Tajikistan organized the first CCRI national workshop among GFC groups in 2016

By Andrey Laletin*

The Tajikistan national workshop on the strategy of capacity-development towards adapting local communities’ livelihoods in sustainable mountain forest ecosystems of Tajikistan (CCRI workshop) took place in the Hotel “Atlas” in Dushanbe in May 12, 2016. There were 34 participants from different parts of the country including representatives of all 5 project communities. 15 participants were women and some of them were very active during the workshop.

I had a privilege to visit 3 project communities before the workshop and met with local people in their villages. They shared their concerns and explained how they conserve trees and forests around their villages. Tajikistan is a center of origin of many fruit trees like apricot, cherry, plum and almond. Local people bring sprouts of these trees from the forest and use them for the natural selection in private or collective gardens. Also they build fences around trees and around plots of forests to protect them from the livestock. There were 3 million sheeps in Tajikistan 25 years ago when Soviet Union collapsed and Tajikistan became an independent state. Now there are more than 8,5 million sheeps and there are not enough pastures for them. Every summer shepards go with large herds of sheeps to the north of the country and every winter they migrate to the south of Tajikistan.

The workshop was opened and facilitated by Dr. Neimatullo Safarov – Director of NGO “Noosphera”. He is the CBD national focal point and the former Minister of Environment of Tajikistan. Safarov presented video that was filmed 8 years ago in Dushanbe during the national workshop on Underlying Causes of deforestation and forest degradation by Noosphera and GFC. Then Simone Lovera, GFC Executive Director, explained about CCRI program and I described CCRI methodology and answered relevant questions. There were 5 men and 5 women that came from the project communities. They explained their achievements and challenges and actively participated in the following discussion about role of livestock in their lifestyle and problems to protect forests. Anna Kirilenko from Kyrgyz NGO BIOM made presentation about gender and SDGs by Skype. There was another presentation with focus on gender issues in Tajikistan made by S. Azizova from NGO “Women and Earth”.

This workshop was organized just in the beginning of the CCRI project in Tajikistan. In 2016 activists from Noosphera will visit 5 project communities, listen needs of local people, facilitate discussions with members of communities including women, youth and elders. In mid 2017 there will be the national training on gender and SDGs and the project will be over in the end of 2017.

*Andrey Laletinm former President of the GFC, is now presently working as Regional Resource Person and Advisor on UNFF process

31 May, 2016
Posted in community conservation resilience initiative, News, Supporting Community Conservation