Depletion of forests by private companies jeopardizes the livelihood of Kyrgyzstan’s rural population so, since 1995, Switzerland has been supporting a forestry programme aimed at preserving and extending the remaining tracts of forest. Sustainable forestry management safeguards ecological equilibrium as well as creating new sources of income.

Farmer Nasirdin Beknazarov from Ortok in southern Kyrgyzstan enthuses: “Now that I’m cooperating with the forestry programme, supporting my family is no problem. I’ve bought a few more cows, and with the money we make from selling walnuts, we can buy clothes and shoes.”

Depletion of forests threatens livelihoods
Until recently, Nasirdin Beknazarov had little reason to be optimistic. Since gaining its independence in 1991, the Kyrgyz government has been investing less and less in conserving native forest stocks. Not only are there no resources for sustainable forestry management, there is no legal framework either. Private companies have used the legal loopholes to plunder timber stocks, thus also putting the world’s largest walnut forests in southern Kyrgyzstan at risk.

Better ecology and economy through joint use of forests
To halt this plundering of nature and to guarantee the long-term financial livelihoods of more than 200,000 people, the SDC has been financing a forestry project that breaks new ground in the joint management of native forests since 1995. The project, which runs until 2010, is being implemented by “Intercooperation”, a Swiss development organization, and is based on the idea that farmers, foresters, government authorities, local communities and businessmen should decide jointly about how the forests are to be used. The various players have to balance and reconcile their interests.

Besides preserving and extending forest cover and the sustainable use of forestry products, the project is designed to support forestry research and training and also contributes to the drafting of new basic legislation. The combination of all these measures promotes orderly privatization of the forestry sector.

Increasingly pro-active
The impressive success of the forestry programme is also acknowledged by Bakyt Kubatbekov, Head Forester in the town of Uzgen: “People are now becoming increasingly proactive. They want to plant fallow land with high-yield varieties. Or they suggest felling trees that are past their prime and replacing them with young walnut trees.”

With the Kyrgyz forestry programme, Switzerland is making an important contribution to the sustainable use of native forests and to securing the long-term livelihoods of people in the Fergana Valley. To consolidate results on the ground, the local forestry administration and the Agrarian Academy are being directly involved in programme development. The final phase of the project is designed to support Kyrgyz government efforts to complete the reform process, modernize forest management and further expand vocational training.