This is a literature review on land use and integrated land use management systems in Uzbekistan. The review aims to synthesize and examine the state of knowledge and the scope for establishing various integrated resource and land use management strategies such as types of agroforestry systems and integrated pastoral management for the sustainable management of forest and agricultural resources in Uzbekistan. The review also aims to explore land use governance in Uzbekistan, delving into the governance structures, formal and informal institutions, their transformations, and path dependencies that shape the post-socialist realities for Uzbekistan. The report reflects upon the land use governance and management practiсes in Uzbekistan against the key principles and suggestions made in the international academic literature on integrated land use systems and governance in semi-arid regions. Drawing on the experiences made in two pilot sites in Uzbekistan (Bukhara and Navoi) with co-management regimes around livestock herding and agricultural use in forest areas, the report seeks to elaborate governance guidelines and recommendations tailored to the specificities and socioeconomic and ecological challenges of the two pilot regions.

The aim of this report is to describe and analyse the economic and business aspects of agroforestry implementation in Uzbekistan. This information is presented with the goal of enabling the development of detailed and specific suggestions for land use contract development. First, the report presents an in-depth literature review of studies that have examined the economic structure and viability of agroforestry and other agricultural practices in the region. Specifically, this review focuses on developing a nuanced understanding of relevant business structures, economic relationships between various land users and local forestry officials, and existing co-management agreements and contracts that affect the economic viability of land use activities. Current employment structure and land tenure conditions are also examined. Second, the report presents the findings of several field visits to pilot sites in Uzbekistan. These field trips were organized by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and carried out by national experts Sirojiddin Eshmatov and Sobir Azizov. Based on interviews and visits to farmers, the study team collected information about the current economic situation of smallholder farmers and other land users. These visits aimed in part to understand the specific economic and business considerations faced by agroforestry practitioners or interested land users in the pilot sites. Together, the two components form the empirical basis for a set of specific recommendations for land users and policymakers interested in developing agroforestry as an economically viable activity in the context of agriculture in Uzbekistan.

This publication is an effort to describe the principles, history and main parts of the integrated natural resource management worldwide and in Uzbekistan, collect developed innovations, best practices and lessons learned in the field of natural resources management, and present existing issues related to the state and development of natural resources use and management. Specific attention has been made on the natural environments in the region of cold winter deserts of Uzbekistan.

This volume of 18 chapters is the work of more than 30 authors, many of whom are natives of the Central Asian region or are researchers who have dedicated a large part of their working lives to studying the development dynamics in this vast and fascinating region. The work focuses on the 20 years since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1990. But it also traces the attitudes of land users to the land dating from before the late 19th century, when Russian conquest and colonization occurred, and through the upheavals caused by Soviet-style collectivization and sedentarization. The book is rich with new data presented in 68 easy to understand charts/graphs (many in color) and 50 Tables. Information was generated for this book by experts working in-country. It presents for the first time in English a digest of plethora of previously inaccessible Russian reports and scientific literature that will be invaluable for development agencies, including UN, World Bank, Asian Development Bank, Islamic Bank as well as to students of this vast and fascinating region who seek up to date and authoritive information.

This publication is a product of the GEF-funded FAO project ‘Decision Support for Mainstreaming and Scaling Out Sustainable Land Management (DS-SLM)’ which has developed a decision support framework (DSF). The DSF integrates experience from work with land degradation (LD) and SLM into an overall strategy for mainstreaming and scaling out SLM at different spatial and temporal scales. This publication serves as a step-by-step guide for the application and implementation of the DSF during planning, design and implementation of SLM interventions. It includes elements – both in its modules and proposed tools and methods – which can support countries in pursuing land degradation neutrality (LDN).

- Foreword and acknowledgements - Executive summary - Spatial and land-use planning systems across the OECD - Australia - Austria - Belgium - Canada - Chile - Czech Republic - Denmark - Estonia - Finland - France - Germany - Greece - Hungary - Ireland - Israel - Italy - Japan - Korea - Mexico - Netherlands - New Zealand - Norway - Poland - Portugal - Slovak Republic - Slovenia - Spain - Sweden - Switzerland - Turkey - United Kingdom - United States - Bibliography

Through its presentation of a holistic view of land management for sustainable development, this text outlines basic principles of land administration applicable to all countries and their divergent needs.