The Times Of Central Asia | Eurasian Publication & News Online

Kazakhstan has escalated its dispute with the foreign investors behind the Kashagan oil field, warning the consortium’s managing director that he could face administrative and criminal liability over its failure to pay an environmental fine of nearly $5 billion. The warning to Giancarlo Ruiu, managing director of North Caspian Operating...

Black Sea Tanker Attacks

Kazakhstan Oil Output Falls 21% as CPC Halt More Than Halves Tengiz Production

Kazakhstan's oil and gas condensate output fell by about 21% on July 22 after the Caspian Pipeline Consortium stopped receiving Kazakh crude and suspended loadings at its Black Sea terminal. Output dropped to 1.63 million barrels per day from a July average of 2.07 million, Reuters said, citing an industry...

Black Sea Tanker Attacks

Huizenga Warns Kyiv Further Strikes on CPC “Will Not Be Tolerated”

Domestic Violence

After Bishimbayev, Kazakhstan’s Domestic Violence Laws Face an Enforcement Test

The release of Bakhytzhan Baizhanov, a cousin of former Kazakhstan Economy Minister Kuandyk Bishimbayev, following an amnesty has renewed public attention to one of the country’s most pressing social problems: domestic violence. The trial of Bishimbayev and Baizhanov attracted widespread attention in Kazakhstan and abroad. Bishimbayev was convicted of torturing...

Critical Minerals

Resources, Capacity, Connectivity: Kazakhstan and the Critical Minerals Nexus

Kazakhstan’s place in diversified critical mineral supply chains rests on an unusual combination: a broad resource base, an established mining and metallurgical sector, and transport infrastructure extending across Eurasia. The task is to make these assets work together. Their strategic value depends on converting resources into financeable projects, existing capacity...

Education

Why Global Universities Are Expanding into Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan's campaign to bring foreign universities into the country has moved far beyond a small pilot. By July 2026, the government said it had established partnerships with 40 foreign institutions and had 32 foreign university branches in operation. A separate government summary said those institutions enrolled about 12,000 students and...

Caspian Pipeline Consortium

CPC Reportedly Stops Accepting Kazakh Oil as Storage Tanks Reach Capacity After Tanker Attacks

Taliban Troubles, Security Service Strife and the Deportation Divide

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Sunkar Podcast

Kazakhstan to Host 2027 Table Tennis World Championships

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Opinions

Opinion: Kazakhstan’s Demining Expertise Could Provide Boost to Afghanistan

Timur Serikuly

Opinion: Uzbekistan Census – When the Village Reappears in the City

Zamirbek Minbaev

Opinion: The Specter Is Back – A Kazakh Warning to America

Askar Alimzhanov

Opinion: The Amu Darya Stress Test – Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, and the Politics of Agricultural Adaptation

Zamirbek Minbaev

Opinion: Kazakhstan’s New Income Growth Plan – Administrative Measures Against Market Realities

Igor Klevtsov

Opinion: Central Asia’s Shift from Silk Road Romance to Infrastructure Finance – What the June Forums Are Building

Dr. Magsud Mammadov

UNDP Opinion: Central Asia – Shared Wildlife, Shared Landscapes, Shared Responsibility

UNDP Representatives in Kazakhstan, Katarzyna Wawiernia, Kyrgyzstan, Alexandra Solovieva, Tajikistan, Sudipto Mukerjee, Turkmenistan, Narine Sahakyan, Uzbekistan, Akiko Fujii.

Opinion: Beyond Multivectorism – What Kyrgyzstan’s UN Security Council Win Really Shows

Zamirbek Minbaev

Opinion: Eurasia’s New Corridors Are More Than a Transit Race

Aidar Borangaziyev

Opinion: Silk Seven or the OTS? Central Asia May Not Have to Choose

Ken Moriyasu

Opinion: How AI Is Reshaping the Global Image of Nations

Sergey Akhmetov

Opinion: Middle Powers and the “Voice of the Region” – Is Central Asia Becoming a Coordinated Actor?

