Pasture users’ unions (PPUs) improve rural farmers' livelihoods in Kyrgyzstan

Location: Kyrgyzstan

Timeline: 2008-2017

Principal organisations: IFAD

IFAD's Agricultural Investments and Services Project (AISP) assisted in the implementation of the 2009 "Pasture Law" which devolved pastureland management to local government and pasture users, in the form of pasture users’ unions (PUUs). 768 PUUs and 714 community pasture management plans were developed. The project aimed at fostering integrated, equitable, socially and environmentally sustainable pastureland use and management by devolving responsibility to the local actors, and applying a community-based approach. Not only did the legal reform prove to have a positive impact on the rural population; investments in pasture management proved to be both economically viable and financially profitable for farmers.