Common Property Walnuts Forests (6753)

Dörre Pastoralism: Research, Policy and Practice (2015) 5:15
DOI 10.1186/s13570-015-0035-8
RESEARCH ARTICLE Open Access
Promises and realities of community-based

pasture management approaches: Observations
from Kyrgyzstan
Andrei Dörre
Abstract
The development discourse maintains that community-based approaches are generally equitable, sustainable, and
legitimized strategies for the management of natural resources. It remains frequently unnoticed that the policies
and legal frameworks designed to regulate such local governance approaches oftentimes are externally initiated
and top-down in nature, and frequently not adapted to local demands and capacities. Significant differences
between the goals of such interventions and the lived reality and associated unintended effects were often
concealed within the debates. A similar indication can be stated for Kyrgyzstan’s pasture law, which demands that
local communities are fully responsible for the management of pasturelands.
The recent innovation in pasture law has not comprehensively resulted in the desired outcomes on the ground.
Based upon a comparison of Kyrgyzstan’s pasture-related legislation with the impacts of its implementation in the
walnut-fruit forest region located in the south-west of the country, this article points out that community-based
pasture management in local practice appears to have resulted in hybrid institutional arrangements comprising
aspects of the existing formal legislation and local-specific informal regulations. Simultaneously, case-specific
circumstances, particularly the constellation of uneven power holders and interest-driven players and their
interactions, as well as the respective socio-economic conditions, highly influence the resource management
performances on the ground. The actual outcomes do not necessarily correspond to the requirements of the
formal legislation. They can even contradict the requirements of the formal legislation and generate subsequent
problems.
At a first glance, due to the assumed high participation of the immediate users and the belief in their supposedly intrinsic
interest in eco-friendly resource use, community-based natural resource management (CBNRM) approaches seem to have
a great potential for creating economic, social, and ecologically sustainable development at the local level. However, the
risk of failure is high if the whole approach rests on an apolitical understanding of communities as being homogenous
and tensionless groups of social organization and on an idealized image of their ecological awareness. A consistent
development strategy that goes beyond the mere definition of unspecific goals has to take the community-specific
power relations and the respective socio-economic conditions into consideration. It is also necessary to consider the local
needs and costs for CBNRM and the opportunities for its implementation, in order to ensure the adequate representation
and participation of all interested resource users within the management bodies and the decision-making processes. If
requested, appropriate support should also be provided to communities in need, to assist the transition to the envisaged
new regime. Taking these aspects into consideration, Kyrgyzstan’s approach for a community-based pasture management
could become a more successful and broadly accepted instrument to empower the people at the local level and to
enable comprehensively sustainable resource management practices on the ground.
Keywords: Natural resource management; Decentralization; Community-based development; Pastoral production
systems; Post-socialist countries; Central Asia; High mountain regions
Correspondence: [email protected]
Centre for Development Studies, Institute of Geographical Sciences, Freie
Universität Berlin, Malteserstr. 74-100, 12249 Berlin, FR, Germany
© 2015 Dörre. Open Access This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and
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link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made.
Dörre Pastoralism: Research, Policy and Practice (2015) 5:15 Page 2 of 20
Background numerous countries of the Global South in the course

The development discourse maintains that community- of the 1980s - also known as ‘the lost decade of devel-
based approaches are generally equitable and egalitarian, opment’ (Esteva 1992: 12), it has become evident that
efficient and comprehensively sustainable, and conse- the promotion of natural resource-related private-
quently highly legitimized strategies for the management property regimes ‘in a climate of free market mania
of natural resources. It remains not widely recognized that and structural adjustment’ (Li 1996: 505) did not auto-
the policies and legal frameworks designed to regulate matically lead to the desired goals: prosperity for the
such local governance approaches are sometimes exter- entire population, effective management practices, and
nally initiated and top-down in nature and not adapted to sustainable usage of natural resources on the ground.
actual local demands and capacities. Consequently, signifi- Many donors, policy makers, and development agencies
cant differences between the requirements of such inter- following for many years, from a neoliberal perspective, the
ventions and the practical reality and associated largely accepted ‘development narrative[s]’ (Roe 1991) of
unintended effects have often been concealed within the the ‘invisible hand’ (Smith 1776 [2007]), and the ‘tragedy
debate. However, ignoring empirical evidence can lead to of the commons’ (Hardin 1968) started to promote
a repetition of mistakes already made and can hamper community-based property and management approaches
finding solutions to urgent societal challenges. Based on for natural resources (Li 1996: 501-505; Agrawal and
observations of recent developments in Kyrgyzstan, this Gibson 1999: 631; Blaikie 2006: 1943). On the one hand,
article shows that top-down introduced regulations that such a ‘construction of flanking mechanisms in civil
demand local communities be comprehensively respon- society’ (Castree 2008: 142) can be seen as a further,
sible for the management of natural resources have not neoliberal informed withdrawal of the state from societal
necessarily lead to the desired results and practices on the arenas (Castree 2008: 142-143; Wilson 2013: 66). On the
ground. This paper argues that the local implementa- other hand, this measure can be interpreted as a turn away
tion and performance of new management regimes is from ‘market-led environmental governance’ (Castree 2008:
highly influenced by case-specific circumstances, par- 138), which took place against a broadening international
ticularly by the engagement of interest-driven players debate on ‘sustainable development’ (e.g. Agenda 21). This
with different levels of power whose interactions are af- discourse emphasized the crucial role of government
fected by hybrid and frequently conflicting institutional ar- decentralization, the devolution of responsibilities for
rangements, and the respective socio-economic conditions. natural resource management to local communities,
Utilizing examples from Kyrgyzstan’s walnut-fruit forest re- and community participation within governance and
gion, this paper critically addresses some specific observed decision-making processes (Leach et al. 1999: 225;
features of local community-based pasture management Wilson 2013: 67-68, 83-86). In this regard, communi-
performances. The paper cautions against the overriding ties as the pivot point of the paradigm were commonly
narrative that community-based natural resource manage- seen as small, homogeneous, and traditional entities
ment (CBNRM) is intrinsically ‘good’. Rather, it argues that bounded to specific territories (IUCN et al 1991: 57;
CBNRM should be conceptualized not as a normative but Kumar 2005: 277; Cox et al. 2010: 6) that ‘are in har-
rather as an analytical concept for which further dissection mony with the environment and demonstrate long
and differentiated investigations of singular cases are established patterns of sustainable and equitable use of
needed. Power asymmetries between the actors and their resources’ (Li 1996: 503). Initially, the development in-
competing interests are involved in both the negotiation stitutes’ shift towards local governance of natural re-
and implementation processes; the impacts of their actions sources was appreciated within academia and backed
and the effectiveness of the corresponding socio-economic by the evolving development discourse without reser-
and institutional conditions are all important factors to be vation. CBNRM was largely perceived as being a promising
considered. By including these, this research contributes alternative to the neoliberal dogma and a liberating para-
empirically-based insights into the open research question digm with emancipatory potential for comprehensive sus-
of what are ‘the effects of decentralizing the power to allo- tainable development (e.g. Korten 1986; Perry and Dixon
cate and manage pasture resources from national and re- 1986; McKay and Acheson 1987; WCED 1987; Berkes and
gional state authorities to local communities’ (Kerven et al. Farvar 1989; Bromley and Cernia 1989; IUCN et al 1991;
2012: 368). Ghai and Vivian 1992; Kumar 2005: 277). In the course of
this undifferentiated attribution, the term CBNRM be-
Community and CBNRM - persistent narratives, came a shibboleth for ‘good governance’, intrinsically
inconsistent results fulfilling all demands of the relevant societal spheres
In view of the diverse unintended effects stemming ranging from social equity, political legitimacy, em-
from development efforts, such as on-going socio- powerment and participation in decision-making pro-
economic stratification and pauperization processes in cesses, economic efficiency, and self-sufficiency, as well
as ecological sustainability (Fig. 1). Against the back- prevalent orthodoxy that the mere introduction of
ground of such an ideal image, it is not surprising that CBNRM would re-establish the supposedly balanced and
its proponents also saw CBNRM as a strategy that stable natural conditions and pointed out that natural en-
would be highly welcomed by local communities. vironments per se are characterized by disequilibrium and
The question is, however, were these assessments ten- spatiotemporal variability (e.g. Leach et al. 1999: 226, 228).