Timur Serikuly

Business & Economy

Railway Infrastructure

Kyrgyzstan Opens New Railway as Japarov Alleges North-South Highway Embezzlement

Kyrgyzstan has opened a 63-kilometer railway between Balykchy and Kochkor, completing the first stage of a domestic route intended to reach the Kara-Keche coalfield and eventually connect the country’s divided rail network. President Sadyr Japarov travelled to the new Kochkor station by train on July 25. The line extends rail service from the western edge of Lake Issyk-Kul into Naryn Region, where difficult mountain terrain has long limited transport links. “We have revived the culture of railway construction, our engineering potential, and professional experience,” Japarov said. “This historic achievement proves that our country can independently carry out large infrastructure projects.”...

Biopesticides

Kazakhstan and China to Jointly Develop Biopesticides

Kashagan

Kazakhstan’s $5 Billion Kashagan Fine Moves Into New Legal Phase

Labor Migration

Lukashenko Tells Uzbek Workers Seeking Higher Pay to Consider Russia

Critical Minerals

Resources, Capacity, Connectivity: Kazakhstan and the Critical Minerals Nexus

EU Sanctions

EU Sanctions Kazakhstan Kyrgyzstan Firms in Latest Russia Package

The European Union has adopted its 21st sanctions package against Russia. The measures add two companies from Kazakhstan, three from Kyrgyzstan, a Kyrgyz bank, and cryptocurrency platforms registered in several jurisdictions to separate sanctions and export-control lists. Brussels said they were designed to disrupt financial and trade channels allegedly used to circumvent existing restrictions. The package imposes asset freezes and other restrictive measures on 48 people and 170 entities. A further 51 entities were added to a list subject to tighter export controls on dual-use goods and technologies. Some are based in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, China, India, Turkey, and the United...

Middle Corridor

Uzbekistan Seeks More Freight Capacity Through Kazakhstan’s Caspian Ports

Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan have instructed their national railway companies to draw up a plan to increase Uzbek freight shipments through the ports of Aktau and Kuryk, expanding Tashkent’s access to markets across the Caspian Sea. Kazakh Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov and his Uzbek counterpart, Abdulla Aripov, discussed the plan during a July 23 visit to the Aktau International Sea Trade Port. The volume of Uzbek freight handled through Aktau and Kuryk increased by more than 60% in 2025, according to the Kazakh government. “Our task is to provide cargo from Central Asian countries with fast and reliable access to the...

Business Registration

Registered Businesses in Kazakhstan Rise More Than 20% Despite Tax Reform

The number of registered businesses in Kazakhstan increased by more than 20% during the first half of 2026, according to government data, easing earlier concerns that the country’s new Tax Code would trigger widespread business closures. The growth came despite higher value-added tax (VAT) rates and tighter registration requirements introduced this year. During a government meeting, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Economy Serik Zhumangarin said the number of registered business entities had reached 2.939 million by the end of June, up by nearly 499,000, or 20.4%, from the beginning of the year. The strongest increase came from individual...

Satellite Communications

Kazakhstan Allocates More Than $22 Million for New Communications Satellite

Kazakhstan has begun upgrading its national satellite infrastructure by financing the development of a new communications satellite, KazSat-3R, which is expected to replace the existing KazSat-3 by the end of the decade. The government is also working to expand the country’s Earth-observation satellite network and develop domestic manufacturing capacity. It is also preparing for commercial launches from the Baikonur Cosmodrome. The government has allocated approximately $22.3 million from its reserve for the KazSat-3R project. The new satellite will replace KazSat-3, whose planned service life expires in 2029. Kazakhstan’s national satellite communications system currently consists of two satellites, KazSat-2 and KazSat-3,...

Local Politics

Islamic Finance

Uzbekistan Establishes Islamic Finance Council as New Banking Law Takes Effect

The Central Bank of Uzbekistan has established an Islamic Finance Council to coordinate the work of banks, microfinance organizations, the Deposit Guarantee Agency and other institutions operating under Islamic financial principles. The council was created weeks after Uzbekistan’s new Islamic banking law took effect on June 29. It will prepare national standards, issue regulatory and supervisory recommendations, advise financial institutions and represent the Central Bank in its work with international standard-setters. Building an Islamic Finance Framework Islamic finance prohibits interest and generally requires financing to be linked to assets, trade, leasing or risk-sharing. Common structures include murabaha, in which a...

