Researching the Future of Pastoralism in Central Asia's Mountains: Examining Development Orthodoxies

This paper synthesizes research findings on contemporary mountain pastoralism in Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, based on a longer review characterizing mountain agropastoralism in Central Asia. We focus here on the principal issues that have been emphasized over the past two decades in policy, programs, and projects regarding pastoralism in Central Asia's mountains. We conclude that this emphasis has largely been driven by two unproven orthodoxies about N The extent and causes of pasture degradation; and N The need for decentralization and pasture land privatization.

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