able or overly optimistic? In other words, were the out- Finally, by presenting local examples from different parts
comes and results of CBNRM just taken for granted and of the world, representatives of the critical academic de-
the ambivalent results on the ground ignored? Against bate showed that the abilities and restrictions of commu-
the background of the idealized image of community nities to conduct natural resource management are in fact
and CBNRM, and ambivalent and even problematic re- highly dependent on the communities’ positionality within
sults, a growing number of social scientists treated the the hierarchical administrative system of the society, and
‘universalist claims’ (Agrawal and Gibson 1999: 630) of the unequal distribution of power and competences within
both concepts as being based on unreliable generaliza- this multi-level network, as well as within the communi-
tions and suggested more political and analytical ap- ties themselves (e.g. Li 1996; Leach et al. 1999; Twyman
proaches (e.g. Jere et al. 2000; Campbell et al. 2001; 2000; Earle 2005; Geißel 2007). Instead of following a
Shackleton and Campbell 2001; Shackleton et al. 2002; simplified understanding of communities as tension-
Arntzen et al. 2003; Blaikie 2006). A central critique was less and homogenous social units, and community-
that such undifferentiated representations did not pay based approaches as a panacea for previous failures in
attention to conflicting interests and relationships within natural resource management, the critics argued for
the communities themselves, as well as between the more differentiated and scrutinized analyses of singular
communities and other social entities and actors. Re- cases under specific consideration of the interactions,
garding the presupposition that local communities are interests, and enforcement opportunities of the actors
more interested in sustainable natural resource usage than involved in the resource-related negotiation processes
the national or private management bodies (Twyman 2000: and activities, as well as the respective corresponding
323) and that they have ‘a greater understanding of, as well socio-historical and institutional contexts (e.g. Blaikie
as a vested interest in, their local environment and are thus et al. 1997; Leach et al. 1999; Agrawal and Gibson
seen as more able to effectively manage natural resources 1999: 629, 630-636, 640; Turner 1999: 164; Twyman
through local or “traditional” practices’ (Twyman 2000: 2000: 323-331; Mosse 2001; Agrawal and Gibson 2001:
324), several scholars noted that a mandatory correlation 1-31; Kumar 2005; Blaikie 2006: 1944-1946, 1952,
between community-based resource management and sus- 1953; Kerven et al. 2012: 375).
tainable resource utilization does not exist (e.g. Uphoff It is striking that against the background of such substan-
1998: 4; Agrawal and Gibson 1999: 635; Kumar 2005). tial discussions and debates, the concepts of community
Other scholars stressed the escapist character of the and CBNRM are still treated differently within the natural
resource management-related interventions of international
development organizations and national agencies and aca-
demic evaluations of these initiatives (Blaikie 2006: 1942,
1943-1944; Shamsiev et al. 2007: 63-65; Jacquesson 2010;
Kerven et al. 2012: 374-375). While the former ‘pervasively
use the halo of “community” with impunity to legitimize’
(Kumar 2005: 277) particular development interventions,
the latter continually point to the shortcomings and nega-
tive effects of oversimplified and ‘romanticized’ (Earle
2005: 248) conceptualizations of local groups of social
organization (e.g. Kerven et al. 2012: 368, 374-375). Blaikie
remarks that CBNRM has become a ‘fashion, in a catwalk
of fashions – community development, micro-credit,
farming systems, livelihood approaches and so on’ (2006:
1952 citing Edwards 1999) in development, which should
have ‘“something in it for everybody”’ (2006: 1954, quota-
tion marks in the source).
After a brief description of the analytical perspectives
and the methods applied in the research, this paper will
focus on how the implementation of a new legislation
Fig. 1 Ideal outcomes of CBNRM. Design: author
does not necessarily lead to the desired efficient and
sustainable practices on the ground. It will point out that The selection was based on the expectation that these orga-
Kyrgyzstan’s pasture law is an example of external inter- nizations were or are directly involved in relevant issues
ventions in local affairs, which often do not tie in with the comprising the conceptualization of the regulations and
respective conditions, and which can generate unintended their implementation or that they could deliver a substan-
effects or even do harm, if they were applied in combin- tial assessment of the pasture management situation in
ation with far-reaching policy recommendations, such as Kyrgyzstan. The selection included national organizations
the creation of new management bodies (Li 1996: 505; like the Pasture Department of the Ministry of Agriculture,
Agrawal and Gibson 1999: 635; Earle 2005: 249, 254, 255; Water Resources and Processing Industry (MAWPRI); the
Blaikie 2006: 1953–1954). State Design Institute for Land Management; the State
Agency for the Registration of Real Property Rights; the
Addressing communities and CBNRM from a State Agency on Environment Protection and Forestry
critical perspective under the Government of the Kyrgyz Republic - shortly
The argumentation in this paper is grounded by crucial State Forestry Agency; the legal project called Legal Advice
assumptions about the characteristics of local communi- to Rural Citizens (LARC); and international organizations
ties and CBNRM. First, communities are seen as generally such as the World Bank. The pasture-related legislation
being made up of multiple actors with often differing inter- was reviewed with critical consideration of its central
ests. Secondly, these players operate as local implementers contents, particularly regulations of management in-
of externally introduced and developed policies and pro- cluding utilization, monitoring, and conservation, as
grams. Finally, these activities are affected by asymmetric well as ownership and allocation of usage rights. Add-
power relations, local-specific socio-economic conditions, itionally, ten conversations and two group interviews
and hybrid institutional arrangements which comprise as- with members of the local and district authorities in the
pects of the formal legislation and informal regulations. study region were conducted. These interviews were es-
pecially important to obtain official opinions about the
Analysing local management practices focusing on actors, implementation of the pasture legislation, resulting
interactions, and institutions problems, and the specifics of the community-based
One focus of the analysis, therefore, rests on the actual pasture management in the research area.
pasture stakeholders and their asymmetrical power rela- The knowledge gained through these interviews
tions. Additionally, the stakeholders’ pasture manage- helped to prepare extended visits to several settlements
ment- and utilization-related interactions are considered. and pastures, where resource management and
A further division of these ‘interfaces’ (Blaikie 2006: utilization practices were systematically explored utiliz-
1954) into the negotiation of rules, their implementa- ing diverse empirical methods. Seventy guided inter-
tion, and the resolution of conflicts arising from the in- views with pasture users and representatives of the
terpretation and application of these arrangements is identified management authorities such as local forestry
necessary to understand the lived local resource man- enterprises and pasture user committees delivered im-
agement in depth (Agrawal and Gibson 1999: 637, 638). portant primary data, as well as contextual background
Attention is also dedicated to the institutional arrange- from diverse perspectives. These key informants were
ments that frame and impact the interactions of the identified directly during excursions to the pastures and
interest-driven actors (Fig. 2). settlements, as well as on the recommendation of previ-
Such a systemized approach can provide deeper and ously interviewed respondents. The interview guidelines
more detailed insights into factual CBNRM perfor- covered topics such as entitlements and their allocation,
mances than studies that are based on an essentialist utilization forms, the negotiation of regulations and their
concept of communities as being small, homogeneously implementation, management responsibilities and practices,
structured, and harmonic units with intrinsically shared and conflict resolution. Observations and mapping of the
norms that enable them to effectively manage resources daily routines and the environs on selected spring-autumn
sustainably. and summer pastures helped to illuminate the social
organization and everyday management of pastoral prac-
Field research tices. The aim of this mixed approach was to gain varie-
The data of this study was collected during several field gated data for the comparison of the CBNRM-related legal
campaigns in southwestern Kyrgyzstan between April 2007 requirements with the reality on the ground.
