Pastoral Practices and Common Use of Pastureland: The Case of Karakul, North-Eastern Tajik Pamirs

This study describes pastoralism practiced in the Karakul village, Northeast of Tajikistan, and discusses its sustainability. Tajikistan introduced a market economy at independence in 1991, and pastoralism is now practiced on a family-unit basis. The families in Karakul graze livestock in their summer pastureland (jailoo) and move their livestock to winter pastureland around the village (kyshtoo). They make groups for pasturage with several families in jailoo and also in kyshtoo. Each group pastures their livestock every day, using a system called novad. In addition to jailoo and kyshtoo, they also practice pastoralism on two additional kinds of pastureland: küzdöö (spring pastureland) and bäärlöö (autumn pastureland). Still, now, the Karakul villagers use their pastureland as the commons: the Karakul village has not established private possession of pastureland even after a law enabled the division of common pastureland among individual families. Using the pastureland as the commons would be preferred by the local pastoralists. However, the free pasture access as the commons may result in a loss of sustainability as a trade-off. Regardless of privatization or the continued use of the commons, the possible development of the uneven use of the pastureland is inferred and should be avoided, and the introduction of a local management structure is urgently needed.