Transboundary conservation project in Central Asia successfully completed

The Michael Succow Foundation has closed its subproject within the GIZ Regional Programme “Integrative and Climate-sensitive Land Use in Central Asia” (ILUCA). The project addressed the challenge that ecological processes and biodiversity in Central Asia are inherently transboundary, while conservation and land use governance remain largely organized at national level. Against the backdrop of bilateral cooperation between Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, which is currently more intensive than ever before, the project aimed to strengthen the enabling conditions for coordinated and cooperative management of transboundary landscapes. Pilot regions included the Zarafshan Valley and the Hissar Mountains, located along the border between Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

In the Zarafshan Valley, staff members of the Zarafshan National Park (UZB) and the Zarafshan Zakaznik (TJK) received practical trainings in biodiversity monitoring. The training covered, among other aspects, the use of camera traps and the application of newly developed, standardized guidelines designed to enable harmonized and comparable biodiversity data collection across the two countries. Management effectiveness assessments with the METT tool helped to identify threats, management gaps, and conservation priorities of the protected areas. A transboundary ecotourism assessment highlighted opportunities to link conservation with local economic development. 

A key milestone was the agreement on a Joint Action Plan for transboundary cooperation in the Zarafshan Valley – a medium-term framework guiding future collaboration and paving the way for a planned bilateral Memorandum of Understanding between Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

In the Hissar Mountains, the project strengthened practical cooperation between the protected areas Shirkent National Park (TJK) and Yuqori Tupalang National Park (UZB) through joint technical exchanges, biodiversity monitoring trainings, and shared management discussions that improved mutual understanding of ecosystem challenges. This laid the basis for further joint activities in transboundary conservation.

Regional dialogue and trust-building were further core project elements of the ILUCA subproject. Through a regional conference on Human-Wildlife Conflict in Central Asia, two regional Samarkand Summer Schools on GIS and Remote Sensing, and a Side-Event at the CMS COP14, the project facilitated exchange among protected area administrations, government authorities, scientists and NGOs from across Central Asia.

The partnerships and tools established through the project now form a strong foundation for continued transboundary action to protect Central Asia’s shared natural heritage.

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