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Findings, observations and recommendations
Findings: The findings of this report fall within four broad categories – people; infrastructure; ecosystems; and
institutions, governance and knowledge. The effects of the forces and trends at work have been both positive and
negative, sometimes both at the same time, and progress in the mountains of Central Asia can be characterized as a
series of forward and backward steps.
People in the mountains (one step forward, two steps back)
• Border security concerns have constrained the movement of goods and people, especially the nomadic people
and those living in or traveling around mountain enclaves.
• Public expenditures on education and health are less than one quarter of the previous (Soviet) levels. The
official literacy rate is high, but the declining quality of education in mountain countries is becoming an
obstacle to sustainable development. Child mortality rates are falling, but the risk of malaria, tuberculoses,
HIV/AIDS and other diseases remains high.
• The rules on ownership rights have relaxed across the region, and a free and competitive market system has
evolved, but corruption marred the transition.
• Tajikistan’s animal husbandry and food production exceed 1991 levels, and honey production has substantially
increased. Kyrgyzstan’s food production has increased, but its animal husbandry lags behind previous levels.
• Large-scale hydroelectric projects are a drain on national resources, a source of international tensions and a
cause of resentment among the local communities that may share the costs, but may never share the benefits.
• A reluctance on the part of governments and mining companies to share profits equitably, and a lack of
transparency in decisions, have led to discontent among groups in the mountains.
• Civil war and armed conflict wracked the mountainous regions of Tajikistan for the entire decade of the 1990s.
In Kyrgyzstan, violence widened the ethnic and geographic divides.
• Women have become heads of households as a result of the labour migration of men. In rural areas they are
highly vulnerable to crop failures, heatwaves and natural disasters.
Infrastructure in the mountains (two steps forward, one step back)
• The expansion of the road system has increased the accessibility to remote mountain areas. The increase in
the number of people who have cars has improved mobility and connectivity.
• The use of the Internet in mountain countries has grown substantially. Online education and distance learning
are increasingly available options.
• Information technologies in the banking sector have lowered the costs and increased the efficiency of labour
remittances.
• The quality of hydrometeorological stations and equipment have declined sharply.
• Kyrgyzstan enacted economic reforms and allowed access to geologic information to promote development in
the mining sector. Tajikistan lags behind.
• Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan are working to develop their large hydropower potential, less than 10 per cent of
which is used.
• Tourism offers a promising source of alternative livelihoods. Central Asian countries have an opportunity to
further develop winter and cultural tourism.
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