Turning a desert into a forest: Otabek Nuriddinov and his struggle for the green Uzbekistan
A story about Otabek Nuriddinov, an enthusiast who plants forest in Uzebkistan’s drylands.
Otabek Nuriddinov, 41, dreams about turning the hills of Andizhan oblast into a forest. In his interview for CABAR.asia he talked about his doings and problems he faces, while trying to realize his dream.
This is an unprecedented initiative, as growing forest trees in hot and dry climate of this region is challenging, and his fellow townsmen are in doubts that his project bring any successful results.
Nuriddinov himself however told that he can’t stay uninvolved, witnessing how local ecology is gradually declining, and once fertile land devolves into a desert due to lack of irrigation water.
He prefers to act on this, putting people’s doubts aside and ignoring possible hurdles. In 2022 he secured 220 hectares of sandy hills of Asakin district in Andizhan oblast, which 440 kilometers away from Tashkent and started making his dream come true.
“If a person sees these lands, they start to think that creating a forest here is impossible. People still take this idea as a mere fantasy, that will never become real. But I can’t stay calm while looking at how our environment gets worse every single year. As once there was snow, when we were young, and we never got tired of riding on sledges. And what about today? It is not an exaggeration to say that the new generation lives on without knowing what it is like when it is snowing. Parents, who are well-off, can take their kids somewhere to the mountains to show real snow. But real sights of nature, especially with no snow, today become a legend” – he says.
In need of governmental support
The are that Otabek has chosen for his project, are not in the registry of state land management entities, because it usually includes lands that are suitable for crops. These lands were also not a part of forest registry. Virtually, these hills are desert dried under the sun.
«We wanted to get the land for forestry, not for gardening, not a single legal document in our district has a term “forestry”. Planting trees on our own is not permitted. It is required to get official documentation for that beforehand. We contacted several organizations in Tashkent. They agreed with us and saw themselves how dry local land is.” – he told.
When Otabek started preparing documents, local administration informed him that the procedure for purchasing the land will be done through an auction. Hills, that Otabek wanted to buy, was put into the database and placed onto the auction list, and was eligible to purchase it.
But here a new problem arose, because the deserted land, previously uncultivated and unsuitable for farming, acquired at auction, is automatically credited to the balance sheet and according to documents becomes arable land subject to direct taxation. Thus, the areas intended for forestry were transformed into a horticultural farm. Now his mother, Matluba Kurbonova, handles all the paperwork, while Otabek himself works more on his land on the hill. Another helper is his wife, Nilufar.
‘We have a five-year tax exemption on our 220 hectares of land on which we are going to establish forestry. We are now thinking what we will do when those five years expire. If there are financial difficulties, we will probably have to take back a certain part of the land and return the rest to the state,’ Otabek said.
He believes that officials in the higher legislative bodies need to think deeply about the issue and adopt regulations and incentives for people like them.
Otabek cites the experience of Germany and South Korea, where the state provides special subsidies and benefits to those helping those who plant forests.
‘I saw images of the Korean state in the 50s, after World War II, the Japanese were cutting down the forests of Korea. After these events, the land began to degrade. Groundwater seeped in, rainfall decreased. The situation was much like ours today. In 1957, the then head of state signed a document to establish forestry and took appropriate measures. At that time Korea was not a developed stable country, there was no technology like we have now. But their greatest achievement was the unity of the people. They created forests through joint labour on sabbaticals. If you look at what’s there now, you can only envy them.’
Growing a forest in such a desolate area as the hills of Andijan Oblast requires not only exemption from tax payments, but also financial resources, and a lot of them.
So far, he has been doing all the basic work of planting and caring for the forest at his own expense. Sometimes he is periodically supported by his social media followers.
‘Now through social networks some of our compatriots support our idea, write their opinion and transfer funds to our card numbers. Let it be a little, as support. Although these funds are not very large sums, they help to solve some small problem in our work. We are grateful to our compatriots who support us’.
