SUSTAINABLE LAND MANAGEMENT AND BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION FOR COMMUNITY-BASED ADAPTATION: A Comparative Study of the UNDP-GEF Community-Based Adaptation Portfolio in Kazakhstan

The UNDP-GEF Community-Based Adaptation (CBA) Programme supports the implementation of CBA projects, which aim to enhance the adaptive capacity and reduce the vulnerability of poor communities to climate change in ten pilot countries, including Kazakhstan. The CBA Programme in Kazakhstan focuses specifically on the agricultural sector (livestock breeding and grain production)—identified by the First and Second National Communications to the UNFCCC as one of the most vulnerable sectors to climate change and with significant potential for reducing climate-induced land degradation (UNDP 2008b). Coming to a close, the CBA Programme has implemented nine projects in the country to reduce community vulnerability and secure global environmental benefits with a focus on sustainable land management.

This report analyzes and summarizes Kazakhstan’s experience in developing and implementing CBA projects and is companion to similar analysis carried out for two other important CBA countries (Jamaica and Samoa). The analysis highlighted in this report builds on a cluster of three projects1—one in grain production (‘Adaptation of farmers’ agricultural practices in response to intensified climate aridity in Arnasai Village’), one in livestock breeding (‘Dry-lot cattle feeding as cattle farming adaptation method to reduce climate change risks in Zhangeldy Village’), and one at the nexus of these two areas (‘Forest protection belts to combat dry hot winds, retain snow and moisture as an effective method to reduce climate change risks in Shyrkyn Village’)—deliberately selected to reflect the entire CBA portfolio in Kazakhstan. This report compares climate risks and adaptation responses in selected CBA projects, resulting impacts on communities and their ecosystems, enabling factors for successful adaptation, challenges encountered, dissemination and replication strategies and lessons learned.