and April 2014. A combination of different methods was
applied. More than 30 expert interviews with representa- Rehashing well-known paradigms - Kyrgyzstan’s
tives of governmental and non-governmental organizations shifting pasture legislation
delivered diverse assessments of the shifting legislation By reviewing the shifting legislation of pasture management
regulating pasture management, access, and utilization. in post-Soviet Kyrgyzstan, one can get the impression that
Fig. 2 Analytical aspects for the study of community-based pasture management in local practice. Design: author
history repeats itself. In the course of the country’s shock entitlements in the form of leases for up to 10 years:
therapeutic transition from a command economy to via auctions and via provisions to local communities
capitalism, and contrary to the shifted mainstream of for communal purposes and to economically vulner-
the international development discourse in the 1990s, able people for their individual needs (par. 4, 7). Re-
the introduction of land regulations characterized by garding the first procedure, the resolution joined
explicit market mechanisms was demanded by leading seamlessly with the call for ‘building institutions for
international funding agencies such as the World Bank markets’ (IBRD 2002 and legally privileged wealthy ac-
and the International Monetary Fund (IBRD 1993: tors. However, for several reasons, the legislation did
132-133; Bichsel et al. 2010: 257). Kyrgyzstan, as a recipi- not work as expected. First, the division of manage-
ent country that depended structurally on external funding, ment responsibilities according to the pasture’s spatial
subsequently became the first reform state in Central Asia category between the local, the district, and the prov-
in terms of privatization and the commodification of land ince level proved to be impractical mainly due to the
titles, agricultural infrastructure, and services (Delehanty lack of different assets (finances, personnel, technical
and Rasmussen 1995; Dekker 2003). This step corre- equipment, know-how) within the responsible admin-
sponded with the rehashed neoliberal structural adjustment istrations. Second, the auction process designed proved
measures imposed by external donors. In this regard, the to be complicated, cost-intensive, and also impractical
government’s resolution ‘On the procedure of providing as potential pasture users were to perform several suc-
pastures for lease and use’ (ROPLU) introduced in 2002 cessful acquisitions at the same time to obtain usage
based upon the advice of the World Bank can be seen as a rights for all seasonal pastures required for a complete
late but consequential attempt to fill a perceived legal gap. annual grazing loop. Therefore, the formal auctions
This gap arose in the course of the dissolution of collective were the exception rather than the rule. On the other
and state farms and their end as the main agricultural hand, the ambitious mechanism of pasture allocation
players during Soviet times, and the replacement of the pre- to communities and individuals, following the idea of
viously centrally planned utilization regime in the 1990s social responsibility, was also rarely applied. Instead,
with a system of commoditized private pasture lease titles, informal allocation practices in which interpersonal
and hierarchical pasture management structures. Two power relations and informal payments play an import-
formal procedures were designed to allocate pasture ant role became the custom, resulting in the stronger
economic actors gaining better access to more desir- until today valid law ‘On Pastures’ was introduced in
able pastures than the poor. 2009 (PD MAWPRI n.d.g.; Zheenbekov and Maliev
In the end, ecologically harmful usage practices n.d.g.; CDIA, unpublished document; Shamsiev et al.
remained widespread. The lack of assets due to the 2007: 63-65; Bussler 2010; Steimann 2011: 202; PD
economic crisis and the disruption of seasonal migra- MAA, GIZ, CAMP Alatoo, unpublished document).
tion patterns led to an overexploitation of easily, and Generally speaking, the new legislation banned auc-
oftentimes even openly, accessible winter, spring, and tions of leasing contracts and private pasture titles. It
autumn pastures that were predominantly located also rescaled the responsibility for pastures and control
close to settlements. Many remote summer pastures over pasture management from superior province ob-
instead became under-used. Additionally, short-term last’ (Russian) and district rayon (Russian) state ad-
utilization oriented towards extraction maximization ministrations to local communities. From a neoliberal
persisted due to the legal uncertainty of resource ac- perspective, promoted under the cloak of the supposed
cess obtained in informal ways and the inability of strengths and potentials of CBNRM, this measure corre-
people to turn to legal recourse. Consequently, the sponded to a further withdrawal of the state and a shifting
regulation unintentionally worked in opposition to of the administrative expenses and management costs from
ideas of ecologically sustainable pasture use and the higher governmental levels to local authorities (Liverman
balance of competing socio-economic interests within and Vilas 2006: 330). Even if the state administrations at
the communities. Instead, the regulation partially stim- the province and district tiers did not always comply with
ulated socio-economic stratification processes within their duties in pasture management and allocation before
the rural communities and resulted in ecologically the introduction of the new law because of a structural lack
harmful usage practices (IBRD 1995: 37-38; ROPLU of resources such as knowledge, personnel, financial, and
2002; Undeland 2005: 26-27, 31-35; Shamsiev et al. physical capital, they were at least legally responsible for
2007: 57-65; IBRD 2008: 22-23; Kerven et al. 2011: 18; pasture management and allocation. With the new regula-
Steimann 2011: 207; Kerven et al. 2012: 372; Crewett tion, however, the responsibility shifted to the local level,
2012: 268; Dörre 2012: 134-137). leaving local bodies with no leverage left to call the state for
Against the background of these experiences, inter- support in regard to pasture management issues. From the
national development and donor agencies such as the perspective of local administrations with their structural
United States Agency for International Development lack of assets, the new situation therefore became, at least
(USAID), the World Bank (IBRD), the German Gesellschaft temporarily, more difficult than it was before.
für Internationale Zusammenarbeit GmbH (GIZ), the The authorities of local municipalities aiylnye okrugi
United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and (Russian) were now entitled, but not obliged, to delegate
others, as well as national bodies, programs, and organiza- the power of pasture management and utilization to the so-
tions such as the MAWPRI, the semi-governmental called ‘associations of pasture users’ (APUs) ob”edinenie
Community Development and Investment Agency (CDIA), pastbishhepol’zovatelei (Russian), which should represent
local initiatives, and individual parliament members realized the users of the pastures of the respective territorial entity.
that Kyrgyzstan’s legal regulations for pasture management Annually, these associations must elect ‘pasture commit-
urgently need reform (MAWPRI, unpublished document; tees’ (PCs) jaiyt komitety (Kyrgyz, Russian) as their execu-
USAID 2007: 3-4; Shamsiev et al. 2007: 63-65; respondent tive bodies, which consist of representatives of the
BV 2009; Bussler 2010: 22-23). The reconnection of the respective group of pasture users, deputies of the represen-
management responsibilities and their delegation towards a tative body of the local community aiyl kenesh (Kyrgyz),
strengthened local level, a more equal and transparent allo- and the head of the executive body of the respective local
cation of usage rights, as well as a new tariff schedule and a authority aiyl okmotu (Kyrgyz). A PC formally can act inde-
transformed tax revenue investment system were seen as pendently from the state and officially has several responsi-
the reform’s main goals. While workshops, round table dis- bilities such as the development and implementation of
cussions, and parliamentary commissions were dedicated to community plans for pasture utilization, monitoring of the
developing suggestions for the general features and specific condition of respective pastures, issuing documents that
regulations of the new approach, several pilot projects entitle people to use the respective rangelands, composing
funded by international donors and development organiza- the payment schedule, and collecting (and managing) fees.
