Armed with gas and cows, Kazakhstan takes aim at land degradation | PLACE
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The extent of degradation is difficult to assess because countries in Central Asia do not release official figures, but anecdotal evidence shows the situation is serious, said Christian Welscher, project coordinator for the Central Asian Desert Initiative (CADI) at University of Greifswald, Germany.
Also, studies show a potential loss of 76 percent of saxaul trees, a shrub found only in the region’s deserts, due to rampant deforestation and overgrazing by cattle, said Welscher.
The CADI is working with Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan to combat land degradation and conserve biodiversity.
The deforestation causes sandstorms that devastate rural communities, Welscher said.
Mars Almabek, deputy chairman of the State Agriculture Inspection, said Kazakhstan is buying and importing modified cattle from the United States, Canada, Australia, Germany, France and Czechoslovakia.
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