Land Tenure Reform in Tajikistan: Implications for Land Stewardship and Social Sustainability: A Case Study

Abstract

This chapter is a brief overview of the implications of land reform for tenure and use of pastureland in Tajikistan. It starts by describing the land tenure system, the modes of the land use rights prevailing on agricultural land, and the appraisal of land tenure security. Further, the analysis focuses on the increasing privatization of land threatening the use of common pastureland on which villager’s have long relied. The social and ecological impacts of the changed tenure system as a result of land reform after the 1990s and its consequence for transhumance in the absence of proper modes of tenure and institutional arrangements are discussed. The current trend of land legislation reform is outlined.

Land reform is likely to have adverse social and environmental impacts, unless carefully redesigned to meet the needs of small stockholders. The plight of rural landless livestock holders is highlighted, and the relevance of communal tenure arrangement is stressed. Conclusions and recommendations are made toward a sustainable land policy, which can ensure a balance between the economic benefits and socioeconomic and ecological principles of sustainable land use.