tions worked to implement corresponding ideas on the A ‘pasture ticket’ pastbisshnyi bilet (Russian) is acquirable
ground to gain experiences and understandings about the by paying a defined sum that is calculated from the kind
consequences of the new approach countrywide. Finally, and the amount of the animals an individual has. It re-
after long and intense parliamentary debates on differ- placed the previous area-related lease system (LKROP 2009
ent bills prepared by the Pasture Department of the art. 2-6, 15; Steimann 2011: 207; Dörre and Borchardt
MAWPRI and members of parliament, the new and 2012: 316). In addition to the user’s personal data, the
document should contain the name, location, and area of that the understanding of the proponents of the new regu-
the respective pastures, specifications on their carrying cap- lation relies on misleading and simplified assumptions
acity, the actual kind and amount of animals permitted to about the hierarchical structures of local institutions.
graze, the spatiotemporal migration schemes, and the fee Kerven et al. (2012) remark that the establishment of stan-
imposed by the PC (SF PT 2009). According to articles 6 dardized PCs ‘seem to be influenced by rather simplistic
and 11 of the law, the PCs are also responsible for the ideas’ (374) and that the existing power asymmetries be-
settlement of disputes concerning the usage of pastures and tween the pasture users as well as their competing interests
for the reinvestment of the generated income into pasture were not recognized enough (375). Crewett (2011) also ob-
maintenance, related infrastructure, and the improvement served that the APUs were by no means egalitarian. Often-
of the resource management (Fig. 3). times, the organizations and respective decision-making
Compared to the advanced international discourse on processes were dominated by older and wealthier male
natural resource management, this new regulation can be pasture users. Dealing with the broader topic of community
seen as a delayed application of the community-based development, Earle remarks that it would be ‘unwise to be-
approach after the failure of the previous market-oriented lieve that respected members of the community necessarily
attempt to legally solve Kyrgyzstan’s socio-ecological act outside of local power struggles’ (2005: 255). Power
pasture-related problems. At first glance, the idea looks asymmetries have to be recognized as a characteristic fea-
concise and reliable due to the envisaged joint control held ture of social groups and organization. Dörre and Borchardt
between the pasture users and the PCs in terms of annual (2012) provided examples of when local management orga-
elections and supervision of usage practices and fee collec- nizations were unable to fulfil their duties due to a struc-
tion. This impression of a successful attempt is supported tural lack of knowledge, financial, and physical assets.
by positive reports, which note that more than 450 PCs Another far-reaching, at present increasingly debated,
have been established across the country. However, the but so far unsolved challenge of the formal legislation is
question arises as to why additional funding is being allo- the fact that the regulation is valid only for pastures that
cated by international donors still years after the implemen- are located on lands that belong to local municipalities
tation of the law, if the mere introduction of CBNRM was (communal lands) or on ‘national land reserve’ (NLR)
seen as the solution of the rangeland-related problems (e.g. areas gosudarstvennyi zemel’nyi zapas (Russian). The law
IBRD 2013; Jafarova 2013; Ivashhenko 2014). Alternatively, is not applicable for grasslands of the so-called ‘national
the question can be asked if and how community-based forest fund’ (NFF) gosudarstvennyi lesnoi fond (Russian),
pasture management performances differ from the de- which is defined as those areas that are covered by forests
mands of the legislation. and which were assigned to the state-owned forestry sector
A short review of some scientific papers recently pub- (FCKR 1999 art. 7). The main management responsibility
lished on pasture management in Kyrgyzstan provides for these lands resides with the State Forestry Agency and
some hints about the reasons for the ambiguous results fol- its local branches, the state-run forest enterprises lesnye
lowing the law’s implementation. The arguments are strik- khozyastva or leskhozy for short (Russian). This circum-
ingly similar to the critical assessments of CBNRM stance contributes directly to the fragmentation of the
approaches mentioned above. Jacquesson (2010) points out sphere of stakeholders and indirectly to the persistence of
Fig. 3 Pasture management system according to the Law ‘On Pastures’ 2009. Design: author
diverse pasture-related socio-ecological challenges in the of the country but also of the whole region. The forests
walnut-fruit forest region (or ‘nut forest region’ for short) form three important forest massifs, which are located at
and beyond (Dörre 2012: 136-141). When the ‘nut forest the slopes of the Chatkal and the Fergana Ranges of the
region’ is mentioned in this paper, the term is not restricted western Tien Shan at altitudes between 1,100 and
to the area covered by forests. It stems from a broader un- 2,000m. The largest, named ‘Kugart-Arstanbap’ , is dis-
derstanding that includes the adjacent mountain, rangeland, tinguished by a remarkable biodiversity. It stretches
and cultivated areas. Settlements and other spatial features within the oblast’ Jalalabad from the Nooken Rayon in
are also recognized as parts of the nut forest region. the west to the Suzak Rayon in the east. About 300 km2
are situated within the Bazar Korgon District (Musuraliev
Study area 1998: 5; Venglovsky 1998: 73; Gottschling et al. 2005:
The nut forest region - a peculiar area for several reasons 86-87, 91-92, 96-97; Griza et al. 2008: 31, 45-46; Borchardt
Kyrgyzstan is a mountainous, landlocked, and strongly et al. 2010: 257) (Figs. 4 and 5).
continental, climate-wise, country in Central Asia. It was With more than 50,000 people living within and
formerly one of the poorest Soviet Republics, and the around the forests, the area is one of the most densely
post-socialist transition led to degraded political and populated parts of the country. While the collection of
economic relations with other successors of the USSR, walnuts can be seen as the most important natural
the rupture of important transfer payments from the resource-related income strategy for many local house-
former centre, and a temporary decline of the national holds in the region, pasture-based livestock and agri-
economy. Many people coped with this situation by culture is also important economically for individual
creating new livelihood strategies. In this regard, the households, as well as for the regional economy
access to nature-based resources became essential for (Schmidt 2013: 298-315; Dörre 2014: 173-175, 280-281,
survival, especially for people in rural areas (Steimann 307-308). The study area constitutes the part of the nut
2011; Dörre and Borchardt 2012; Schmidt 2012; Dörre forest region that is located within the boundaries of
2014). Rangelands, therefore, constitute an important the Bazar Korgon Rayon. The district itself covers an
resource. They cover more than nine million hectares area of about 2,020 km2. The elevation of the district
or around 90 % of all agricultural lands (SAEPFUGKR steadily climbs up from the southern parts lying lower
and UNDPKR 2007: 17-20; FAOSTAT 2009; ADB than 1,000 m to high peaks of over 4,000m in the north.
2010: 123-125) (Fig. 4). In general, the district’s pastures are of local and re-
Since Central Asia, in general, and Kyrgyzstan, in par- gional importance. Since their usability depends on the
ticular, is characterized by sparse wood cover, the availability of water and edible plants for the animals,
walnut-fruit forests represent a peculiar feature not just specific spatial features have a significant influence on
Fig. 4 Kyrgyzstan: selected physical features and distribution of rangelands and walnut-fruit forests. Design: author based on AS KSSR and SC KSSR
PPB 1982; Jarvis et al. 2008; Griza et al. 2008: 32; ADB 2010: 122; NSC KR 2010
Fig. 5 Bazar Korgon District: topographical features, land categories, and areas of forest-related institutes. Design: author based on Kirgizgiprozem
1983a, b; LRPKR 1998; SFS KR and MDFR 2004a, b, 2005; Jarvis et al. 2008; DBDNS 2013; Anonymous n.d.g.
