Published on: 2026-07-22
Source: United Nations – United Nations –
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Samarkand, a historic crossroads of trade and ideas, became a true gateway to Central Asia for the Caravan – a region where land degradation, drought, and water scarcity are increasingly changing the landscapes and people’s lives.
In Central Asia, at least 20 percent of the land is already degraded, and about 80 percent is used for pastoral livestock farming. Therefore, the condition of pasture lands is directly linked to food security, livelihoods, and resilience to climate shocks. Samarkand, which hosted the Eighth Assembly of the Global Environment Facility (GEF) in June, also became a place where dialogues about drought, pastures, and land restoration directly overlapped with what is happening on the ground – in pastures, pistachio plantations, tugai forests, nurseries, and university laboratories.
At the official arrival ceremony of the Caravan, Aziz Abduhakimov, Advisor to the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan on environmental issues and Chairman of the National Committee on Ecology and Climate Change, connected the journey with the longer history of the Silk Road. The Caravan, he noted, revives the spirit of friendship, cooperation, and shared responsibility for our land and environment.
Photo of the UN: Aziz Abdukhakimov welcomes the Silk Road Caravan.
These realities also shaped the discussions at the GEF Assembly, where the UNCCD placed at the center of the discussion the financing of measures to combat drought, pasture lands, and the livelihoods of pastoralists — issues on which the environmental future of Central Asia largely depends.
One of the most important results for Uzbekistan was the launch of the three-year initiative “Carbon Farming for Climate Resilience and Sustainable Land Management in Uzbekistan,” supported by the Russian Federation and implemented by the Global Mechanism of the UNCCD. The project will test carbon farming practices that contribute to achieving a neutral land degradation balance, improving climate resilience, and enhancing soil health. It also involves collecting baseline data over an area of 5,000 hectares and engaging 1,000 small-scale farmers, pastoralists, and foresters.
The urgency of this work is evident: today in Central Asia, more than 152 million hectares of land are experiencing drought conditions, affecting over half of the region’s population. The Assembly also brought concrete investment opportunities to Uzbekistan and the entire region. On the eve of the meeting in Samarkand, an approval of 5.4 million US dollars was announced for the regional project “Mountain Ecosystems of Central Asia,” to be implemented jointly with the World Bank, as well as the launch of a regional program “Interconnection of Water and Land Resources in Central Asia” with a volume of 26 million dollars. These investments became part of a broader financial picture: under GEF-8, 618 million dollars have been allocated to combat land degradation, which is 30 percent more than during GEF-7.
For Uzbekistan, these global priorities have already been reflected in national policy. As part of “Yashil Makon,” the president’s national initiative for greening the country, Uzbekistan plans to plant 200 million trees and shrubs annually and increase the area of green zones by 2030.
Erkin Mukhitdinov, director of the Agency for the Expansion of Green Zones and Forest Fund and Combating Desertification, clearly outlined the scale of this goal: “Our task is to increase the share of green zones in Uzbekistan to 30 percent by 2030. Today it stands at 15 percent. We understand that achieving this alone will be more difficult, so we are involving international organizations in this work.”
Amankutan: a pasture as a living calendar
In Amankutan, in the Samarkand region, Caravan visited pastures where restoration is carried out through seasonal grazing, selection of plant species, and stricter access control.
At the Bakhri site of the Urgut Forestry Enterprise, the land covers about 1,600 hectares. Approximately 700 hectares are included in the forest boundary, and the remaining area is used as pasture. The problem here is familiar to all of Central Asia: excessive grazing pressure, thinning vegetation, and soils that are losing their ability to retain moisture.
Restoration is progressing gradually. In arid areas, almond trees and forage grasses that can survive with little water are planted. Certain plots are left fallow for three to four years before livestock is allowed to return. High mountain pastures are reserved for seasonal grazing. Gates, cameras, and forestry staff help control access to prevent livestock from outside interfering with the restoration work.
Small earthen berms and terraces retain rainwater and meltwater, keeping moisture close to young trees. This is an effective method based on longstanding land management traditions. Species are selected for the specific location: almond, acacia, elm, and other hardy trees with deep roots and low water requirements.
Mobile apiaries vividly demonstrate the connection between land restoration and livelihoods. They are transported to where there are more flowering plants. Bees pollinate grasses, shrubs, and trees, helping vegetation recover. The sale of honey generates income back to the forestry enterprise.
For a participant in the Caravan, Harouna Abarci, a pastoral livestock breeder from Niger, president of the A2N herders association and coordinator of the International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists in West and Central Africa, the similarity between the Sahel and Central Asia was obvious. The lesson, he said, is not to copy models but to adapt what works. “What I saw here – the selection of plants for specific places and planting them where they are really needed – is experience we can share back home, using plants suited to our conditions,” he said.
