Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) - According to experts, overuse of pastures, like undergrazing, is undesirable. Therefore, it is important that drinking wells for livestock are distributed evenly throughout the area.

However, many wells and wells in desert and semi-desert pastures fail over time, and their restoration is a rather complicated and costly process.

The FAO / GEF Regional Project “Integrated Natural Resource Management in Drought-Prone Saline Agricultural Production Landscapes of Central Asia and Turkey” (CACILM-2) helped to renovate a well located near the village of Takham, Guzar district, Kashkadarya region, which was a great support for local livestock breeders.

The population of the village "Takham" is about 1.5 thousand people. The arid climate has made livestock the only source of income for the local population.

In total, karakul breeders keep more than 3 thousand sheep. The mentioned well is the only source of water for agricultural needs in this settlement. The renovation work took over two months. And now local shepherds can receive up to 40 cubic meters of water per day.

“First of all, it will be possible to use previously unused pastures, therefore, the load on other areas for grazing livestock will be reduced. After all, uniform grazing of livestock is a boon for arid steppe territories. It will also contribute to the preservation of local flora and fauna,” says the national project manager Mukhammadjon Kosimov.

The launch of the new well made the locals very happy and instilled confidence in the future.

“This is a great help for us,” says Otabek Ismatov, director of Guzor Korakulchilik LLC. - “Our farm is engaged in karakul breeding, we supply precious karakul skins, as well as meat and wool. The farm has 86,000 hectares of land and more than 40,000 head of livestock. From now on, we have big plans, we will increase the number of sheep and develop the economy. "

The main objective of the CACILM-2 regional project is to scale up integrated natural resource management in drought-prone and saline agricultural production landscapes in Central Asia and Turkey. In Uzbekistan, this project is being implemented jointly with the Ministry of Agriculture. Its implementation also makes a significant contribution to the implementation of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change in the Central Asia region.