Election Funding

Kazakhstan Allocates $73 Million for August Kurultai Elections

Women’s Empowerment

Tajikistan Develops Gender Equality Strategy and Expands Support for Women

Tax Policy

Uzbekistan Bank Data Plan Sparks Privacy and Tax Debate

Gender Quotas

Kazakhstan’s New Kurultai Elections: What the 30% Quota Could Mean for Women in Parliament

Public health

Kyrgyzstan Tests Public Health Emergency Response Ahead of World Nomad Games

Kyrgyzstan has carried out large-scale interagency public health emergency exercises as part of preparations for the sixth World Nomad Games, which will take place from August 31 to September 6. Authorities say health security has become one of the key components of planning for what is expected to be the country's largest international event of the year. The two-day simulation exercise was held on July 14-15 in Cholpon-Ata, in the Issyk-Kul region. It brought together representatives of the Ministry of Health, healthcare institutions, the World Health Organization (WHO), other government agencies, and international development partners. Participants rehearsed the response to...

Cardiac Surgery

Kazakhstan Joins World’s Top 30 Countries in Cardiac Surgery Development

Kazakhstan has entered the world’s top 30 countries for cardiac surgery, according to the Ministry of Health, citing the country’s growing use of advanced cardiovascular procedures, including heart transplantation and other high-tech surgical interventions. In 2025, Kazakhstan performed 13,106 open-heart surgeries, a 7.2% increase from the previous year. Coronary artery bypass grafting accounted for the largest share of procedures, at 46.1%. It is the standard surgical treatment for severe coronary artery disease and restores blood flow to the heart by bypassing blocked or narrowed arteries. Operations for acquired and congenital heart defects together accounted for 35.8% of all open-heart procedures....

Urban Development

Urbanization: Only One in Four Tajik Residents Lives in a City

While its regional neighbors are increasingly undergoing urbanization, Tajikistan remains a predominantly rural country and the gap with the rest of Central Asia on this indicator is one of the most notable in the post-Soviet space. The Lowest Rate in the Region As of mid-2026, Tajikistan’s urban population stands at 27.98%, in other words, only slightly more than one in four residents of the country lives in a city. For comparison with the rest of the region: in Kazakhstan, the urban population is around 59%; in Turkmenistan, around 52%; in Uzbekistan, around 50%; and in neighboring Kyrgyzstan, roughly 38%. Against...

President Tokayev

Kazakhstan Court Ruling Clears Legal Path for Tokayev to Seek Another Term

Kazakhstan’s Constitutional Court has ruled that President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev may seek another term under the country’s 2026 Constitution, effectively resetting the count created under the previous Basic Law while leaving the single seven-year presidential term formally in place. The ruling, issued on July 7 after Tokayev’s request, addressed whether people who held senior offices under the 1995 Constitution could be elected or appointed to those posts under the new Basic Law, adopted in a March 15 referendum and in force since July 1. The offices covered include the president, the chair and judges of the Constitutional Court, the chair of...

International Affairs

Russia's War in Ukraine

Tokayev Calls for Ukraine War Freeze as Black Sea and Caspian Risks Grow

Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has called for Russia and Ukraine to freeze the war and return to negotiations, delivering one of his clearest public appeals for an end to the conflict while seated beside Russian President Vladimir Putin. "Perhaps this conflict should already be frozen and we should return to the Istanbul Formula 2.0, since significant results were achieved there," Tokayev said during talks in Omsk on July 25. He said major powers, including Russia, should provide security guarantees before the sides moved towards a lasting peace. Russia and Ukraine held talks in Istanbul soon after Russia's full-scale invasion in...

Black Sea Tanker Attacks

Kazakhstan Oil Output Falls 21% as CPC Halt More Than Halves Tengiz Production

U.S.-Turkmenistan Relations

New U.S. Embassy Chief in Turkmenistan to Continue Building Ties

Caspian Pipeline Consortium

Ukraine Says No Evidence of Role in Attacks on Tankers Loading Kazakh Oil: Statement in Full

Caspian Pipeline Consortium

When the War Reaches Kazakh Oil

EU Sanctions

EU Sanctions Kazakhstan Kyrgyzstan Firms in Latest Russia Package

Black Sea Tanker Attacks

Huizenga Warns Kyiv Further Strikes on CPC “Will Not Be Tolerated”

The House Foreign Affairs subcommittee chair invoked nearly $200 billion in U.S. support as attacks around Kazakhstan’s principal oil-export route forced production cuts and sharpened questions about Europe’s response. Representative Bill Huizenga has warned that further strikes affecting the Caspian Pipeline Consortium terminal will not be tolerated, explicitly linking Ukraine’s obligation to protect legitimate allied energy exports with the scale of American support for Kyiv. Huizenga, a Michigan Republican who chairs the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on South and Central Asia, was asked by The Times of Central Asia what immediate diplomatic steps the administration should take to safeguard Kazakhstan’s...