the pasture’s seasonal usability, in particular altitude, ex- 3,500 m. Even if many of these jailoo are part of the ‘na-
posure, and the existence of water sources. Spring and au- tional land reserve’, wide areas remain ‘national forest
tumn pastures, jazdoo and kyzdoo (Kyrgyz), respectively, fund’ pastures, where the application of community-based
are found predominantly in the district’s south, below the management approaches as outlined in the new pasture
forest belt, and at shorter distances from settlements than law is not envisaged (Figs. 5 and 7). Several leskhozy and a
the summer pastures. Most of them are communal or ‘na- conservation institute are legally responsible for the man-
tional land reserve’ lands (Figs. 5 and 6). agement of the NFF territory and its resources. Even if
Summer pastures, jailoo (Kyrgyz), are mainly located in these organizations are much smaller and economically
the northern section of the rayon above the forests, up to weaker than they used to be in Soviet times, they remain
Fig. 6 Communal spring-autumn pastures, south of the Bazar Korgon District close to the settlement of Beshik Jon. The barns in the middle of
the image were already built in Soviet times for a collective farm, which was privatized after 1991. The mountain range at the horizon has the
highest peak of the district, the Babash Ata with 4,424 m. Some important summer pastures are located at its slopes. Photograph: author
important players for the regional economy, as well as Community-based pasture management
local pasture management. performances in the nut forest region
The existence of the two main land categories of NLR The following two examples draw a differentiated picture
and NFF within the nut forest region has to be considered, of community-based pasture management performances in
since this circumstance is the legal reason for the simultan- the nut forest region. The first case represents a basically
eous application of different pasture management ap- functioning management regime executed by a PC. Among
proaches in close proximity to one another. some promising features, some obstacles also impede the
Fig. 7 The jailoo Otuz Art (‘Thirty Passes’, Kyrgyz) of the NLR land category; north of the Bazar Korgon District. The upper, woodless parts of
pastures like Otuz Art (letter C in Fig. 5) are mainly used for the grazing of horses and sheep. The lower lying, partially tree-covered areas visible
in the middle of the image belong to the NFF. They were generally used for cattle herding and bee keeping. Photograph: author
implementation of sustainable management in terms of so- 2009 (2011) art. 3.2; SAAULTR 2012; respondent KJ 2013).
cial equity, political legitimacy, empowerment and par- Since Kerei Jailoo belongs to the NLR land fund, the new
ticipation in decision-making processes, economic pasture law requiring a community-based management is
efficiency, and self-sufficiency, as well as ecological officially in effect there.
sustainability. The second case is a pilot project for a Soon after the introduction of the new law, the local
user-based management of forest fund pastures. Due administration used its right to delegate the pasture
to the unsatisfactory results, a closure of the project management responsibility to a user-based body
was imminent in 2014. Both cases show that manage- (LKROP 2009 art. 4.2), and the newly created APU
ment practices actually resulted from local-specific cir- elected the first PC in Kenesh Local Municipality in
cumstances, rather than representing the ambitious 2010. Conforming to the law, in 2013, the committee
imagination of a successful and harmonious CBNRM. consisted of 21 members including representatives of
the municipality’s APU, deputies of the aiyl kenesh,
A basically functioning community-based pasture and the head of the aiyl okmotu. The head of the PC,
management the tor aga (Kyrgyz), a former employee of the collect-
The summer pasture Kerei is located between 2,800 and ive farm, and the accountant bukhgal’ter (Russian)
3,500 m and covers nearly 20 km2 within a mountainous were the only employed members of the committee.
valley that stretches from its lowest in the east to the upper Two years after its creation, the cash-strapped jaiyt
parts in the west (letter A in Fig. 5; Kirgizgiprozem 1984). komitet was provided with a separate office within the
In the 1980s, this pasture belonged to the collective farm local administration’s building to support its activities
‘60 years of October’, which was specialized in breeding with workspace for organizational tasks and public
fine-fleeced sheep for the production of high-quality wool. consultation hours. Despite this important facility, the PC
While the headquarters of this kollektivnoe khozyastvo had no noteworthy technical equipment like a computer
or kolkhoz for short (Russian) was located in the settle- for data management or outdoor gear such as tents and
ment of Sovetsk (nowadays Kenesh) in the south of the off-road cars to visit its distant pastures or update its data-
district, most of its winter stables and professional base. Due to this reason, the PC still relied in large part on
shepherds were based in Uch Bulak in the west of the documents, information, and experience from Soviet times,
rayon (Kirgizgiprozem 1983b; SAJO 1997; respondents such as the professional knowledge of its members, as well
SKh 2007 and TM 2008) (Fig. 5). Nowadays, both set- as geo-botanical pasture evaluations and fodder botanical
tlements belong to the local municipality of Kenesh, maps from the 1980s to calculate the possible grazing in-
which was established on the territory of the former tensities and mobility patterns. Therefore, such as in So-
collective farm. After the farm’s liquidation in the early viet times, the equation of one livestock unit with one
1990s and the subsequent distribution of the animals unit corresponding to one horse or cattle, or five sheep
and production facilities, the former kolkhoz members or goats, respectively, per hectare was still applied for
had to develop new income strategies. A few herders Kerei Jailoo by the PC as well as by the users (respon-
continued to use the Kerei Jailoo as private entrepreneurs. dents SKh 2007, TM 2008, and KJ 2013). Despite these
Five of six user households that were met on Kerei during obstacles, the management results for Kerei Jailoo
the research were former farm herders or descendants of seem to be promising. According to the PC’s inventory
former farm herders. They still practiced the same spatio- and the respondents interviewed on the pasture, the access
temporal migration patterns between the spring-autumn to the jailoo was still under control of the PC and the users
pastures located close to Uch Bulak and the summer themselves and possible for pasture users from Kenesh
pasture, which were already established in Soviet times. Local Municipality only. Just six herders received grazing
Additionally, the herders used the pasture with the same in- rights for an area of 463 ha in 2012. This is not more
tensity as in Soviet times and regularly changed the location shepherds than during Soviet times. They officially regis-
of their campsites within each pasture section to protect tered 463 livestock units (66 horses, 123 cattle, and 1,380
the vegetation cover from damage (respondents SKh 2007 sheep) and therewith obeyed the stated grazing intensity
and TM 2008). In 1997, the district’s administration threshold (PC APUK, unpublished document).
officially allocated the pasture to Kenesh Municipality In addition to its own pastures, the administration of the
(RABK BDPC 1997). This status was backed by an amend- Kenesh aiylnyi okrug also rented several grassland plots be-
ment to the existing pasture law, which assigned non-forest longing to the ‘national forest fund’ from the leskhoz ‘Kyzyl
fund pastures that were used by Soviet collective farms to Unkur’ to provide its members with sufficient pasture
the municipalities that had been created on the territories grounds (CLPKU-KLM 2013; respondents KJ 2013 and EA
of the respective farms. It was also supported by a state act 2013/2014). Historically, these plots were also used by the
that allocated unlimited tenure rights for a number of former kolkhoz, yet not for sheep, but predominantly for
pastures to the local administration of Kenesh (LKROP cattle grazing (Kirgizgiprozem 1983b). A. Unabaev, a
shepherd from the settlement Kyzyl Oktyabr’ of the Kenesh illustrate the remarkable livestock property disparities
municipality and member of the respective APU for the within the APU of the Kenesh Local Municipality.
