Kirgistans Walnusswälder in der Transformation: politische Ökologie einer Naturressource
In: Europa Regional, Band 13, Heft 1, S. 27-37
Most people associated the collapse of the Soviet Union and the subsequent phase of
transformation with the hopes of an improvement
in the ecological situation in the post-Soviet
states. This article will take the example of walnut-fruit forests of South Kyrgyzstan that are
unique in the world to demonstrate that current transformation processes can also constitute a
danger for certain natural habitats. It will apply a scenario borrowed from political economy to
analyse the change in players, interests and patterns of resource management and forest
utilisation. The following factors crystallise as a threat to forests: the appearance of new players,
the insecure economic situation of the local population and the erosion of the management
institutions.
The hallmark of the walnut-fruit forests is a major diversity of timbers and a variety of high-grade
usable products. The centralised Soviet policy on forests devised detailed plans and forestry work
for utilising the various forest products and protecting forests in their long-term existence. The
governmental forestry operations (
leshoze
) implemented the forestry on the local level while
forming the social centre of these settlements because they were the main employer. Since the
Soviet Union collapsed, the political and socio-economic constraints have changed considerably,
which has not only involved a change in forestry management, but also in the access rights and
interests in the forest resources. At the present time, the region is suffering from high
unemployment. That means that forests are increasingly important these days to the local
population's strategy for survival since they supply food, animal feed and firewood. In addition,
political and economic liberalisation along with enhanced communication and trade relations has
opened forests up to representatives of international groups who are interested in the highly
valued forest products. Today, rough timber and burls from walnut trees, walnuts, wild apples and
morels are exported into a series of countries in the world. Scientists and members of international
organisations stress the great ecological significance of these forests and the fact that they should
be protected. Nevertheless, there are fears that the present processes of transformation and
globalisation will stimulate a compounded and increasingly uncontrolled utilisation and
exploitation of the forests, thus boosting their degradation.