Pastoral land tenure reform in post-independence Kazakhstan: issues and prospects

We describe and evaluate the evolution of pastoral land tenure in Kazakhstan, home to one of the largest areas of temperate rangeland on earth. After independence, Kazakhstan introduced individual property rights over pasture, but later sought to mitigate negative outcomes with new legal instruments. As well as excluding smallholders from land titles, initial reforms aggravated the breakdown of migratory grazing systems. The second phase introduced landscape scale pasture management plans and expanded public grazing by expropriating under‑used plots. But implementation has been hindered by a high coverage of long-term leaseholds and planning is often a paper exercise. Poor infrastructure, scarce herding labour and weak social institutions also hinder use of distant pastures. However, some local authorities have found mechanisms to improve livestock mobility and pasture access. We draw on international examples to discuss whether individual tenure may be combined with more inclusive arrangements, supporting recovery of seasonal grazing systems.

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