past several years, officially used 124 ha of the Kenkol Jailoo The APU’s socioeconomic stratification in terms of the
as summer pasture and registered, according to his pasture uneven livestock distribution can be seen as a first indi-
tickets, 110 livestock units in 2011, 124 livestock units in cation of the social inequity within the organization and
2012, and 129 livestock units in 2013 (letter B in Fig. 5; re- the respective community, though not a proof of it. It is
spondent AU 2013). From his point of view, the official also interesting to note that according to the district
contract between the forestry enterprise and the local administration nearly 10,900 livestock units officially
municipality facilitates his utilization practice since he existed within the municipality (RABK 2012). The dif-
only has to apply for grazing rights at the PC which ference of more than 6,000 livestock units between this
acts as the mediator between him and the leskhoz, as official number and the number that was registered
the actual owner of the pasture (respondent AU 2013). within the PC’s pasture ticket system led initially to
This saves him time and money. two conclusions: First, not all animals belonging to
Generally, the PC of the Kenesh Local Municipality APU members were registered as grazing animals. It is
issued pasture tickets to 59 individuals in 2012, all of officially accepted that not all dairy cows and calves
which were APU members. Forty-four of them regis- are registered as animals visiting the pastures, since it
tered 4,557 livestock units for the grazing on the munici- is a common practice in the study region to keep cows
pality’s pastures in the same year (respondent KJ 2013; within or close to the settlements during the lactation
PC APUK, unpublished document). The ownership dis- period for the purpose of daily milking. The second pre-
tribution of these animals is characterized by inequal- liminary conclusion was that not all livestock owners were
ities. While the smallest amount owned by a member was members of the pasture user association, and their animals
26 units, the largest share represented 901 units. A nor- therefore were not inventoried by the APU. The people
malized Gini coefficient of nearly 0.4 and the charac- interviewed confirmed both explanations, but only the sec-
teristic Lorenz curve progression depicted in Fig. 8 ond explanation is important for the topic discussed in this
paper. In contrast to the already quoted shepherds using
the summer pastures of Kerei and Kenkol, several inter-
viewees, some of them APU members, assessed the APU
and its PC as a complicated and ineffective management
construct. Some even went a step further, describing
them ‘unnecessary’ institutions, which can be easily
avoided by making individual, less complicated, quick,
and spontaneous arrangements with other pasture-
owning organizations. Depending on the location and
the legal status of the respective pasture, these organi-
zations can be neighbouring local authorities and their
APUs for communal or ‘national land reserve’ pastures
or forest enterprises such as the leskhoz ‘Kyzyl Unkur’
for the grasslands of the ‘national forest fund’. Another
accusation put forward against the APUs in the study
area and their PCs was assumed misappropriations of
funds. However, the proof of such a breach of trust was
not provided. Nevertheless, according to the inter-
viewed pasture users and forestry employees, many
livestock owners regularly choose the unofficial way to
purchase undocumented utilization rights informally
(respondents AU 2013, DE 2013, EA 2013/2014, LO
2013, and MA 2013). On the one hand, this circum-
stance means that non-members are being excluded
Fig. 8 Livestock distribution within the APU Kenesh in 2012 (Lorenz
curve and normalized Gini coefficient). While the poorer half of the from decision-making processes within the APUs and
APU members possesses a little bit more than a quarter of the cannot directly influence the management strategies of
whole amount of the animals registered in the association, the the PC and its members. On the other hand, however,
richest quartile has more than the half of all animals. The poorest it shows that not all pasture users see the APU as the
quartile owns slightly more than one tenth of the registered
legitimate organization to represent their pasture-
animals. Draft: author based on PC APUK, unpublished document
related interests. It is also a sign that the APU, its PC,
and the respective members are too weak to demand unit per hectare was applied not only for the mentioned
membership from all pasture users of the municipality. Kerei Jailoo but also for all summer pastures of the
Consequently, in addition to the social sphere, a deviation municipality without temporal variation and spatial ex-
from the ideal outcomes of CBNRM is also evident in the ception. It is questionable if such an undifferentiated
political sphere. approach corresponds to the spatiotemporal variability
Another central obligation of the PCs is to issue pasture of the pastures’ natural conditions. The APU’s scarce
tickets before the beginning of the seasonal migration in funds were spent instead mainly on the reconstruction
spring. The payments for these documents should consti- of roads to the pastures, payments for renting NFF
tute a financial backbone of the committee’s budget. In grasslands, and staff-related expenditures such as
2012, the planned earnings from pasture utilization corre- wages and social security contributions (respondent KJ
sponded to around 60 % of the APU’s official budget of ap- 2013; PC APUK, unpublished document). It is evident
proximately 900,000 KS (1.00 US$ = 47.37 KS, 31 that in regard to the practical usage of the municipal-
December 2012). By the end of the year, however, only ity’s pastures in terms of spatiotemporal utilization and
around 50 % of the pasture ticket holders had paid grazing intensity, as well as the vegetation conditions,
their fees, and less than a quarter of the expected total the PC plays only a secondary role due to its narrow
had been collected. Similar problems were reported for capacity to act. Regarding the Kerei Jailoo example,
2013 (PC APUK, unpublished document; respondent Dörre and Borchardt (2012: 320) argue that in the
KJ 2013). This unsolved problem further hints at the defi- course of the herders’ sustainable utilization practices
cient empowerment of the responsible management body. such as extensive grazing and frequent campsite
The tor aga and the bukhgal’ter are often unable to fulfil changes resulting from their knowledge and experi-
their duty to claim financial contributions from pasture ence, the ecological conditions are not negatively im-
users. The peer-group pressure resulting from social rela- pacted by animal husbandry. Consequentially, it can be
tionships between the management staff and its customers, stated that for this specific case the users’ ecologically
who are at the same time relatives, neighbours, friends, and sustainable activities compensate for the fact that the
former colleagues, impedes the designated implementation PC has been virtually absent in this field.
of the formal regulation. Therefore, the lack of financial as- Bringing the findings of the first example together, it can
sets can be seen not only as an effect of the APU’s weakness be seen that the pasture management of the APU Kenesh’s
and narrowed capacity to act but also as a reason for its PC works, but at a rather basic level. The organization’s
weakness and narrow capacity to act. The lack of funding fifth anniversary in 2015, the functioning annual elections
contributed to a situation where external support became of the PC staff, and the growing number of registered
structurally necessary and unavoidable. Formally, the members (already 98 in 2013) can be evaluated as promis-
organization should function without external intervention. ing signs for the association’s future work. Nevertheless,
However, in the end, more than a quarter of the budget several challenges hamper reliable and sustainable perfor-
was contributed by the World Bank via CDIA (respondent mances within each of the discussed CBNRM spheres. In
KJ 2013; PC APUK, unpublished document). According to view of the large gaps between the ideal CBNRM picture in
the statement of the head of the Pasture Department of the theory and the actual features of the pasture management,
MAWPRI at a conference on pasture management in June the figurative visualization of the latter differs somewhat
2015 in Kyrgyzstan’s capital Bishkek, such payments were from the ideal image presented before (Figs. 1 and 9).
