Concepts and Results of Pilot Projects Implemented Within the Regional Project Community
Concepts and Results of Pilot Projects Implemented within the Regional Project “Community Mobilization in Central Asia: Introduction of Sustainable Land Management at the Community Level and Local Capacity Building”
Kazakhstan
No. / Community / Project Title / Project Concept / Project Results t1 / Shiyen / Restoration of Lands around Aul / Nearly 70% of cattle in the settlement are grazed on pasture lands within the radius of 3-5 km of the settlement; this causes the land around the aul to degrade and soil to erode. The primary causes of cattle grazing near the settlement include poor conditions of roads to distant pastures, and there is no favorable conditions at the dzhailau and distant sites (supply of food products is complicated by poor roads, absence of electricity, medical aid, saunas etc..). Such conditions are not attractive for young people, and many elderly and experienced cattle farmers have retired.
The repair of the roads (if tractor will be repaired) will help to increase the number of cattle on distant pastures. The repair of yurts and their allocation to young sheep-men will facilitate the involvement of young people. / Spares to repair tractor DT-75 were procured under the project. A contract was signed with Suyk-Tobe Ltd. for the provision of a tractor to repair roads to distant pastures. Patching repairs were twice performed in 2006 at the roads to distant pastures. Access to distant pastures was improved, which allowed for increasing the number of cattle on such pastures.
Felt was procured to repair yurts. Covers were produced by the villagers for three yurts. The yurts are on the balance of the Akimat and are provided for free to sheep-men who drive the cattle to distant pastures. In 2006, the yurts were provided to three young sheep-men grazing the newly formed flocks.
As compared to the previous years, in 2006 dzhailau were fully utilized from May through to October, almost all aul’s cattle was grazed there, except for milk cows and horses.
The number of cattle grazed at distant pastures increased by 80%.
2 / Ulguli / Preservation of Land Fertility around Lands of Aul Ulguli / The settlement has some 2,000 heads of small cattle, 700 heads of great cattle, and 20 heads of horses. Due to the lack of pastures the cattle is grazed on pastures of neighbor farms. In autumn time, the cattle is grazed where harvest was collected on ploughed lands. The stripping area is far away (60 km); there are no conditions for regular stripping of cattle there. The zhailau is located 130 km away at the Ushkonyr plateau, and road contitions are unfavorable. The settlement area is used mainly as plough land. The lack of pastures around the settlement has thus caused the lack of fodder for cattle. Therefore, the cultivation of perennial plants and farm animal housing (in winter time) by local community are rather crucial as they will allow to reduce the load on pastures near the aul. It is planned to develop larger area for cultivating Lucerne and its further dislocation, as the lands intended for Lucerne cultivation for over 5 years (that accumulated nitrogen and enhanced their fertility) will be used for other cultures (cereals), and Lucerne will be cultivated on lands used for cereals growing. It is how crops will be rotated. Still, distant cattle pasture seems to be the most perspective solution. / Lucerne and barley seeds as well as some fuel were procured under the project.
An agreement was achieved with Karasai Ltd. for the provision of 30 he for five years to the Initiative Group of villagers to cultivate Lucerne. The Initiative Group provided for sowing Lucerne and barley as well as for irrigation and security.
In 2006, the harvest from 30 he was 50 tons of barley, 900 strawbales and 250 bales of Lucerne. (starting from the second year the Lucerne harvest will be higher, in addition, it can be harvested twice a year).
Ten additional seasonal jobs were created (security, irrigation, tractor operator, etc.).
Maintaining and reinforcement of the results achieved as well as dissemination of the lessons learnt among the villagers will help later on to resolve the problem of winter forage and to stop degradation of pastures surrounding the villages as spring grazing of pastures will be stopped.
` / Aidarly / Rehabilitation of Wells and Expansion of Pastures of Aidarly Settlement / The settlement currently has 11,000 heads of small cattle, 900 heads of great cattle, 150 heads of horses, 45 heads of camels, and 60 heads of donkeys. Only 2,000 heads of small cattle were pastured. The remaining heads are pastured 3-5 km away from the aul thus causing degradation of land around the aul and arid soil erosion. The primary limitation of distant cattle grazing is the lack of water. Summer pastures (20-50 km from the settlement) have 8 operable open wells and 1 pipe well in need of repair. Winter pastures (30-60 km away from the aul) have 20 open wells with 9 operable ones and 7 pipe wells in need of repair. However, the absence of pumps makes water a limitation factor for the grazing of large number of cattle on distant pastures. A single open well can supply water to an average of 1200-1500 heads of small cattle, 30-50 heads of great cattle, and 10 horses subject to past precipitation. Such a well can operate a medium-power generating pump.