Saraykurgan: the long-term pistachio economy
In Saraykurgan, in the Nurabad district, restoration has materialized in the form of trees that first require patience, only to later repay it manifold by yielding abundant harvests. Here, the project works with degraded and low-productivity pastures: areas with little grass, disturbed vegetation cover, and previously subjected to uncontrolled grazing. These lands are now being prepared for pistachio plantations.
The scale reflects a broader regional approach: to restore degraded lands while simultaneously creating long-term rural income. By 2036, it is planned to establish 50,000 hectares of pistachio plantations in the Nurabad district. Already, there are several thousand hectares of such plantations here, relying on decades of experience in growing pistachios. Now the project is expanding with state support, utilizing drip irrigation and the labor of local residents.
Pistachio suits this landscape because it tolerates poor soils and extreme temperatures while remaining productive for decades. Equally important is the social logic of the project. While the trees do not yet produce a harvest, local residents are employed to dig planting holes, care for seedlings, and maintain the plantations. When the plantings begin to bear fruit, plots of five hectares will be leased to low-income families so they can earn income from the crops. After eight years, one tree can yield about four kilograms per season – roughly one ton per hectare, and after 12 years – about 10 kilograms. Expected income was estimated at approximately $50,000 with maintenance costs around $10,000.
Thus, the pistachio project turns into something more than just tree planting. It is a restoration conceived as an economic system: degraded land is transformed into a productive asset, and the pressure on surrounding pastures is reduced. It is a poverty reduction model built around a crop that requires time. Theoretically, if 50,000 hectares are divided into plots of five hectares each, the project will eventually be able to support around 10,000 families. The land becomes a resource capable of outliving the first generation of invested labor by a long time.
Photo by the UN of the Silk Road Caravan in the Zarafshan National Nature Park.
Zarafshan: the forest follows the river
From the open hills, the road turned toward the cooler banks of the Zarafshan.
Zarafshan National Natural Park protects one of the few remaining tugai landscapes in Uzbekistan – riverine forests that survive along watercourses in arid regions. These forests are among the most valuable ecosystems of the arid lands of Central Asia. In a region experiencing increasing water stress, such riparian ecosystems serve as a natural defense against erosion, heat, and loss of biodiversity.
They hold riverbanks, mitigate wind erosion, cool the air, and provide shelter for wildlife, including the Bukhara deer.
Beyond the strip of trees – heat, dust, and open ground; under the forest canopy – shade, bird songs, and the dense green life of the river corridor. This is infrastructure created by the root system, moisture, and habitat.
For Zarafshan, nature conservation does not end at the park’s borders. Employees spoke about working with local schools, collaborating with artists who use natural materials and sell their works in the park, as well as about ecotourism in nearby villages. All this provides farmers and rural communities around the park with a tangible stake in the future of the forest. It is easier to preserve the forest when there are allies nearby.
Arnasay: how to live with salt
In the Jizzakh region, Caravan saw another type of resilience – in the Halophyte Garden in the Arnasay district.
Halophytes are plants adapted to saline soils and water stress conditions. Salinization remains one of the most noticeable forms of land degradation in Central Asia, alongside erosion and declining productivity. Therefore, such plants are especially important for a country where many irrigated landscapes are affected by salinization. The saline soils of Uzbekistan reflect the natural conditions of agriculture in an arid climate, the movement of groundwater and minerals, drainage issues, and the legacy of large-scale irrigation, including a long dependence on cotton as a water-intensive crop.
The halophyte garden serves as a living laboratory where salt-tolerant species capable of surviving in conditions challenging for conventional crops are tested and bred. Uzbek specialists have identified more than 100 local species suitable for saline and arid landscapes, and collaboration with the Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography in China has expanded the trials to include dozens of additional varieties.
The garden is both a research site and a practical response to one of the region’s most challenging land restoration tasks: to find species capable of stabilizing the soil in harsher and more saline conditions.
UN photo From Uzbekistan, the caravan continued its journey overland to Kazakhstan.
Green University: a school for the arid age
In Tashkent, Caravan visited the Central Asian University for Environmental Studies and Climate Change, known as Green University. After several days in the field, one conclusion became clear: land restoration on a regional scale depends not only on funding but also on knowledge and professional capacity.
“Without a new generation of specialists capable of translating environmental challenges into the language of financial strategies, even the most well-thought-out political frameworks risk remaining on paper,” said the University rector, Professor Bakhtier Pulatov.
Green University considers ecological work as one of the key professions of the future in Central Asia, connecting audiences with the realities of drought, biodiversity, land restoration, and climate finance.
The Road to a New Frontier: The Caravan Continues
From Uzbekistan, the Caravan continued its journey overland to Kazakhstan, where the azure color reappeared on the national flag and in the boundless steppe skies. Throughout the entire journey, it became much more than the Caravan’s signature color. In Central Asia, it turned into a symbol of water, resilience, and the fragile systems that connect people, pastures, and the landscapes of arid lands.
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