Improving income and living conditions in rural areas of eastern Khatlon through natural resource management and habitat improvement

One of the leading objectives of this HOPE’87 project was to establish an enhanced natural resource management system including improved energy efficiency and local environmental rehabilitation. According to the goals of sustainable development and environmental protection, local cooperation between different stakeholders such as government departments, NGOs and local authorities had been strengthened to offer information and skills training to the local population regarding the implementation of thermal insulation, safe drinking water and sanitary facilities and fuel-efficient stoves. Apart from introducing revised resource management and energy efficiency measures, income generating schemes, based on integrated farming activities, have been implemented to increase the income from local farmers substantially and sustainably.

The drinking water supply systems set up in three districts of Kathlon (Shurabad, Muminabad, Khovaling) are directly benefiting 125 households. Due to the construction of wells and water systems the distance for fetching water could be decreased from 11 to 1 km. Furthermore, water-borne diseases could be reduced substantially thanks to improved sanitary facilities.

The project also comprised the thermal insulation of public and private buildings for demonstration purposes. Hence 19 public and 19 private buildings were thermal-insulated, and 40 households self-replicated the thermal-insulation techniques on a total area of 1,901sq.m. Almost 260 Habitat Improvement Focal Persons, trained at the University of Central Asia, provided free consultation and advice concering thermal insulation and the production and distribution of fuel-efficient stoves. During the reporting period, the retrofitting model along with the fuel efficient stoves and double glazed windows saved about 50% of energy and about 7,700 USD in the targeted areas.

Periodic round table meetings and conferences were held with participation of representatives from the Committee of Environmental Protection, the Department of Education, the Department of Agriculture, various representatives from NGOs such as Oxfam, UNDP, Chesvi and Welthungerhilfe and the project beneficiaries themselves. The goals and objectives of the project, as well as the results and impacts were shared and discussed in those meetings.

Project Background: 

Since 2011, HOPE’87 and its implementing partners – the Mountain Societies Development Support Programme (MSDSP) and the Agricultural Training and Advisory Centre (ATAC) – have contributed to the improvement of living conditions of communities in mountain areas through the introduction of habitat improvement techniques such as thermal-insulation, fuel efficient stoves, seismic retrofitting and drinking water supply and the promotion of horticultural production and sales.