If procured, the pumps for wells will help to increase the number of grazed cattle thus reducing the load on aul pastures and improving the material welfare of rural residents, who take the cattle to distant pastures, by enhanced quality and increased capacity of pastured cattle. / Five pumping sets for wells (pump, generator and hoses) were procured under the project to be used at distant pastures. The sets were taken on the balance of local akimat and are now provided for free to the groups of villagers driving their cattle to distant pastures. Five groups were formed, each group has a responsible person. Each group has a herd of 1,000-1,500 heads.
The villagers drive the cattle to distant pastures, move it to summer and winter distant pastures, repair and maintain the machinery.
The cattle driven to distant pastures is 65% (77,200 heads).
Maintaining and reinforcement of the results achieved will help to stop the degradation of pastures surrounding the villages, to improve the welfare of the villagers who take the cattle to distant pastures by enhanced quality and increased capacity of pastured cattle.
4 / Saty / Reduction of Load on Aul Pastures of Saty Settlement / Many cattle breeders graze the cattle in summer time not farther than 10-15 km from the settlement not willing to pay for the paid-for pastures located on the territory of the forest farm. Only a marginal wealthy part of cattle farms can afford to pay for summer pastures. The primary problem lies in the absence of roads and bridges for cattle over-landing and young sheep-men relocation to distant dzhailau. Small cattle farmers regularly graze cattle at the outskirts of the settlement. Some 1,500 heads of small cattle, 400 heads of great cattle, and 200 heads of horses remain in the settlement.
There are 6,000 ha of wintering grounds at the range of Karatau (from Aksholaka to Maibulak) at 100km distance. The majority of settlement lands are unfit for use as their soil is stony.
Autumn and spring pastures of the settlement (nearly 1,000 ha) are located along the Shelek river. Some 250-280 people (66 families) feed on these lands. In spring time cattle is grazed along the rivers of Saty, Kaindy, Kolsai and Kurmety. Seven to eight families graze their cattle at zhailau Dalashik (behind the range of Karatau), some remain there for wintering. The load on autumn and spring pastures has thus grown.
The creation of fodder base for animal breeding by cultivating Lucerne on 40 ha of irrigated lands will produce high-caloric hay for winter, and this will help to reduce cattle grazing around the aul and decrease the load on autumn, winter, and spring pastures. Lucerne cultivation will make cattle owners who graze cattle round-the-year on winter pastures take its cattle farther from Lucerne cultivation sites. It is connected with high forage value of the Lucerne hay, but eating of green Lucerne mass will cause the cattle to perish.
The settlement also has 2 private apiaries. Lucerne cultivation will play a positive role in further development of apiary as an alternative, since Lucerne blossoms twice a year. / Lucerne seeds were procured under the project.
The farms provided for sowing and irrigation. The harvest was not obtained in 2006 due to late bedding and dry weather, however, the seeds established and came up. The harvest was obtained in 2007.
The seeds were sowed not at one site but rather were distributed among the farms which prepared the land for sowing. It is planned to expand Lucerne sowing through gathering and sowing of seeds of future harvests; in the future this will help to reduce cattle grazing around the aul and decrease the load on autumn, winter, and spring pastures.
Kyrgyzstan
No. / Community / Project Title / Project Concept / Project Results1 / Grigoriyevka Settlement / Development of Demo Biogas Installation in Grigoriyevka Settlement / The settlement of Grigoriyevka has 47 peasant farms with a total of 2,126 ha irrigated pastures that employ 635 people. In addition, aiyl okmotu has 8 ha of hayfields, 822 ha pastures near the settlement, and no intensive or distant pastures. The heads of great cattle add up to 1,550, small cattle (sheep and goats) 2,994, horses 505, fowl 9,484, and pigs 401. It shall be emphasized that the settlement of Grigoriyevka following the limitation of pasture resources has a prevalence of farm animal housing (great cattle, pigs, horses etc.). Hence there are farms that maintain up to 60 heads of great cattle at a time. The development of biogas installations will help to resolve several problems:
Dung utilization (parallel greenhouse gas reduction);
Generation of environmentally safe and high-grade effluent for fertilizers that will improve the quality of agricultural lands and pastures;
Biogas generation.
Abovelisted items will help to enhance life support to rural residents that use BGS.
