Resilient Pastures for Land Degradation Neutrality in Central Asia / Side Event CRIC 21

Central Asia is particularly susceptible to drought, land degradation and desertification due to its arid climate, limited water resources and fragile vegetation cover. Overgrazing, deforestation, changes in land use and improper irrigation methods have led to soil erosion, reduced soil fertility, and the depletion of groundwater resources. Land degradation in Central Asia has multifaceted socio-economic and environmental impacts, affecting livelihoods, food security and ecosystem resilience and unsustainable practices such as overgrazing exacerbate soil erosion and land degradation overall. In economic terms, land degradation costs in Central Asia span from 3% to 11% of GDP with the cost of inaction being five times higher than the cost of action.

This Side Event proposes a constructive, multi-stakeholder dialogue focused on sharing good practice from GEF projects in Central Asia such as the GEF7 Sustainable Forest Management Impact Program on Dryland Sustainable Landscapes (DSL-IP), Food Systems, Land Use and Restoration (FOLUR), and Central Asian Initiative for Land Management-2 (CACILM-2).

By facilitating this collaborative effort, the Side Event aims to fill knowledge gaps, catalyse innovations, promote cross-learning,     collaboration and South-South exchange, and accelerate joint actions toward sustainable pasture management in Central Asia, in alignment with UNCCD objectives, and the above-mentioned initiatives.

Learning outcomes:

• Gain an understanding of the role of pastures from an ecological, economical, and social perspective.
• Identify policy gaps, conflicting interests, and administrative hurdles that impede sustainable pasture management.
• Discuss legislative frameworks, incentives, and governance structures that facilitate sustainable pasture management, including gender mainstreaming-related policies.
• Discuss existing public and private financing mechanisms and how they can be tailored for sustainable pasture initiatives.

• Local time	Session name and description	Speakers
  12:45-13:00	Welcome coffee and registration
  13:00-13:10	Official opening	Abduvokhid Zakhadullaev, Head of Unit, Ministry of ecology, environmental protection and climate change Republic of Uzbekistan (TBC) Chris Magero, Senior programme Officer, IUCN
  13:10-13:45	The Role and value of Pastures: Ecological, Economical, and Social Perspectives	Akmal Akramkhanov, Senior Scientist, ICARDA, Uzbekistan Dr. Abdulla Rabbimov, MoA's research Institution, CACILM 2
  13:45-14:00	Q&A session
  14:00-14:50	Policy and Finance Landscape for Sustainable Pasture Management	Liubov Timofeeva, NbS Project Officer, IUCN ECARO Aziz Nurbekov, FAO Uzbekistan Mr. Temirzhanov, Ministry of Agriculture / UNCCD Focal Point, Kazakhstan TBC Mrs. Ariuntuya Dorjsuren, Senior specialist of Foreign cooperation department, representing UNCCD Focal Point, Mongolia Mr Rysbek Asapov, Ministry of Agriculture/ UNCCD Focal Point a.i., Kyrgyzstan TBC Ministry of Environment / UNCCD Focal Point, Uzbekistan Chris Magero, Senior Programme Officer, Forests and Grassland Team, IUCN
  14:50-15:00	Wrap-up and final remarks