But they need equipment and manpower to complete their project. Right now, along with his mother and wife, there are only three of them. They also need a greenhouse to grow seedlings and adapt trees, as well as water tanks to water these seedlings. More support is needed from the responsible state authorities.
The problem with labour can be solved with ‘khashars’ (that’s the name of the subbotniks), inviting those who support a good cause, Otabek said.
Nuritdinov noted that many people, seeing his efforts, support him in this hard work. The provincial governor’s help is especially invaluable. But you can’t run to him with every problem that arises.
‘From the very beginning, there was constant support from him. When there were problems with documents, we always went to the provincial governor and solved them. Now he is not aware of the problematic situation, it is a shame to go to him and report every problem to the regional governor,’ he says.
In fact, there are people and organizations responsible for the work this enthusiast is doing. But they are not helping.
‘Not a single organisation responsible for this direction has come and said: ‘Brother, there is this subsidy for drip irrigation, there is this benefit for forestry, use it.’ I think they look at me from the outside and say, ‘Come on, how far will Otabek go?’ he says.
Water is the most important problem
The most pressing problem, of course, is the conduction of water to this desert area. The local authorities have exempted it from paying electricity for the water supplied by pumps up there. However, on the way up to the hills, the water is being plundered by ‘robbers’.
Otabek Nuritdinov said he has built a water tank that can supply water not only to the 220-hectare hills but also to the surrounding area. The water from this tank is pumped upwards by three pumping stations. The pumping stations pump water from the basin into flumes left over from the union days and then the water travels three and a half kilometers to the hills with forest plantations.
‘In future, we plan to replace this network of flumes with polythene pipes. The reason is that many people still don’t realise how serious a problem water is becoming. They change water lines to water their cattle. Three pumps deliver water to the hill. The monthly limit for one pump is one billion two hundred million soums [US$93,835.55]. This amount will be paid from the government account. What is the state paying for? It pays people to plant gardens and plants. However, some people use it incorrectly. In short, the water coming my way is being picked up by ‘robbers’. So, when we shut down the water mains, the problem will disappear,’ he said.
Nuritdinov installed solar panels on these hills to run the water mains and supply water. He did all the work to install the solar panels, worth 75 million soums [US $5,890.41], with his own money.
‘We only have a small debt left. If we are lucky, we will be able to pay off these debts in the near future. Unfortunately, while at every step we face problems, solve this one, another one arises. The biggest problem now is to organize the water network and connect the pipes to all the taps. … If we lay a water pipeline and run a drip pipe, we will prepare 10 to 15 hectares of land in the autumn season,’ Nuritdinov said.
A forest that intends to be…
Currently, he and his family have already planted saplings of trees such as elm and albizia. Pavlovia seedlings have been planted in most of the fields. Despite the water problem, the elm and albizia saplings have turned green this year.
‘We propagated paulownia trees by cuttings. Our compatriots from Poland, America, Turkey and other countries send us seeds. Some seeds have not yet adapted to our climate,’ Otabek says.
When planting trees, he fully complies to technical standards of agriculture and takes measures to adapt these trees to the local climate.
‘We cannot sow seeds sent from abroad in the open air. First of all, we must build greenhouses and multiply the seeds there, and then plant them in the open ground.’
Nuritdinov said he is also trying to protect the flora and fauna of the ecosystems of these hills, which have so far been deserted.
‘There are rare animals around us. There have been several cases of grey varans falling into our ponds. We made sure to release them into the wild. At first there was an idea to increase them. But then I learnt that they don’t breed in captivity. I think it’s good for them to breed in the hills. We release them without killing any wildlife that comes in. Since I myself live in an urban area, I enjoy watching these animals in the wild. In fact, these lands are their homes, we live with them, understanding each other,” says Otabek.
Anyone is welcome to join and contribute to the forest, says the enthusiast.
‘We will be only too happy to do so. This project is not only about restoring the natural environment, but also about creating a sustainable habitat for future generations. We also want everyone to know about our efforts and pay attention to this great project for the future of our country,’ Otabek said.