Current and potential conflicts for ecosystem services caused by agricultural land use in Central Asia, and essential implications for research on sustainable land management in the region

Christopher Conrad ^a, Gerd Schmidt ^a, Maira Kussainova ^b

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^aMartin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Universitätsplatz 10, 06108, Germany

^bKazakh-German University, 111 Pushkin Str., Almaty, 050010, Kazakhstan

Email: christopher.conrad@geo.uni-halle.de

https://doi.org/10.29258/CAJSCR/2023-R1.v2-1/1-21.eng

January 20, 2023

Abstract

The increasing demand for food, bioenergy and other agricultural products, as well as the intensification of climate change, pose special challenges for Central Asia’s agricultural sector in terms of implementing sustainable land management. Central Asia is a climate change hot spot. Adaptation measures of agricultural land use to climate change imply new trade-offs in terms of quality and provision of ecosystem services. Based on literature studies, this paper identifies examples of such trade-offs and presents possible solutions. The ecoregions of Central Asia show strong interdependencies. Therefore, a special focus has to be put on the transregional effects of the use of ecosystem services. Against the background of different concepts of sustainable development (ESS, SDG, Global Environmental Syndromes) integrative approaches for sustainable use and design of landscapes are necessary.

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To cite the paper: Conrad, C., Schmidt, G., Kussainova, M., (2023). Current and potential conflicts for ecosystem services caused by agricultural land use in Central Asia, and essential implications for research on sustainable land management in the region. Central Asian Journal of Sustainability and Climate Research. https://doi.org/10.29258/CAJSCR/2023-R1.v2-1/1-21.eng

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