by no means singular cases, but necessary for most PCs in
the country. It can be seen, therefore, that the ideal image Overstrained community-based pasture management
of CBNRM in terms of economic self-sufficiency is also not organizations
being met. Otuz Art is a valley with vast summer pastures lying
According to article 7.2 of the law, specified ‘plans on on NFF, as well as NLR lands that together cover more
management and utilization’ including, among other things, than 20 km2 (letter C in Fig. 5). During Soviet times,
detailed maps, the respective carrying capacity, as well as its grasslands were also used predominantly by collect-
detailed development and reconstruction concepts have to ive farms based in the district’s south (Kirgizgiprozem
be developed for each pasture of the municipality (LKROP 1983b). The herders came mainly from Bazar Korgon
2009). However, the structural lack of physical assets, fi- and surrounding settlements, as they do today. While
nances, and staff of the PC Kenesh is also displayed in its the NFF grasslands lying between 1,700 and 2,800 m repre-
inability to systematically update the limited and outdated sent predominantly the south-western parts of the valley
knowledge about the pastures’ natural conditions available. and are part of the ‘Kyzyl Unkur’ Leskhoz, the plots located
As was mentioned before, the PC for instance still relies on on NLR areas are found mainly in the north-east at an
Soviet material to calculate the possible grazing intensities. elevation ranging from 2,000m up to 3,300m, which belong
During the time of research, the equation of one livestock to the Beshik Jon Local Municipality (Figs. 5 and 7; RABK
contract partners. In this regard, the municipalities of

Beshik Jon and Bazar Korgon obtained usage rights and
management responsibilities for pasturelands located
within the Otuz Art Valley. The annual usage period was
always defined as being from May 15 to September 15, due
to ecological reasons. Among other things, the leskhoz has
to provide the land plots agreed on and basic services such
as access to water sources and veterinary services for the
pasture users. The company’s rights encompass the
supervision of usage practices, the imposition of fines
for forbidden and ecologically harmful practices, and
the expulsion of non-paying pasture users. The PCs, as
the executive body of the APU, have to ensure that the
APU members follow the existing laws and the rules
agreed to in the contract. They also have to pay the
fees on time and contribute to the maintenance of the
infrastructure (respondent EA 2013/2014; SCLPKU
n.d.g.). However, the results of the pilot project have
been disappointing so far. The forest enterprise com-
Fig. 9 Actual features of the APU Kenesh’s pasture management. plains about diverse ecologically harmful practices con-
The Kenesh Local Municipality's pasture committee has to struggle ducted by the pasture users, such as grazing on forested
with several challenges. They hamper reliable and sustainable
performances within each of the CBNRM spheres. In view of the
areas, overstocking, goat keeping, exceeding the grazing
large gaps between the ideal CBNRM picture in theory and the period, and the felling of living trees (Fig. 10; respondent
actual features of the pasture management, the figurative EA 2013/2014).
visualization of the latter differs somewhat from the ideal image. Additionally, the leskhoz complains about a lack of
Design: author disciplinary measures and insufficient contributions to
the maintenance of infrastructure through the respon-
BDPC 1997; SFS KR and MDFR 2004c: survey map nos. 1, sible PCs, along with remarkable outstanding usage fees
2, 3, 4, 6, and 9; LKROP 2009 (2011) art. 3.2). The follow- from its contract partners. Therefore, the forest enter-
ing example looks at a pilot project on the user-based prise management was thinking seriously about the
management of the Otuz Art’s NFF pastures, where the abolishment of the bilateral agreements (respondent EA
new pasture law is not in effect. 2013/2014). The PCs’ unsatisfying management per-
The ‘Kyzyl Unkur’ Leskhoz is one of six state-run forest formance can be explained again by the insufficient
enterprises, which are responsible for the utilization and legitimacy of the contracts as legally binding within the
conservation of the forest resources of the district. Like respective communities and the pasture committees’
other state-run companies, the leskhoz suffered from severe lack of human, technical, and financial assets; legitimacy;
job losses and budget cuts after 1991. The number of and, consequently, power to fulfil its duties.
employees dropped from a three-digit number in the Regarding the first point, it has to be mentioned that
late 1980s to under 30 in 2014. In 2011, the leskhoz the contracts were introduced at the instigation of the
and the administrations of several municipalities of the State Forestry Agency Department in Jalal-Abad, and
Bazar Korgon District signed lease contracts for the signed by the heads of the forest enterprise and the
first time for nearly 13,000 ha of the 17,000-ha range- pasture committee, respectively. Substantial discussions
lands, which belong to the leskhoz. The idea behind the of the contracts’ contents and collective agreement on its
devolution of responsibilities for certain NFF grass- contents did not take place within the forest enterprise or
lands to local communities was to create a win-win within the APU meetings (respondents EA 2013/2014, KB
situation, which, on the one hand, absolves the forest 2013, and TM 2013). At the same time, many pasture users
enterprise of cost-intensive management duties and see no incentive in being represented by a PC and feel no
provides it with secure earnings from user fees. On the obligation to follow the imposed rules. Many sign individual
other hand, the livestock owners’ application for usage contracts with leskhoz staff members instead. These staff
rights would be simplified and the resource management members are structurally underpaid and often use the oral
responsibility transferred to the immediate resource users. agreements for informal income generation, such as not
The agreements have been prolonged annually so far and intervening to prevent forbidden practices in order to ob-
define the geographical limits and possible period of pas- tain informal payments (respondents MA 2013, LO 2013,
ture utilization, as well as the rights and the duties of the KB 2013, and TM 2013). Since the Beshik Jon and Bazar
Fig. 10 Ecologically harmful practices on NFF pastures. Different forms of ecologically harmful activities were practiced by local and non-local pasture
users (clockwise, beginning with the upper left image): a) the use of forest clearings as pasture camps can damage the forest floor, b) animals grazing
in the forest hamper its natural rejuvenation, c) the keeping of goats has severe impacts on the vegetation cover, and d) the felling of living trees for
fuel wood pushes deforestation processes. Photographs: author
Korgon Local Municipalities’ APUs and PCs do not have to be done mainly by the users themselves. Hence, more
any leverage to demand membership and support from the and more herders decide to utilize other jailoo that are
pasture users of their respective municipalities, they appear easier and more safely accessible. There is a serious risk
to be rather weak in terms of legitimation. that these alternative pastures will be overused in the
Regarding the second point, both PCs lack sufficient future, while Otuz Art’s upper rangelands will stay
staff and the technical and financial assets necessary to underutilized. Thus, in the long term, both can be lost
control the pasture utilization practices of their mem- as grazing grounds due to vegetation degradation and
bers (respondents KJ 2013, KB 2013, and TM 2013). scrub encroachment, respectively. Consequentially, the
Additionally, since the accessibility of the pasture’s upper PCs applied for a grant from the regional administra-
parts depends on several crossings of the Otuz Art River, tion and international donor agencies for bridge re-
the structural lack of capital has an even worse impact habilitation, but the problem remained unsolved at
than in the first example of the Kenesh Local Municipality. the time of research (respondents TM 2013 and KB
During Soviet Times, several bridges over the strong and 2013/2014). These observations show that the user-
swift river were erected and maintained by the collect- based management of forest fund pastures of the
ive farms. Nowadays, most of these bridges are broken Otuz Art Valley deviates even more than the first
(Fig. 11). example, from the ideal of CBNRM presented in the
Generally, the permanent damage of crucial infrastruc- introduction.
ture makes the approach to distant grazing grounds par-
ticularly difficult and sometimes even dangerous - a Conclusion
problem that can be observed in many regions of the This paper has sought to explain the differences between
country, according to the conference statement of the the demands of top-down introduced community-based
head of the Pasture Department of the MAWPRI (June management approaches for natural resources and the
2015). In the case presented here, it was reported that realities on the ground. It has been argued that normative
every year several people and many animals lose their concepts often are based on romantic and idealized
lives. In 2014, the reconstruction of the bridges was still understandings of ‘communities’ as being intrinsically
pending since it was a cost-intensive investment that had harmonious entities and their eminent ability to establish
Fig. 11 Broken bridge (not) crossing the Otuz Art River. During Soviet Times, several bridges over the strong and swift river were erected and
maintained by the collective farms. Nowadays, most of these bridges are broken. Every year several people and many animals lose their lives. In
2014, the reconstruction of the bridges was still pending since it was a cost-intensive investment that had be done mainly by the users
themselves. Photograph: author
comprehensively sustainable management strategies. By illustrate that external management approaches can
looking at two local pasture management examples, it can lack acceptance, if the contents and regulations are not
be seen that the local performance of natural resource produced in collaboration with the target audience it-
management is in fact dependent on the local acceptance self. The structural lack of personal, technical, and fi-
and legitimacy of the official regulation, the relations and nancial assets has additionally weakened the local
interactions of the actors involved in the respective management bodies, undermined their authority and
resource-related spheres, as well as the local socio- thus their power to negotiate and perform within the
economic and institutional conditions. The examples pasture-related negotiation and implementation of
Fig. 12 ‘Landscape’ of the pasture governance in Kyrgyzstan’s nut forest region. National legislations for natural resource management are
strongly influenced by international discourses. However, local management practices actually represent hybrid constellations of different aspects
of the official regulations and informal local practices, rather than representing the ambitious demands of the respective legislation. Draft: author
based on Lama and Job (2014: 241)
rules, as well as the resolution of conflicts, or, shortly, participation of the resource users within the decision-
within the whole ‘governance landscape’ (Lama and Job making bodies. Such an approach will enable the resource
2014: 241). While in such a context local management users to create regulations that are adjusted to the respect-
organizations can be heavily dependent on external ive local-specific circumstances. In this regard, the strategy
support, individual resource users can see gains as they should also include the provision of specified financial,
are able to enforce their specific interests, even if they technical, and educational support for the transition period
contradict the goals of the management bodies in to the new regime, when requested by the respective man-
charge. Hence, the resulting pasture management as agement bodies. Ignoring empirical evidence and local cir-
locally practiced in the case study areas can be seen as cumstances can lead to a repetition of the often mistake of
hybrid constellations of different aspects of the official implementing theoretically sophisticated approaches that,
regulations on the one hand and informal local practices finally, fail on the ground.
