An Assessment of the Economics of Land Degradation for Improved Land Management in Central Asia

Land degradation Limitation on economic development (National/Regional) Economics, Land degradation, sustainable land management, ecosystems services, ecosystem management, natural resources management, rural productivity, conservation agriculture.

The following activities are an integral part of the outputs and related research: I. Identifying national and regional stakeholders Outcome: Stakeholder map available and project proposal presentation at the Interstate Commission on Sustainable Development of Central Asia, November 2014. II. Setting up the regional and national project structure Outcome: TORs and final proposals available, December 2014 Ill. Understanding and screening national development priorities related to land resources Outcome: Informal feedback, January 2015 IV. Identifying and documenting current land use and feasible alternatives related to assessed development goals. These will build on the existing information for the region that ICARDA has developed down to scale of 500m. Outcome: Informal outputs will feed into the development of reports by the ELD Initiative , April 2015 V. Cost-benefit analysis and development of tailored recommendations at national/eve/ Outcome: National country reports, July 2015 VI. Finalization of the supra-national case study Outcome: Final report, October 2015

Working together with the NARS and the UNCCD, detailed case studies in Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan will shed a light on the national development priorities of the countries concerning land resources. Besides, the current land use and feasible alternative land use systems are identified and documented. These SLM practices will be evaluated based on their economic impact and viability via cost-benefit analyses, in order to provide appropriatie SLM options for private and public decison makers, including policy makers. An umbrella study – supported by CAREC and the ELD Initiative - will summarize the national recommendations and draw conclusions for viable SLM on the regional level in Central Asia. The project outputs can directly be used by decision makers to improve land management in order to reduce land degradation, improve local livelihoods and enhance the economy. This will result in an increased awareness, skills and knowledge concerning sustainable viable land management by female and male farmers (including youth) and has the potential to improve the current land use and related economic activities, achieving sustainable economic development within Central Asia.