08 Sep 2011: Report Saving Ancient Walnut Forests In the Valleys
of Central Asia The former Soviet republic of Kyrgyzstan is home
to some of the world’s largest remaining forests of walnut and
wild fruit trees. In an effort to sustainably manage this global
resource, an international project has focused on ending Soviet-
style management and giving power — and a profit incentive — to
local farmers. Kyrgyzstan’s fertile and densely populated
Fergana Valley is home to some of the largest intact stands of
walnut trees on Earth. Its so-called walnut-fruit forests —
which contain 300 species of plants and trees, including
ancestral strains of apples, plums, and pears — cover roughly
30,000 hectares, splashing green onto an otherwise dry-and-dusty
Central Asian landscape. Driving beside a riverbed on the
valley’s floor, you might momentarily mistake nearby walnut
forests for the olive groves of southern Spain. For decades,
planners in this former Soviet republic managed Fergana’s
forests with an eye toward ensuring