on the other hand. At the same time, the assessment of the
APUs’ and their PCs’ performances depends on the expec-
tations of the respective observer, and if the formal legisla- Sources
tion, or other concepts of CBNRM are used as the basis of Interview respondents
valuation. In the cases presented here, the agendas pursued The names of the respondents were changed to secure
by the involved actors were unevenly implemented depend- their anonymity.
ing on the power of the respective proponents (Fig. 12). AU 2013. A. Unabaev, pasture user from Kenesh
The challenge of uneven access to pastures based upon Municipality. Interviewed 18 July 2013.
the socio-economic status of individual users as well as the BV 2009. B. Voltovaev, lawyer ‘Legal Advice for Rural
question of to what extent the access of different socio- Citizens’ (Bishkek). Interviewed 7 July 2009.
economic groups has changed with respect to the situation DE 2013. D. Erkinov, forester of the Kyzyl Unkur
under the former regulation were not explicitly addressed Forestry. Interviewed 17 July 2013.
by this study. These research gaps should be addressed by EA 2013/2014. E. Anarbaev, Kyzyl Unkur Forestry.
future research. Interviewed 17 July 2013 and 20 April 2014.
Evaluating the latest developments in Kyrgyzstan’s KB 2013/2014. K. Botshoroev, pasture committee of
pasture land governance, in terms of winning and losing, the association of pasture users of the Bazar Korgon
it can be seen that the state stands on the winning side be- Municipality. Interviewed 21 July 2013 and 22 April
cause it acted according to the international development 2014.
discourse and withdrew from the societal arena of natural KJ 2013. K. Julmatov, pasture committee of the asso-
resource management, and externalized the respective ciation of pasture users of the Kenesh Municipality.
administrative costs to the local level. Consequentially, Interviewed 19 July 2013.
the state gained a good reputation among international LO 2013. L. Orusbekov, pasture user from Bazar
donor and development organizations for the devolu- Korgon Municipality. Interviewed 17 July 2013.
tion of natural resource management responsibilities MA 2013. M. Alimkulova, pasture user from Beshik
to local communities. In contrast, some local authorities Jon Municipality. Interviewed 17 July 2013.
and newly-created pasture user associations seem to be SKh 2007. S. Kharatov, former shepherd of the kolkhoz
overburdened by the new responsibilities and consequen- ‘60 years of October’ (Bazar Korgon District). Interviewed
tially can be evaluated as being on the losing side of this de- 14 July 2008.
velopment. Nevertheless, there are also promising and TM 2013. T. Murgunov, pasture committee of the as-
even successful examples of convincingly empowered sociation of pasture users of the Beshik Jon Municipality.
local bodies, whose pasture management performances Interviewed 21 July 2013.
contributed to partially or comprehensively sustainable TM 2008. T. Myndykov, former shepherd of the kolkhoz
development processes within the respective local ‘60 years of October’ (Bazar Korgon District). Interviewed
communities (e.g. Bussler 2010: 46). It would be very 11 October 2008.
interesting to see in detail what factors determined
these successes and how emerging challenges were ad- Abbreviations
dressed by these successful community-based pasture APU: association of pasture users; CBNRM: community-based natural resource
management; KS: Kyrgyz Som (currency); NFF: national forest fund; NLR: national
management organizations.
land reserve; PC: pasture committee; PC APUK: Pasture Committee of the
These observations lead to the conclusion that a consist- Association of Pasture Users of the Kenesh Municipality; PD MAA: Pasture
ent strategy that goes beyond the mere definition of undif- Department of the Ministry for Agriculture and Amelioration.
ferentiated goals should take the local-specific needs,
potentials, and restrictions of CBNRM more solidly into Competing interests
consideration, to ensure the adequate representation and The author declares that he has no competing interests.
Author’s information resource systems: Despairing voices from the social forests of Zimbabwe.
AD is a researcher at the Centre for Development Studies of the Freie World Development 29(4): 589–600.
Universität Berlin, Germany. In his dissertation, he analysed the shifting Castree, N. 2008. Neoliberalising nature: The logics of deregulation and
human-environmental relations in post-socialist Kyrgyzstan from a reregulation. Environment and Planning A 40: 131–152. doi:10.1068/a3999.
political-ecological perspective. His research interests include resource CLPKU-KLM Contract for the lease of pastures between the ‘Kyzyl Unkur’ Forest
utilization and social development in high mountain regions of Central Enterprise and the Kenesh Local Municipality from April 24, 2013 (in Kyrgyz).
and South Asia. Cox, M, G Arnold, and TS Villamayor. 2010. A review of design principles for
community-based natural resource management. Ecology and Society
Acknowledgements 15(4): 38. http://www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol15/iss4/art38/. Accessed 7
The author wants to thank first Bolotbek Tagaev, geography and ecology Jun 2014.
teacher and local representative of Flora and Fauna International, as well Crewett, W. 2011. Decentralized pasture governance in Kyrgyzstan. Challenges for
as Khayat Tarikov and the whole team of the Community-Based Tourism implementation (Paper presented at the conference “Pastoralism in Central
chapter of Arslanbob for their introduction to the local society and their Asia: Status, challenges and opportunities in mountain areas. June 13–18,
invaluable support during the fieldwork. The author also wishes to 2011. Bishkek). http://www.ucentralasia.org/downloads/
acknowledge the financial support provided by the interdisciplinary research 2011jun11_wocat_wibke_crewett.pdf. Accessed 3 Apr 2014.
project ‘The Impact of the Transformation Process on Human-Environmental Crewett, W. 2012. Improving the sustainability of pasture use in Kyrgyzstan.
Interactions in Southern Kyrgyzstan’, funded by the Volkswagen Foundation, The impact of pasture governance reforms on livestock migration. Mountain
and the steady encouragement provided by Hermann Kreutzmann, head of the Research and Development 32(3): 313–323.
Centre for Development Studies of the Freie Universität Berlin. For reviewing DBDNS Description of the Borders of the Dashman Nature Sanctuary.
the drafts and for the valuable comments, he would like to thank M.B. Wilson Attachment to the Resolution of the Government of the Kyrgyz Republic No
and the referees of the journal. 206 from April 17, 2013 “On the Organisation of the Dashman Nature
Sanctuary (in Russian). Bishkek. (author’s collection)
Received: 14 April 2015 Accepted: 30 July 2015 Dekker, HAL. 2003. Land reform, food security and economic development.
A case study in the Kyrgyz Republic. Aldershot/Burlington: Ashgate.
Property regimes in transition.
Delehanty, J, and J Rasmussen. 1995. Land reform and farm restructuring in the
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