This book contains a selection of papers presented at the Advanced Research Workshop on 'The Socio-economic causes and consequences of desertification in Central Asia' held in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, in June 2006. The meeting provided a forum for twenty-six scientists from Central Asia and NATO countries to discuss the human dimensions of the desertifi- tion process. Papers presented to the meeting examined recent scientific evidence on the impact of desertification on livestock production, public health, and biodiversity, and contributed to the formulation of coh- ent national and regional policies for the management of watersheds, rangelands, and irrigated agriculture. The meeting was co-directed by Roy Behnke of the Macaulay Institute, UK, and by Lapas Alibekov of the Samarkand State University, Uzbekistan. Both the workshop and this subsequent publication have been financed by the NATO Scientific Affairs Division and we gratefully acknowledge this support. The Bishkek meeting was ably hosted by the Kyrgyz Sheep Breeders Association under the dir- tion of Akylbek Rakaev who contributed substantially to the successful running of the workshop. Deliberations at the workshop emphasized that policy failures at national level had promoted desertification within the region.

Table of Contents:
Challenges to Policy Formulation.- The Link between Desertification and Security in Central Asia.- From Global Environmental Discourse to Local Adaptations and Responses: A Desertification Research Agenda for Central Asia.- Causes and Socio-Economic Consequences of Desertification in Central Asia.- Grazing Systems and Desertification.- Forage Distributions, Range Condition, and the Importance of Pastoral Movement in Central Asia - A Remote Sensing Study.- The Impact of Livestock Grazing on Soils and Vegetation Around Settlements in Southeast Kazakhstan.- Livestock Mobility and Degradation in Kazakhstan’s Semi-Arid Rangelands.- Human and Natural Factors that Influence Livestock Distributions and Rangeland Desertification in Turkmenistan.- Case Studies of Resource Degradation and Desertification Control.- Land Reform in Tajikistan: Consequences for Tenure Security, Agricultural Productivity and Land Management Practices.- Israeli Experience in Prevention of Processes of Desertification.- Potential Effects of Global Warming on Atmospheric Lead Contamination in the Mountains.- The Influence of Environmental Factors on Human Health in Uzbekistan.