The construction of demo biogas installations involving local employees will not only help to complete the construction but also to train their specialists for further dissemination of such experience. / An expert was contracted to construct biogas installations; in addition to supervising the construction the expert instructed local technicians involved in the process to construct biogas installations independently.
In the future this will allow for expanding the network of biogas installations by local community without the need to contract external specialists.
All required materials and components were procured. Construction and earth works were performed.
Residents of both Grigoriyevka and neighboring settlements demonstrated high interest in expanding the practice of using biogas installations.
A biogas installation can process over a ton of dung (30-40 cows) and other organic waste per day, which is sufficient to service one average household, which in its turn will allow for addressing the issues described in the Project Concept.
2 / Grigoriyevka Settlement / Support to the Resource Center at Grigoriyevka Settlement for Introduction of Best Farm Practices and Community Mobilization / The Issyl-Kul area has some 120 different non-governmental organizations but following their fragmentation and lack of information their participation in the community life is poor. There is not universal resource center where all information from district NGOs will be gathered for exchange.
The establishment of the resource center for uniting the efforts of non-governmental organizations will help local NGOs to fulfill their charter goals such as:
Local community capacity-building for participation in collective designing, implementation, monitoring, evaluation and review of projects at the local level.
Dissemination of information on best sustainable life support practices for the population such as use of alternative energy sources, ecotourism development, and sustainable farming.
Carrying out various trainings and workshops aiming to enhance the capacity of community residents and dissemination of best practices of sustainable life support. / Through establishment of the resource center the residents of Grigoriyevka settlement have now access to cheap computer services. Being a popular place for local residents the resource center appeared to be a convenient site for a local NGO to disseminate information and to fulfil its charter objectives described in the Project Concept. The work of the NGO significantly improved due to the resource center.
3 / Grigoriyevka Settlement / Introduction of Resource Saving and Innovation Technologies (Solar Boilers and Furnaces) / After the breakup of the Soviet Union, living conditions of most rural residents had got worse. For house heating and cooking, many desperate residents having no means to buy coal cut roadside hedgerows for firewood. The leadership of above aiyl okmoty has currently suggested that some part of field windbreaks be restored by attracting donor funds. This will help to protect lands from arid erosion and combat desertification, though it will not provide the poorest groups with energy resources. It is thus proposed to launch a project on introduction of innovation technologies for community energy supply with potential round-the-year operation of solar water heaters with thermostats and solar furnaces.
The introduction of resource-saving technologies will help to reduce the extraction of wood species (for heating) and thus avoid the primary factors that cause the loss of fertile soil layers following landslides and erosion.
Also, experienced demonstration of resource saving and low impact technologies will have a high degree of educational and agitational effect. It will demonstrate that farming methods can be successfully developed along with reducing harmful environmental effect.
It is planned to procure one water heating device and solar furnace per settlement in order to set a precedent of the use of alternative energy sources, particularly, solar energy, as the target settlements has over 280 sunny days a year. / Sets of water heating devices and furnaces were procured.
Physical demonstration of how these devices operate is the best way to demonstrate all advantages of using them. These devices help not only to save money for fuel but being to some extent mobile in summer they can be used at pastures.
Two farmer households directly benefited from the project. Some other households indirectly benefited from the project as their cattle is grazed jointly.
4 / Korumdu Settlement / Activities to Combat Arid Erosion (Planting of Wind Belts) / Since the Korumdu settlement is located in semi-arid steppe belt, the lands are exposed to rather intensive arid erosion, which definitely affects the state of agricultural lands. Wind breaks were widely introduced in Soviet times, but following population poverty and lack of money for coal, after the breakup of Soviet Union many trees were cut for firewood. Today the population has realized the mistake it had cone destroying wind breaks as it increased land degradation from arid erosion; only restoration of windbreaks will help to combat such a phenomena. Also, due to the increased transfer of weed and poisonous plant seeds by wind, the field contamination increased. This adversely affected harvest volume and quality.
The project plans to introduce windbreaks on a square of 10 ha by planting tree transplants to combat arid erosion and greening the territory of Korumdu settlement.
This activity will improve the environment of Korumdu settlement with over 2000 residents and prevent further agricultural land degradation. Project sustainability will be attained through sale of commercial timber on the market with further cultivation of new trees instead of cut-down trees, that is, circular rotation will be introduced with a regeneration cycle of 9-10 years. The cultivation of fast-growing broods (rattler tree, elm) will generate a positive wind shielding effect in 3-4 years. Moreover, regular chopping of branch timber will generate more fuel and new seedlings in the vegetation period for further planting expansion. Also, the activities for introducing windbreak zones involving school children will enhance environmental public awareness and responsibility of the growing generation in terms of efficient and sustainable use of natural resources, combating land degradation and desertification. / Project results are long-term. The project idea is described in the Project Concept, however, it is premature to speak about achievement of targeted results.