Caspian Pipeline Consortium

CPC Reportedly Stops Accepting Kazakh Oil as Storage Tanks Reach Capacity After Tanker Attacks

Citing three industry sources, on July 21 Reuters said the Caspian Pipeline Consortium had stopped accepting crude from Kazakhstan after tanker attacks halted Black Sea loadings. Two of the sources said the terminal's storage tanks were full. CPC has so far declined to comment. The stoppage marks a sharper disruption than the loading suspension announced on July 20. LSEG ship-tracking data showed that at least two tankers due to collect crude changed direction. Chevron owns 15% of CPC, while ExxonMobil is also a shareholder through Mobil Caspian Pipeline Company. Chevron told Reuters that "Chevron continues to monitor the situation at...

Mongolia-Central Asia Relations

Tajikistan’s President Rahmon Visits Mongolia as Ulaanbaatar Expands Central Asia Outreach

Tajikistan’s President Emomali Rahmon is visiting Mongolia for the first time since 2009, as the two countries pursue closer ties and Mongolia expands its engagement with Central Asia. An honor guard welcomed Rahmon on his arrival in the Mongolian capital of Ulaanbaatar on Monday, and the Tajik leader later met President Ukhnaa Khurelsukh, Tajikistan’s presidential office said. The two presidents aim to expand cooperation in politics, trade, the economy, agriculture, energy, transport, and culture, and will also discuss regional and international issues, according to Montsame, Mongolia’s state-owned news agency. “The visit will mark the first state visit by Tajikistan’s president...

Life & Culture

TCA Interviews

From Instagram to Hollywood: How Kazakhstan’s Yerlan Tanay Became a Sought-After Colorist

Kazakhstani colorist Yerlan Tanay has built an international career in post-production, working with major companies including The Mill and Company 3. Now based in Los Angeles and working freelance, he has experienced both the opportunities and instability of Hollywood’s highly competitive market. His long-term goal is to move further into feature films. Tanay career changed after he began sharing his work on Instagram, where he was approached about joining The Mill. In this interview with The Times of Central Asia, he explains how that move opened the door to Hollywood and what he learned inside leading post-production studios. TCA: You...

Korean Culture

K-Pop in Central Asia: Why Korean Pop Culture Has Captured a Generation

Boxing

Kazakhstan’s Zhanibek Alimkhanuly Moves to Super Middleweight After Doping Ban

Games of the Future

From Controllers to Courts: Kazakhstan Prepares for Games of the Future

Astronomy

Two Asteroids Named After Uzbek Astronomers

FIFA World Cup

Uzbekistan’s Shomurodov Shortlisted for World Cup Goal Award

Uzbekistan captain Eldor Shomurodov’s goal against the Democratic Republic of the Congo has been shortlisted for the Hyundai Goal of the Tournament award at the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The Uzbek forward is among 12 finalists selected by FIFA. The winner will be decided by a public vote on FIFA’s official platform. Shomurodov scored in Uzbekistan’s final group-stage match, lifting the ball over goalkeeper Lionel Mpasi from a tight angle to give his team an early lead. DR Congo recovered to win the match 3-1, ending Uzbekistan’s first World Cup campaign with three defeats. The goal had already won the...

Tourism

Japarov Says Tourist Flow to Kyrgyzstan Has Reached 13 Million as Central Asia’s Travel Boom Accelerates

President Sadyr Japarov says the number of tourists visiting Kyrgyzstan has reached 13 million, although his July 21 statement did not specify the reporting period or methodology behind the figure. For a country of roughly seven million people, the reported total is nearly twice the size of its population. Kyrgyzstan’s official tourism statistics count border crossings rather than unique visitors, meaning the same traveler may be counted more than once. Japarov said the total had risen from 2-3 million annual visitors before 2020-2021. However, official tourism datasets have used different measures over time, so the comparison should be treated cautiously....

