Environment and Security

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The Andjian torrent goes to Andjianafter having traversed the suburbs of Osh. Orchards lie along both its banks; all the Osh gardens overlook it. Their violets are very fine; they have running waters and in spring are most beautiful with the blossoming of many tulips and roses.

Environment and Security 18 /

Natural resources: land and biodiversity

mentioned before, scope for finding alternative sources of income by migrating to other regions at varying distances from home has acted as a key safety valve for the whole region. However it is increasingly apparent that local peo- ple are losing the battle against deteriorating economic conditions and are voicing their discontent more openly. In Kyrgyzstan in 2005 this culminated in civil unrest and political changes starting in Osh and Jalal-Abad, two major cities in the Kyrgyz part of the Ferghana valley. The Osh and Jalal-Abad provinces and the surrounding hills and mountains are centres of local migration. The mountain slopes of the Batken province are attracting migrants from neighbouring Tajikistan.

As we have already seen, the Ferghana valley has very high population densities for geographic and historical reasons. One of the first questions when dealing with land must consequently be the issue of its availability. High demographic pressure on limited land resources coincides with a lack of jobs and economic prospects – especially in marginalized areas but increasingly in the irrigated areas of Uzbekistan too (due to the problems affecting the Uzbek cotton sector). These factors are trig- gering population movements to the main urban centres and to relatively less populated rural areas in the region. As

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