Biodiversity Conservation and Sustainable Development in the Gissar Mountains of Tajikistan

From PDF A Document: The goals of this project are therefore to conserve the global biodiversity of the Gissar mountains by strengthening protected areas and increasing the security and sustainability of the livelihoods of the rural populations around them. The overall objectives of this project are: To establish an effective system of core protected areas within the project area to secure long term protection of global important biodiversity; To improve the efficiency and sustainability of natural resource use by local populations within transition zones and thereby reduce the pressure on the overall ecosystem and specifically the PA’s; To create apositive enabling environment for BD conservation in the project area through the reform of the legal and institutional framework, awareness, education and capacity development of stakeholders, and the improvement of data availability June 14, 2005 Per MSP Document: Project Goal: To catalyze the improved conservation of globally significant biodiversity in Tajikistan through the demonstration of new mechanisms and approaches to effective management of protected areas and natural resources adjacent to them. Project Objective: To strengthen management effectiveness and sustainability of three protected areas of different types on the southern slopes of the Gissar Mountains, thereby to provide models and best practices replicable throughout the national PA system. The proposed project will have three basic components. The first will focus on clarifying and improving the policy/legal/regulatory framework for biodiversity and natural resource management and conservation in protected areas. Under the second component, the project will work extensively with the national PA system, and specifically with the three target PAs in the project zone, to improve their effectiveness in protecting biodiversity. Under the third component the project will seek to reduce the intense pressure on the natural resources of the project zone by promoting improved sustainable natural resource use practices in and around the PAs. These activities will help improve the livelihoods of the people living in and around the PAs and reduce direct pressure on biodiversity both within PA’s and in productive landscapes around them.