Podcast

Pannier and Hillard’s Spotlight on Central Asia: New Episode Out Now

As Managing Editor of The Times of Central Asia, I’m delighted that, in partnership with the Oxus Society for Central Asian Affairs, from October 19, we are the home of the Spotlight on Central Asia podcast. Chaired by seasoned broadcasters Bruce Pannier of RFE/RL’s long-running Majlis podcast and Michael Hillard of The Red Line, each fortnightly instalment will take you on a deep dive into the latest news, developments, security issues, and social trends across an increasingly pivotal region. This week, the team covers a heatwave sweeping across Central Asia, anti-Taliban forces briefly seizing a district headquarters in a worrying...

Children's Rights

Kazakhstan Leads Central Asia with 24th Place in KidsRights Index

KidsRights Foundation is an Amsterdam-based international children’s rights organization founded in 2003. Working with Erasmus University Rotterdam, it produces the annual KidsRights Index, which compares how countries uphold children’s rights using United Nations data. The 2026 edition covers 194 countries. Kazakhstan ranked 24th worldwide in the 2026 index. It was the only country from Eastern Europe and Central Asia in the top 25. Its overall score was 0.797. Its highest result was in protection, with a score of 0.944. Health followed at 0.900. Kazakhstan scored 0.847 for life and 0.765 for education. The enabling environment for children’s rights received 0.583....

Justice

amnesty

Kazakhstan Amnesty Clears $48 Million in Unpaid Fines

Kazakhstan has written off unpaid administrative fines for more than 680,000 people under the country’s first administrative amnesty, Prosecutor General Berik Asylov said. The amnesty was applied to 681,700 people in 1.3 million administrative cases in less than a month, according to Asylov. The canceled fines were worth 22.8 billion tenge, or approximately $48 million. Asylov published the figures in a post on X. The measure formed part of an amnesty signed on July 1, the day Kazakhstan’s new Constitution took effect. It extended an amnesty to selected administrative offenses for the first time, alongside provisions covering criminal cases. It...

Domestic Violence

After Bishimbayev, Kazakhstan’s Domestic Violence Laws Face an Enforcement Test

Artificial intelligence

Kazakhstan Police Robot Dog Raises Privacy Questions

Labor Migration

Nearly 160,000 Citizens of Tajikistan Listed in Russia’s Controlled Persons Register

Fraud

Uzbekistan Busts Scam Call Centers Targeting Europe and North America

Press Freedom

Tajikistan Frees Two Journalists as Press Freedom Concerns Persist

An international media rights group has welcomed the release from prison of two journalists in Tajikistan, while urging the government to free others who remain in jail. Reporters Without Borders, or RSF, said Zavkibek Saidamini and Abdusattor Pirmukhammadzoda were freed on July 18 after four years in detention. “They should never have been jailed, just like their colleagues, who must also be released,” RSF said. The two journalists were sentenced to seven years in prison in 2022 after being convicted of links to groups labeled as extremist, and were released under an amnesty law that was passed by Tajikistan’s parliament...

Rule of Law

Former Tajik Prosecutor’s Office Investigator Detained in Case of 23-Year-Old Woman’s Death

Tajikistan’s prosecutor general has confirmed that a former senior investigator is in custody in connection with the death of 23-year-old Mehrona Noibova, whose body was found near the Pyanj River in April. At a July 22 press conference, Prosecutor General Khabibullo Vokhidzoda said criminal proceedings had been opened against Firuz Saidzoda, formerly a senior investigator for especially important cases at the Prosecutor General’s Office. He said Saidzoda remained in detention while the investigation continued. The case was opened under Article 109, Part 1 of Tajikistan’s Criminal Code, a provision which covers causing a person to take or attempt to take...

Internet Restrictions

A Signal from Uzbekistan: How Turkmen Border Villages Reach the Outside World

In Diýýar, a village in northern Turkmenistan close enough to catch Uzbekistan’s mobile signal, a foreign SIM card inserted into a small Wi-Fi router can turn a barely functioning 2G connection into usable home internet. In early July, police reportedly entered around ten households in the village, identified Uzbek-connected routers, and confiscated the SIM cards. Similar inspections have been under way across close to 60 settlements in Dashoguz Province, according to Radio Azatlyk, the Turkmen Service of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. The campaign covers parts of Shabat and Görogly districts, including Kirov, Diýýar, Bedirkent, Aýlak, and Nyýazow, in areas where...

