Tajikistan – Page 2 – GEOGRAPHICAL SOCIETY OF TAJIKISTAN

GEOGRAPHICAL SOCIETY OF TAJIKISTAN

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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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5

Apr

Land & Ecosystems

GeoSociety

Forest Restoration: Sapling Experiments

Across Tajikistan’s mountain slopes, where Soviet-era maps once painted dense green for juniper and walnut forests, the color has faded. What remains is a patchwork of scrub, stumps, and gullies. Yet in recent years, small rectangles of green have begun to return—sapling nurseries, fenced plots, and reforestation experiments that test how trees might reclaim the
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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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24

Aug

Land & Ecosystems

GeoSociety

Salinization of Irrigated Soils

In the irrigated lowlands of Tajikistan, soil is not just ground—it is the country’s quiet infrastructure. It holds the water that feeds cotton, wheat, and vegetables; it anchors the livelihoods of millions who depend on the river-fed plains of Khatlon, Vakhsh, and Sughd. Yet these same fertile fields are turning saline. White crusts appear on
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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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3

Dec

Land & Ecosystems

GeoSociety

The Fann Mountains: Tourism, Ecology, and Pressure

The Fann Mountains rise like a sudden wall from the Zeravshan Valley, their jagged limestone peaks and turquoise lakes drawing both mountaineers and local families during the brief, luminous summers. Tucked in northwestern Tajikistan between the Zeravshan and Gissar ranges, this compact but dramatic mountain system has become one of the country’s primary destinations for
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2

Nov

Land & Ecosystems

GeoSociety

Wetlands for Migratory Birds

In southern Tajikistan, along the lower reaches of the Panj and Amu Darya, there are marshy patches, reed belts, and seasonally flooded meadows. To wander through these wetlands in spring is to step into one of the great migratory highways of Central Asia: a place where birds pause to rest and refuel before continuing across
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2

Sep

Society & Culture

GeoSociety

Women and Water: Gendered Geographies of Labor

In many Tajik villages, the sound of water is inseparable from women’s daily lives. At dawn, before the heat rises, women walk to canals, springs, or village taps with buckets and plastic containers, chatting softly as they queue. Later, they return to wash clothes at stream edges, irrigate kitchen gardens, or clean tools. These scenes
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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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8

Jun

Cities & Society

GeoSociety

Pamir Highway: Roads as Lifelines and Fault Lines

The Pamir Highway begins in whispers. Asphalt emerges from Dushanbe’s dense urban fabric and slowly winds into hills, climbing toward the high plateaus like a ribbon laid across the bones of the Earth. Officially known as the M41, this road is one of the world’s highest international highways, crossing passes over 4,000 meters as it
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