On Wednesday 18th May, in the Enbekshi-Kazakh district of the Almaty region (Kazakhstan), before the local delegates and representatives of the EU Delegation in Kazakhstan, the conference of the "JAILYM-Multi-actor partnerships and innovation at the service of economic and environmental sustainability of grazing activities in Enbekshi-Kazakh District " was launched.
The project, funded by the EU, is implemented through a partnership made up of 3 Italian partners (FELCOS-Umbria, IsMed-CNR, and ILSLEDA) and three Kazakh partners (AUK, FKF and the Akimat district).
The Action embodies also the lessons learnt and the results accomplished within the previous EU-funded “ODAK” Project, run with the support of AUK, FKF, ILSLEDA, and FELCOS.
The Action seeks to support the implementation of the current legislative and policy framework related to land management and farming activities, and in particular the Law of the Kazakh Republic N° 47-VI3RK of 20.02. 2017 “On Pastures”, which includes principles for an effective decentralization process, as it assigns to Local Authorities the task to create the Union of Pasture Users (UPUs) and to involve them in the preparation and regular update of the pasture management plans, at district and municipal levels.
The project is addressed to 250 small local farmers, local authorities, universities and trade associations, and it gives attention to the alarming actual conditions of the Almathy pastures: the uninterrupted and irrational use of the public lands in the last decades, combined with the effects of climate change, that have led to the loss of 27.1 million hectares of pastures.
ILS LEDA will contribute to support the creation of at least 5 Unions of Pasture Users (UPUs) and empowering them for participating in decision making on pasture management, and the empowerment of the target CSOs, LAs and rural producers on sustainable grazing, climate change mitigation and circular economy
During the conference, after the interventions of the European Union and the Almathy Akimat representative, Francesca de Paula (Project Manager from FELCOS) illustrated the general guidelines of the project; Giancarlo Canzanelli (ILS LEDA) highlighted the pilot nature of the Action, due to the relevant and innovative linkages between the national and local level; Antonio Carbone (ISMED) presented the key challenges of agro-zootechnics and the importance of the relationship between economic growth and implementation measures aimed at farmers, such as training, information, technology, goods and credit, and strengthening the aggregation between small farmers.
For more details about the project, click here.
