Abstract
This chapter attempts to get to grips with the concept of land stewardship and its links with sustainable development (SD) in the context of the Central Asian region (CAR as defined in Chap. 1). The idea is to convey clarity to the concept by elucidating the principles and practices which can make it work, particularly in rangeland-based production systems and the respective local rural populations. However, the diversity of rangeland-based agriculture and livestock raising systems throughout the CAR, especially in the five Central Asian “stans,” Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan, makes it rather difficult to characterize the consequences of a successful transition from Soviet style to more sustainable farming systems and the adoption of an attitude of land stewardship among the rural community and those who attempt to regulate its use (policy-makers and other government officials).
SD is a concept that people know about, but opinions differ as to what it means in concrete term actions. The key question is: “What do we want to maintain, for what purpose and for whom?” Many possibilities exist. These are elaborated in this chapter and elsewhere in the book as is some examination of the relationship between SD and land stewardship and what being a land steward really means.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Notes
- 1.
They are the resources and benefits provided by the ecosystem that are essential for human survival and economic activity. See discussion on ecological goods and services.
- 2.
It means that we inherit the Earth from previous generations and have an obligation to pass it on in reasonable condition to future generations.
- 3.
Sustainable development (SD) means not a steady state as such but can/should imply the increase of ecologic, economic, and sociocultural capital.
- 4.
Commonwealth of Independent States – former member countries of the Soviet union
- 5.
Biosophy is the science and art of intelligent living based on the awareness and practice of spiritual values, ethical-social principles, and character qualities essential to individual freedom and social harmony.
- 6.
See Squires 2011, for a fuller discussion of rangeland, including widely accepted definitions and the goods and services that derive from it.
References and Further Reading
Brown GC, Waldron SA, Longworth JW (2008) Sustainable development in Western China: managing people, livestock and grasslands in pastoral areas. Edward Elgar, Cheltenham, 294 p
Chapin FS III, Carpenter R, Kofinas GP, Folke C, Abel N, Clark WC, Olsson P, Stafford Smith DM, Walker BH, Young OR, Berkes F, Biggs R, Grove JM, Naylor RL, Pinkerton E, Steffen W, Swanson FJ (2010) Ecosystem stewardship: sustainability strategies for a rapidly changing planet. Trends Ecol Evol 25:241–249
Cowie AL, Penman TD, Gorissen L, Winslow MD, Lehmann J, Tyrrell TD, Twomlow S, Wilkes A, Lal R, Jones JW, Paulsch A, Kellner K, Akhtar-Schuster M (2011) Towards sustainable land management in the drylands: scientific connections in monitoring and assessing dryland degradation, climate change and biodiversity. Land Degrad Dev 22:248–260
Fay M, Block RI, Ebinger J (2009) Adapting to climate change in Eastern Europe and Central Asia. World Bank, Washington, DC
Gintzburger G, Toderich KN, Mardonov BK, Mahmudov MM (2003) Rangelands of the arid and semi-arid zones of Uzbekistan. CIRAD/ICARDA, Montpellier, 426p
Halimova N (2012) Land tenure reform in Tajikistan: implications for land stewardship and social sustainability: a case study. In: Squires VR (ed) Rangeland stewardship in Central Asia. Springer, Dordrecht, pp 305–332 (Chapter 13, this volume)
Harwood RR (1990) A history of sustainable agriculture. In: Edwards CA, Lal R, Madden P, Miller RH, House G (eds) Sustainable agricultural systems. Soil and Water Conservation Society, Ankeny, pp 3–19, 696p
Hua L, Zhang D (2012) Engaging with land users; the first steps on a long road. In: Squires VR (ed) Rangeland stewardship in Central Asia. Springer, Dordrecht, pp 333–356 (Chapter 14, this volume)
Jackson R (2012) Fostering community-based stewardship of wildlife in Central Asia: transforming snow leopards from pests into valued assets. In: Squires VR (ed) Rangeland stewardship in Central Asia. Springer, Dordrecht, pp 357–380 (Chapter 15, this volume)
Kreutzmann H (ed) (2012) Pastoral practices in high Asia: agency of ‘development’ effected by modernisation, resettlement and transformation. Springer, Dordrecht, 341p
Kurbanova B (2012) Constraints and barriers to better land stewardship: analysis of PRAs in Tajikistan. In: Squires VR (ed) Rangeland stewardship in Central Asia. Springer, Dordrecht, pp 129–162 (Chapter 7, this volume)
Michalk D, Hua L, Kemp D, Jones R, Takahashi T, Wu J, Nan Z, Xu Z, Han G (2010) Re-designing livestock systems to improve household income and reduce stocking rates in China’s Western rangelands. In: Squires V, Hua L, Zhang D, Li G (eds) Towards sustainable use of rangelands in North West China. Springer, Dordrecht, pp 301–324, 354 p
Oxfam (2009) Reaching tipping point: climate change and poverty in Tajikistan. Oxfam International, Dushanbe, 22p
Squires VR (ed) (2011) Range and animal sciences and management, Encyclopedia of Life Support Systems, vol 1.UNESCO/EOLSS, Oxford
Squires VR (2012) Governance and the role of institutions in sustainable development (Chapter 12, this volume). In: Squires VR (ed) Rangeland stewardship in Central Asia. Springer, Dordrecht, pp 275–304, 22p.
Squires VR, Lu X, Lu Q, Wang T, Yang Y (2009) Degradation and recovery in China’s pastoral lands. CABI, Wallingford, 284 pp
Tongway DJ, Ludwig JA (2010) Restoring disturbed landscapes: turning principles into practice. Island Press, Washington, DC, 210 p
UN (1987) Our common future/Brundtland report. United Nations World Commission on Environment and Develop, Oxford University Press, 400 p
WOCAT (2007) Where the land is greener: case studies and analysis of soil and water conservation initiatives worldwide. Co-published by CTA, UNEP, FAO and CDE
Worrell R, Appleby MC (2000) Stewardship of natural resources: definition, ethical and practical aspects. J Agric Environ Ethics 12:263–277
Acknowledgements
The work reported here was generated from experience gained from the ADB/GEF Rural Development project, and the author was engaged as a consultant by a consortium of GITEC Consult GmbH/Donaev Management Consulting under the direction and guidance of the PMU in Dushanbe.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2012 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Squires, V. (2012). Better Land Stewardship: An Economic and Environmental Imperative, If There Is to Be Sustainable Development. In: Squires, V. (eds) Rangeland Stewardship in Central Asia. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-5367-9_2
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-5367-9_2
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-94-007-5366-2
Online ISBN: 978-94-007-5367-9
eBook Packages: Biomedical and Life SciencesBiomedical and Life Sciences (R0)