Publication Name

Environment and Security

ENVSEC CASE STUDY

Disappearance of walnut forests in the Jalal-Abad Province, Kyrgyzstan

One part of the Ferghana valley affected by deforestation is

the province of Jalal-Abad, in south Kyrgyzstan, where the

main walnut forests are located, covering 33,000 hectares.

The walnut forests are remnants of Central Asia’s Tertiary era

subtropical forests. They are located primarily on the north-

ern slopes of the Ferghana and Chatkal ranges of the Tien

Shan, and on the southern slopes of the Gissar and Darvaz

ranges in Tajikistan. The forests are a remarkable combina-

tion of walnut (Juglans regia), reaching 20 metres in height,

and fruit trees such as wild apple (Malus) and prune (Prunus)

(Krever and al. 1998).

It is estimated that in Jalal-Abad Province there are already

some 10,000 households in the wooded area and their

number is increasing steadily. Many villages are overpopu-

lated.

In December 2004, an ENVSEC field assessment mission

visited the Arstanbob community the population of which has

increased three-fold over the last 10 years. Small collective

farms such as Achi have to sustain numbers of households

exceeding available natural resources. (Achi forestry is home

to 12,300 people in 2,500 households. Out of 14,500 hectare

total area, 800 hectares are under walnut forests.) Increasing

population pressure combined with the lack of access to

alternative sources of energy drive villagers to overexploit

the walnut forests’ wood stocks. Long cold winters force

people to cut down trees for fuel. Poverty is another important

force driving deforestation, with people cutting down trees

and collecting plant produce for sale. Finally unsustainable

agricultural practices cause severe damage to walnut forests.

Grazing animals trample down young trees (Achi population

owns over 30,000 heads of cattle), and farmers clear forest

to plant crops.

Deforestation in turn contributes to greater vulner-

ability to natural hazards such as erosion, mudflows

and landslides.

Source: ENVSEC field visits - Natural Resources Track

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Isfara has running waters, beautiful little

gardens and many fruit-trees although for the

most part, its orchards produce almonds. Its

people are all Persian-speaking Sarts. In the

hills some two miles to the south of the town,

is a piece of rock, known as the Mirror Stone. It

is some 10 arm-lengths long, as high as aman

in parts, up to his waist in others. Everything is

reflected by it as by a mirror.

To the west of Andijan is Marghilan, a fine town-

ship full of good things. Its apricots and pomegran-

ates are most excellent. One sort of pomegran-

ate, they call the Great Seed; its sweetness has

a little of the pleasant flavour of an overripe

apricot and it may be thought better than the

Semnan pomegranate. They dry another kind of

apricot and after stoning, stuff it with almonds.

They call it subhani, and it is very palatable.

The hunting and fowling of Marghilan are good:

white deer are had close by.

A very beautiful stone, with wavy red and white

patterns, was found in the Bara Koh in ‘Umar

Shaikh Mirza’s latter days. Knife handles,

clasps for belts and many other things are

made from it. For climate and for pleasantness,

no township in all Farghana equals Osh.