You have already heard the word 'tugai' and the phrase 'tugai forest'. What do they mean?
The tugai forest is a unique riparian landscape in Central Asia. Tugai form narrow strips along big rivers and feature valuable ecosystems. Tugai forests, which are also called Central Asian jungles, boast unique combinations of animals and plants. Migratory birds use the tugai to stop during seasonal migrations when they cross Central Asia. The tugai forests are also important nesting grounds.
In the 20th century, tugai occupied relatively large areas. However, deforestation for agricultural purposes, overgrazing, fires, and human regulation of river flow resulted in a tenfold shrinkage of the tugai area. This led to the degradation of tugai ecosystems and the reduction and disappearance of many animal populations.
The extraction of sand and gravel from the riverbed has the strongest negative impact on the tugai forest, changing the natural topography, contaminating the area with construction and household waste and filling the air with dust and noise. Moreover, it lowers the water table, which leads to the drying of woody and shrubby vegetation and, as a result, affects the animal world.
It is important that people living nearby should be involved in the conservation of the tugai forest alongside the staff of the protected area, since the sustainability and ecological and economic stability of the entire region depends on the state of the forests. Riparian forests provide a wide range of ecosystem services – they generate clean air, create a mild microclimate, ensure the fertility of soil on surrounding agricultural lands and prevent wind and water erosion. Outside strictly protected areas, tugai forests, when used sustainably, can be a source of wood, medicinal and industrial plants, fruits and berries, and can serve as rangelands for regulated pasturing. The World Wildlife Fund has included the Central Asian tugai forests in the Global 200 list as an ecosystem requiring urgent conservation steps.
