A seminar on sustainable pasture management was held in Turkmenistan

From August 26 to 29, 2025, a seminar on sustainable pasture management took place in the city of Mary for representatives of the Ministry of Environmental Protection of Turkmenistan and the State Association of Livestock and Poultry Industry of the country.

The event was organized within the framework of the regional program of the German Society for International Cooperation (GIZ) “Climate Risk Management in Central Asia”.

The seminar is part of a joint climate change adaptation action plan approved by the administrations of Mary and Lebap velayats, where the project is focused, including the Murgab River basin. One of the measures is increasing the resilience of pasture use based on a well-known method—rotational grazing or pasture rotation.

Within this plan, consultations and demonstrations of international practices suitable for Turkmenistan will also take place based on the Karakul and Maldar livestock farms. The training module used was provided by the public foundation "CAMP Alatoo" (Kyrgyz Republic), whose structure includes analysis of seasonal distribution schemes of fodder areas, accounting for their productivity, practical solutions that can improve pasture self-restoration, the possibility of joint care for such areas by groups of livestock breeders, shepherds, and livestock owners, as well as close interaction with government agencies and administration.

During the seminar, livestock specialists and, more broadly, the agricultural sector of Mary velayat presented the potential of livestock farms and their capabilities within the Yolotan and Sakarchage etraps. It was noted that the process of pasture degradation, especially around water sources visited by herds, ultimately leads to socio-economic difficulties for the farms. Planning and cooperation of livestock associations at the etrap level and coordination with government agencies and the scientific community will help counteract this.

The participants stated that the sustainability of farming depends on maintaining pastures in productive condition, as well as balancing human and nature interests, including the balance between livestock numbers and the vegetation cover of grazing landscapes, strengthening own fodder production, winter reserves of herbaceous plants, and production of crop products within farms—such as silage and compound feed.

The participants evaluated the feed capacity of pastures in various soil and climatic zones of the country, justified the volume of harvested insurance feed reserves at the farm level, and determined the number of standard livestock units that can be fed during the wintering period.