Knowledge mapping and strategy-building for agricultural change: Lessons learnt from participatory stakeholder events in Tajikistan’s cotton-growing region

Alff, H.¹ , Spies, M.¹, Zakirova, A.¹

¹ Both authors are affiliated with Eberswalde University for Sustainable Development (HNEE),
Eberswalde, Germany; * Corresponding author (corresponding author’s second affiliation: College of Social Sciences (CSS), KIMEP University, Almaty, Kazakhstan)

*Email: h.alff@kimep.kz

https://doi.org/10.29258/CAJSCR/2026-R1.v5-1/53-71.eng

Thematic cluster: Climate, Environmental Science, Landscape/Agriculture

Type of paper: Research paper

xxxxx xx, 2025

Abstract

The present article concisely reviews the outputs of a transdisciplinary research with the active engagement of local farmers aimed to enhance understanding of human wellbeing factors, provisioning of eco- and social system services, as well as risks and threats to social-ecological environment and strategies to tackle them. All of these factors were considered in relation to a south-western Tajikistan’s cotton-growing region. Methodologically, this paper draws on the participatory research toolbox (PARSCO) designed by the authors on the basis of the previous methodology (MARISCO) to assess the complexity of social-environmental systems, and identify and evaluate more socially and ecologically
sustainable development strategies (see PARSCO, 2025). The study findings reveal that a participatory stakeholder approach can be useful for not only forging and reflecting upon local expert knowledge, but also for amplifying contributions by otherwise underrepresented societal actors, particularly smallholder farmers, to interdisciplinary knowledge production.

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For citation: Alff et al. (2026). Knowledge mapping and strategy-building for agricultural change:
Lessons learnt from participatory stakeholder events in Tajikistan’s cotton-growing region. Central Asian Journal of Sustainability and Climate Research, 5(1), 53-71. https://doi.org/10.29258/CAJSCR/2026-R1.v5-1/53-71.eng

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