The Conservation of Agricultural Biodiversity in Uzbekistan: The Impacts of the Land Reform Process

Abstract

From Introduction:

"Central Asia is one of the most important centers of biological diversity for crop plants in the world, especially for tree crops of fruits and nuts. This paper reports on an ongoing research effort between an international conservation network and Uzbek scientists to study the socio-economic processes impacting local farmer conservation. A specific focus is the economic transition process, especially the evolution of the collective farm sector and changes in land tenure. The project seeks to understand how the economic transition process can affect the conservation, access and utilization of crop genetic resources. The paper focuses on the cultivation of fruit trees, nut trees, and grape vines in home gardens and the importance to rural households. The linkages between land tenure, economic transition, and agricultural biodiversity have not been examined thoroughly, and this paper aims to contribute to both methodological and empirical understanding of the processes at work.

"The process of economic transformation has been gradual and incomplete in the agricultural sector of the Uzbekistan economy. Changes in land tenure regimes are recent and ongoing, providing a starting point to explore the links between household agricultural behavior and local agro-biodiversity management. Furthermore, due to the crisis in rural incomes, it is useful to study the contribution of crop diversity assets to livelihoods. The paper will present secondary data to describe the general process of transition facing rural households, followed by preliminary analysis of primary data on home gardens."