4 / Suusamyr Settlement / Establishment of Resource Center at Suusamyr Settlement to Support Association of Zhamaats “Argumak” and Community Mobilization / The Suusamyr valley has 3 public unions, 2-3 cooperatives, and 1 collective farm. However, their fragmentation and lack of information disallow them to fully participation in district community life. There is no universal resource center to accumulate information from the district and the oblast for exchange. The establishment of the resource center for uniting the efforts of NGOs, collective farms and zhaamats to fulfill such activities as:
Local community capacity-building for participation in collective designing, implementation, monitoring, evaluation and review of projects at the local level.
Dissemination of information on best sustainable life support practices for the population such as use of alternative energy sources, ecotourism development, sustainable farming, effective pasture use, and pasture management.
Carrying out various trainings and workshops aiming to enhance the capacity of community residents and dissemination of best practices of sustainable life support.
Development and dissemination of LFD.
Data collection and dissemination.
Dissemination and introduction of traditional knowledge in the agricultural sector.
Assistance in resolving social issues.
Providing jobs to young people and farmers.
Assistance in developing computer skills.
Arrangement of exchange visits among settlements. / Through establishment of the resource center the residents of Suusamyr settlement have now access to cheap computer services. The work of the NGO significantly improved due to the resource center. Now there are opportunities for preparing and disseminating different materials related to NGO’s primary activities. In addition, the resource center is a place for collecting and sharing information.
5 / Suusamyr Settlement / Let it Always Be Sunshine (Installation of Solar Boiling Collector) / Local population in an effort to use distant pastures build seasonal housing and facilities in the mountains. However, the household conditions such as the lack of electricity, fuel for heating and water boiling bring considerable hardships that obstruct regular farming at distant pastures. Alternative energy sources such as solar collector are an effective option for use at distant pastures.
The project for installation of water boiling collector and repair of water supply system of local hospital aims to demonstrate a clear example of an innovative technology to farmers from settlements of Suusamyr, Kozhomkul, Tunuk, 1st of May, Kyzyl-Oi and Kaisar. The total number of population amounts to 6,303 people. All residents of aiyl okmotu seek medial aid in that hospital as it comprises local polyclinic, in-patient treatment facilities and maternity house. The information on capabilities of the innovative technology will thus be disseminated among nearly every resident of Suusamyr valley. This demonstration project will provide the most odious example for the local community of the benefits of using solar energy in everyday life and ensuring household conditions in distant pastures, and facilitate the reduction of cut-down of timber species for heating. / Hot water supply is very important for the hospital. This allowed not only to demonstrate the use of resource saving technologies but to improve significantly the quality of health services as well.
7 / Settlements of the 1st of May, Kozhomkul, Kaisar, Kyzyloi, Syysamyr, Tunuk / Procurement and Installation of Photovoltaic Plant (Solar Batteries) / Harsh climate makes it difficult to graze cattle on dzhailoo. Difficult household conditions and inadequate supply arrangements make distant pastures less attractive for farmers. This, in turn, increases the load on pastures located near the settlement. The absence of energy supply on sites makes farmers use diesel-powered lamps for illumination. Diesel combustion products contain a considerable number of toxicants that affect human health. The absence of electricity also makes it impossible to use communication means and TV for a long period, and this deprives people a full-fledged access to latest updates.
Eddy winds (daily, seasonal) are frequent in Syysamyr valley and reduce the efficiency of wind turbines. At the same time, the number of sunny days is high. The installation of solar batteries thus seems a more appropriate solution to above issues.
It is suggested that one photovoltaic plant be procured and installed in every settlement. Such a plant will directly improve household conditions in a dzhailoo for some 25 farm families. These farmers graze the cattle for 50 families. Therefore, 250 valley residents will indirectly benefit from the plant as it will introduce more effective cattle grazing, and overlanding it to distant pastures not currently used much.
The additional advantage that this project brings is the dissemination of knowledge on innovative environmentally clean technologies. The demo operation of solar batteries will inspire farmers to further disseminate the advanced experience. / The procured plants allowed to improve the living conditions of sheep-men at pastures which enables movements for long distances, i.e. reducing the load on pastures located near the settlement.
About 50 households benefited from improved cattle grazing.
Tajikistan