The Kyrgyz Republic is one of the countries in Central Asia most vulnerable to land degradation and climate change impacts. Climate-related disasters and land degradation due to unsustainable land use practices already affect the rural and urban population, which depends on natural resources and critical infrastructure. The World Bank has just released a report outlining the main results of the study based on the Restoration Opportunities Assessment Methodology (ROAM) conducted in the Naryn River Basin, Kyrgyz Republic. This assessment identifies degraded forest and pasture areas, considers the potential correlation between land degradation and sedimentation in hydropower reservoirs, and proposes feasible and effective landscape restoration measures for the Naryn River Basin. The study also presents several recommendations to fast-track the implementation of proposed interventions for the Naryn River Basin and scale up to other degraded areas throughout the country.

The report relies on FutureWater’s remote sensing and GIS services, which highlighted degraded areas of land across the Kyrgyz Republic and reveal where restoration interventions are possible. The identification of highly degraded areas is achieved from an innovative approach using satellite remote sensing technologies, combined with a connectivity analysis to determine sediment sourcing hotspots using the sediment delivery module of the InVEST ecosystem services model.

More information about the project can be found here and the report can be dowloaded from the World Bank website.