Traffic Offenses

Kazakhstan Olympic Boxing Champion Jailed for Drunk Driving After Multiple Crashes

Kazakhstan’s 2016 Olympic boxing champion Daniyar Yeleussinov has been sentenced to 20 days of administrative detention and banned from driving for seven years after being found guilty of driving under the influence and causing several traffic accidents in Astana. According to Astana’s Specialized Interdistrict Administrative Court, Yeleussinov admitted his guilt during the hearing. The ruling has not yet entered into legal force and may be appealed within 10 days. The incident occurred in Astana on July 9, when police detained Yeleussinov after he allegedly drove while intoxicated, causing a series of collisions and leaving the scenes of the accidents. According...

Environment

World Bank

World Bank Approves $20 Million Project to Boost Cross-Border Water Cooperation in Central Asia

The World Bank has announced a $20 million grant to strengthen transboundary water cooperation in Central Asia. The project is intended to improve management of the Amu Darya and Syr Darya basins as climate change, ageing infrastructure, and rising demand increase pressure on shared water resources. The funding, approved by the World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors, will support the Central Asia Water Efficiency Cooperation Project (CAWEC). It will be implemented by the Executive Committee of the International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea (EC IFAS). EC IFAS’s current procurement notice identifies Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan as the participating...

Extreme Heat

Extreme Heat Buckles Roads and Strains Power Grids Across Central Asia

Heatwave

Kazakhstan Wildfires: Heatwave Tests Reforms Three Years After Semey Ormany

Wildfire

Open Flames Extinguished at Semey Ormany as Crews Tackle Hotspots

Earthquakes

Central Asia Remains Highly Vulnerable to Major Earthquakes

Groundwater Management

Kazakhstan Hydrogeologists Complete Six-Month USGS Groundwater Training

Kazakhstani hydrogeologists have completed a six-month online training program led by experts from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). The Department of Groundwater at Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation organized the seminars for specialists at Kazhydrogeology, the country’s National Hydrogeological Service. Staff from its branches also took part. The training covered current approaches to groundwater monitoring and assessment. Participants also studied groundwater modeling and water resource management, drawing on international practices in hydrogeology. The USGS awarded certificates to 20 participants from Kazhydrogeology and its branches. Employees from the ministry’s Department of Groundwater and the Department of Strategic Development received...

TCA Interviews

Saving The Caspian Seal: An Interview with Assel Baimukanova

The Caspian seal is the only marine mammal native to the Caspian Sea and the world’s only seal species found exclusively in an inland body of water. Once numbering close to one million, its population has declined dramatically over the past century due to commercial hunting, habitat degradation, pollution, accidental entanglement in fishing gear, and climate change. Today, the species is listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List. Kazakh zoologist Assel Baimukanova has spent the past 13 years studying the Caspian seal alongside her father, renowned scientist Mirgaliy Baimukanov. Their work takes them to remote islands in the northern...

Plastic Recycling

From Waste to Design: How UpKel Is Rethinking Plastic Recycling in Kyrgyzstan

In Kyrgyzstan, much of the country’s plastic waste remains unsorted and ends up in landfills, while recycling infrastructure is limited. A growing number of local initiatives are treating discarded plastic as a usable material. One of them is UpKel, a circular design project that turns plastic waste into custom accessories and home decor. The Times of Central Asia spoke with UpKel founder Chinara Sultanalieva about plastic recycling in Kyrgyzstan and how design and local production can support a circular economy. She also discussed the obstacles holding back the sector. TCA: Tell us a bit about UpKel. How did the project...

Forestry

Tajikistan Turns to Satellites to Discover How Much Forest It Has Left

In Barvoz village in the Western Pamirs, Zarifkhon Gulchinov watched a green forest near his home become a semi-desert during the 1990s. The collapse of the Soviet Union and Tajikistan’s civil war left the isolated region short of electricity and coal. Families cut trees to heat their homes and cook. “I also went to the forest for firewood, but I cut down only old and dry trees and bushes,” Gulchinov recalled. He later joined a community forestry program and received five hectares of degraded land to restore. Villagers now plant hundreds of trees and protect young growth from livestock. They...