adaptation – GEOGRAPHICAL SOCIETY OF TAJIKISTAN

GEOGRAPHICAL SOCIETY OF TAJIKISTAN

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9

May

Land & Ecosystems

GeoSociety

Cotton’s Retreat: Land Use Change

For much of the twentieth century, Tajikistan’s lowlands were white in summer. Cotton—pakhta, the “white gold” of Central Asia—dominated every horizon from the Vakhsh Valley to Sughd. Its geometry defined the land: square fields, irrigation canals, and windbreaks in perfect Soviet symmetry. But step into those same valleys today, and the pattern has changed. Wheat,
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13

Jun

Land & Ecosystems

GeoSociety

High Pastures: Yak Herding in the Pamirs

High above the treeline, where the air thins and the land turns to stone and grass, the geography of Tajikistan takes on a slower rhythm. This is the world of the jayloo—the summer pastures of the Pamirs—and of the yak herders who still follow ancient routes through valleys carved by ice and wind. To outsiders,
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16

Nov

Land & Ecosystems

GeoSociety

Changing Crops: Climate Shifts in Agriculture

In the irrigated plains and terraced valleys of Tajikistan, the geography of agriculture is rewriting itself. The rhythms of water, the timing of frost, and the length of the growing season—once steady anchors of rural life—are slipping out of alignment. Crops are shifting: wheat and barley are moving uphill; apricots and almonds bloom too early;
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12

May

Energy & Resources

GeoSociety

Energy Geographies: Rural Hydropower Microgrids

Across the narrow valleys of Tajikistan, where rivers fall fast and villages cling to slopes far from the national grid, hydropower has taken on a new geography. Not the monumental kind of Soviet-era dams like Nurek or Baipaza, but a network of smaller, quieter installations—micro-hydropower stations built along tributaries, canals, and alpine streams. These rural
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14

Jul

Water & Rivers

GeoSociety

Riverine Fisheries: Decline and Adaptation

On the lower reaches of Tajikistan’s rivers, as spring runoff gives way to summer flows, fishermen gather at dawn along the banks with nets, handlines, and aging wooden boats. Their activity is both timeless and newly fragile. Riverine fisheries, which once was an abundant, integral part of local livelihoods and riparian ecosystems have been steadily
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