Topic: Central Asia mountains ecosystem services

Key characteristics of the Central Asian mountains

The landscape of Central Asia is characterized by dramatic peaks, high mountain plateaus, deep valleys, massive glaciers, steppes and vast desert plains. Two of Asia’s major moun tain ranges the Pamirs in Tajikistan and the Tien Shan in Kyrgyzstan – make those countries the most mountainous in the region, with an average elevation of about 3 000 metres above sea level, peaks exceeding 7 000 metres and more than 90 per cent of their national territories considered as mountainous. In addition to being more mountainous, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan are less developed and less economically advanced than the other three Central Asian countries. At the same time, these countries often label their mountain territories as the Alps or the Switzerland of Central Asia.Mountain ecosystems also cover parts of Eastern Kazakhstan (Kazakh uplands, Djungar Alatoo, Tarbagatai and Altai), south east Uzbekistan (Western Tien Shan and Gissar) and Turkmenistan (Kopet-Dag and Kugitang), and extend into Afghanistan (Hindu Kush) and China (Eastern Tien Shan and Pamir). Mountains comprise 20 per cent of the area of Uzbekistan, 10 percent of Kazakhstan and 5 per cent of Turkmenistan, but the natural resource programmes in these countries nevertheless tend to highlight the role of mountains in specific geographic areas, and to focus on mountain biodiversity treasures. Overall, mountains cover 800 000 square kilometres or 20 per cent of the total area of Central Asia The Tien Shan Mountains, one of the most extensive mountain systems of Central Asia, cover all of Kyrgyzstan and extend into Kazakhstan and the Chinese province of Xinjiang. The highest peak of the Tien Shan is Jengish Chokusu, or Victory Peak, which stands at 7 439 metres. In south-eastern Kazakhstan, the picture esque Djungar Alatoo Mountains, together with the Tien Shan, form a 400 kilometre-long natural border with China. The 300 kilometre-long and 170 kilometre-wide Ferghana Valley separates the Tien Shan from the Pamir Mountains, and extends into Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. It is the most densely populated and ethnically diverse region of Central Asia, with an average population density of 350 persons per square kilometre. Some districts exceed 1 000 persons per square kilometre, and in 2010 the total population in the valley and nearby mountainsexceeded 12 million. Glaciers cover 4 per cent of Kyrgyzstan and 6 per cent of Tajikistan. They are also present in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. In total they cover an area of 12 000–14 000 square kilometres within Central Asia and about 20 000 square kilometres if the glaciers within China's territory are included. The glaciers contain frozen water reserves of about 1 000 cubic kilometres the equivalent of 10 years of water flowing down the Amu Darya and Syr Darya Rivers. Melt water from snow, glaciers and permafrost supplies about 80 per cent of the total river runoff in Central Asia. Glaciers are crucial to the agricultural economy of the region. They produce water in the hottest and driest period of the year and compensate for low precipitation. The Tien Shan and the Pamirs feature contrasting climates from harsh and dry in the interior and in the eastern corners (below zero annual surface temperatures; 150–300 mil limetres average annual precipitation, mainly in summer) to more humid and temperate in the western parts (1 000–1 500 The Nuratau, Chatkal and Gissar-Turkestan mountain ranges of Uzbekistan are covered by protected areas, feature wellpreserved juniper forests and are important sources of water for downstream cities and oases.Kazakh uplands stretch for more than 1 000 kilometres from west to east and feature numerous hills and mountains up to 1500 metres above sea level. Several rivers of central Kazakhstan, including the Ishim, Nura, Sarysu, Silety and others, originate here. Numerous salty and freshwater lakes dot the uplands.