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On 18 February 2014, the University of Central Asia’s Mountain Societies Research Institute (UCA-MSRI) hosted a seminar on Research for Sustainable Land Management: Status, Challenges and Pathways for Improvement. The seminar launched MSRI’s second Background Paper Sustainable Land Management in Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan: A Research Review by Candidate of biological science Jyldyz Shigaeva, Dr Bettina Wolfgramm and Dr Chad Dear.

 

“One of the influences behind MSRI’s Background Paper Series is Isaac Newton’s famous quote: ‘If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants’,” said Dr Chad Dear in his remarks, “Science advances by building on or contesting existing knowledge. We knew we needed a thorough understanding of existing research to move forward.”

 

Dr Chad Dear, describes the importance of building on and contesting existing knowledge, a key rationale behind MSRI’s background papers.

 

Dr Dear also described how the infusion of international organisations in the post-Soviet Central Asian context has resulted in parallel – and different - research conducted in English and Russian. The two research tracks differ not only in language, but in analytic approaches, with Russian-language research on sustainable land management relying on Soviet-era conceptual frameworks.

Lead author Jyldyz Shigaeva shared challenges faced when generating research on sustainable land management to effectively shape decision-making. These include a weak interface between research and action; limited understanding of complex social-ecological systems and how these impact land-use decisions; and insufficient collaboration between local and international researchers.

“We want research to be useful to all stakeholders, whether they are small-scale farmers, government officials developing land-use policy or researchers seeking to build further knowledge on sustainability,” explained Shigaeva, “For this to occur, the review found that research frameworks and processes require change.”

She also provided recommendations to use participatory research methods to engage stakeholders; employ a systems approach to address complex factors that influence decision-making; and increase opportunities for local and international researchers to exchange information.

 

Lead author, Jyldyz Shigaeva, recommends participatory research approaches to strengthen research on sustainable land management.

 

Discussants Malcolm Childress of the World Bank and Almazbek Orozumbekov of the Centre for Cooperation of the Universities of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation under the Kyrgyz National Agrarian University provided feedback on the paper.

The seminar was attended by over 40 guests, including researchers and representatives of government agencies, non-governmental organisations, research institutes of the National Academy of Sciences of the Kyrgyz Republic and the World Bank.

MSRI’s Background Paper Series provides comprehensive reviews of research in key topics, identifying both existing knowledge and gaps in information. Other papers in the series focus on pastoralism and farming in Central Asian mountains and mountain tourism in Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.

The University of Central Asia’s Mountain Societies Research Institute (MSRI) is a university-wide, interdisciplinary research institute dedicated to addressing the challenges and opportunities within Central Asian mountain communities and environments. MSRI's goal is to support and enhance the resilience and quality of life of mountain societies through the generation and application of sound research. MSRI, together with its partners, actively works to transfer knowledge to policy and practice aimed at improving the quality of life for people of the mountain areas in Central Asia.

MSRI’s Background Paper Series strategically identifies research priorities and pathways to application for each MSRI priority area, such as pastoralism and farming, sustainable land management and mountain tourism. MSRI Background Papers are available in various formats and languages. Other MSRI resources include an online interactive Knowledge Hub and the Central Asia and Afghanistan Research Fund. For more information about MSRI, please visit: http://msri.ucentralasia.org