, Technology, Industry and Economics, Regional Cooperation, Environmental Conventions, Global Environment Facility Coordination, Communications and Public Information.
United Nations University
, established by the United Nations General Assembly on 6 December 1973, constitutes a think-tank of the United Nations System engaged in research, post-graduate training and dissemination of knowledge in furtherance of the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations. UNU functions through a central programming and co-ordinating body based in Tokyo, Japan and a network of 13 research and post-graduate training centres and programmes located in the developed and developing countries. It serves as a bridge between the United Nations and the international academic community, and a builder of capacities, particularly in developing countries.
Centre for Development and Environment
, a research center of the institute of Bern, Switzerland, aims to contribute to sustainable development in countries of the North, South, and East, through research partnerships, education and training, development of concepts and tools, raising awareness, and policy advice. CDE focuses on management of natural resources, integrated regional development, and interventions that mitigate syndromes of global change. It places special emphasis on highland-lowland interactions, and on high-potential - low-potential and centre - periphery relationships. CDE employs disciplinary and transdisciplinary approaches, linkinging analysis and synthesis, and combining high-end and low-end methods, such as GIS-based earth observation and participatory field-based approaches.
International Center for Agricultural Research in Dryland Areas
, established in 1977, is one of the 15 centres supported by the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), and located strategically in different parts of the world. With its main research station and offices based in Aleppo, Syria, ICARDA works through a network of partnerships with national, regional and international institutions, universities, non-governmental organizations and ministries in the developing world; and with advanced research institutes in industrialized countries. ICARDA's mission is to improve the welfare of poor people and alleviate poverty through research and training in dry areas of the developing world, by increasing the production, productivity and nutritional quality of food, while preserving and enhancing the natural resource base.
