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ORECH_LES: BIODIVERSITY AND SUSTAINABLE MANAGEMENT OF KYRGYSTAN'S WALNUT_FRUIT FORESTS: DEVELOPMENT OF NEW SILVICULTURAL APPROACHES
By Jean-Pierre Sorg, Bronislav Ivanovitch Venglovsky and Kaspar Schmidt

Occurrence of walnut-fruit forests in Kyrgyzstan
Walnut-fruit forests are found on the slopes of the eastern Fergana Valley in the south of Kyrgyzstan, a central Asian country. These are dominated by walnut trees (Juglans regia L.) and a wide variety of other fruit-bearing species, such as apple (Malus spp.), pear (Pyrus spp.) and stone fruit trees (Prunus spp.). The walnut-fruit forests originally covered an area of about 600'000 ha. Today, the figure is around 30'000 ha (Müller and Vienglovsky, 1998). In spite of this huge decrease, south Kyrgyzstan still boasts the largest naturally-occurring area of walnut-fruit forests in the world (Hemery and Popov, 1998).

The walnut-fruit forests are owned by the state, and are managed by state forest enterprises. In 1945, the entire area of walnut-fruit forests became a protected zone. This action significantly reduced the number of ways in which the forest, especially the timber, could be utilised. The attempt to conserve the walnut-fruit forests by ensuring their complete protection has influenced the Kyrgyz forest policy up to the present day.

Significance of the walnut-fruit forests
The walnut-fruit forests are characterised by their remarkably high biodiversity on all levels (ecosystem, between species, within species, genetic diversity). In the forests, there are more than 5000 plant species, including around 180 various woody species, and about 150 bird and 40 mammal species. This genetic diversity is of international significance, as walnut-trees and a wide range of other fruits of world-wide economic importance originate in the mountains of central Asia and their forests.

Many forest products enter the regional economy, including non-timber forest products (especially nuts and fruit, mushrooms etc) and to a lesser extent, timber products. At the time of the Soviet Union, nuts and fruit were systematically gathered and industrially processed. In addition, other issues of regional importance are the forest's role as a place of relaxation and as a focus for the gradual growth in tourism; the regulation of the water balance, and protection against erosion offered by the forest.

The forests and the products contained within them offer substantial potential for the rural development of surrounding areas, a potential which could be harnessed better in the future. The local population uses a wide range of various forest products, albeit to varying extents (Messerli; 2002). Many products, such as firewood, which has become increasingly important since Kyrgyzstan's independence due to the massive increase in the price of coal, are still gathered primarily for personal use.

The sale of forest products such as walnuts provides an important source of additional household income. Often, forest products can be part-processed on farms; this generally leads to a considerable increase in profit for households in the surrounding areas. Examples of such products are dried fruit, herbal teas, or wild fruit jams.

Current management problems in the walnut-fruit forests
Since the breakup of the Soviet Union and the independence of Kyrgyzstan in 1991, the country has undergone a very severe economic and political transition process. State subsidies to the forest authorities have been slashed. Today there is scarcely enough money to ensure sustainable forest management. At the same time, current economic problems are leading to energy shortages, and are reducing the earnings potential for the population. This means that in the walnut-fruit forest area, almost everyone is forced into subsistence farming. These changes bring about increased pressure on the forests from various angles. Increased forest use and the decline of effective forest protection and management only go to show that sustainable management of the walnut-tree forests cannot currently be guaranteed. (Müller and Sorg, 2001)

Today, many walnut and mixed stands are in a silviculturally-deplorable state. This is mostly due to the extremely restrictive nature of the policy for issuing felling permits throughout the whole walnut-fruit forest region, and to intensive forest grazing. Grazing is actually forbidden in these forests but is widespread in many areas and wholly unregulated. Many natural stands are too old and are beginning to show the first signs of decay (e.g. rotten wood is widespread). The production potential of these stands is minimal and they are no longer economically viable. The plantations, most of which were established for nut production, are often too dense and the tree crowns too weakly developed for optimal nut yield. In order to tackle these problems, new approaches to silviculture have to be developed.

Aim and expected results
The long-term aim of the project is that:
A new, dynamic and creative silviculture will be applied in the walnut-fruit forests. In this way the needs of the local population and the Kyrgyz society will be met in a sustainable way.

The following results are expected at the end of the project (December 2006):

• The key institutions will have a scientifically well-grounded basis at their disposal for making management decisions.
• Selected forest enterprises will apply the new silvicultural methods.
• Agroforesty approaches will be known within the forest service, will be identified as such and will be included in the planning of forest management.
• An international seminar on new methods of managing walnut-fruit forests will be held in 2004 or 2005, during which the results of the project will be presented and discussed.
• The key stakeholders (local people involved in forest management, the relevant administrative bodies, decision-makers) in the area of selected forest enterprises will be aware of the new silvicultural methods.
• The staff of the project will have more detailed and broader knowledge, in particular in the field of agroforestry.
• The ORECH-LES project will be part of an international network of experts on management of walnut-fruit forests and their species.

Methodology, an overview
New silvicultural and agroforestry methods will be developed by researchers in close co-operation with forestry practitioners and locals. This will involve supporting the partner's co-ordinated activities in the following three areas:

Applied research: Gathering of available knowledge and production of new knowledge

Training and consultancy: Transfer of the knowledge

Practical implementation: Application of knowledge and identification of new research questions

Activities in these three areas will allow the results gained to be put into practice quickly. The close co-operation between researchers, forest practitioners, and the local population means that ideas and relevant research questions arising from work in the field can be fed back into the research. In this way, a dynamic knowledge cycle will be set in motion, which will facilitate continuous silvicultural development. This transdisciplinary approach is new in Kyrgyzstan. Our experiences during the pilot phase of the project have shown that this working style is valued equally highly by scientists and practitioners (Sorg et al., 2000).

For further information please contact:
Dr. Jean-Pierre Sorg
Group for forestry in developing countries
Chair of silviculture,
ETH Zentrum HG FO 22.4
Rämistrasse 101
CH 8092 Zurich
Phone +41 1 632 32 14
Fax +41 1 632 10 33
e-mail: sorg@fowi.ethz.ch
http://www.fowi.ethz.ch

References

• Hemery, G. E. und Popov, S. I. (1998): The walnut (Juglans regia L.) forests of Kyrgyzstan and their importance as a genetic resource. Commonwealth Forestry Review 77 (4): 272-276.
• Messerli, S. (2002): Agroforestry – A way forward to the sustainable management of the Walnut Fruit Forests in Kyrgyzstan. Swiss Forest. J. 153, 10: 392-396.
• Müller, U. und Vienglovsky, B. I. (1998): L'économie des forêts de montagne dans l'Ex-URSS: l'exemple du Kirghizistan. Rev. For. Française n spécial : 148-160.
• Müller, U. und Sorg, J.-P. (2001): Gestion multifonctionelle des forêts de noyer du sud du Kyrgyzstan: tradition, problèmes actuels, perspectives. Schweiz. Zeitschrift Forstwesen 152 (3) : 138-144.

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