Kyrgyzstan has approximately 1.5 million hectares of forestland, which accounts for about 7% of the country's total area. Of these, about 90% are state-owned. According to the national campaign "Jashyl Muras/Green Heritage," launched by the country's leadership, it is planned to plant 5-6 million seedlings annually across the republic.
The main problem is the lack of prioritized areas for afforestation, reforestation, and restoration of degraded forests, as well as realistic plans coordinated with the local population. The Department of Forest Management and the Department of Forest Ecosystem Development of the Forest Service of the Kyrgyz Republic requested support in selecting suitable zones for reforestation, afforestation, and restoration of degraded forest areas, based on the experience of the project on the conservation of walnut forests in the south of the country. In response, in March 2023, the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development of Germany (BMZ) initiated a bilateral study on the "identification of suitable zones for reforestation, afforestation, and restoration of degraded forests on state forest territories of the Kyrgyz Republic," followed by an expert assessment.
The project is aimed at ensuring that future afforestation, reforestation, and restoration activities take place in environmentally, socially, and economically suitable locations, guaranteeing high survival rates of forest plantations, effective forest management planning, and multiple benefits for local communities. Furthermore, the project focuses on integrating and harmonizing forest resource planning, which will attract future investments from government, international, and private sector entities.
