Clear land ownership and land tenure (the right to use land) are the basic preconditions for the implementation of any habitat management measure. Land-use rights of all beneficiaries needs to be clear and secure before project initiatives commence to avoids risk of undocumented dimensions in the planning and implementation of conservation measures. It also secures long-term interest of the land user to manage the land sustainably. The purpose of this measure is to clarify, legally regulate, obtain and hold land tenure rights needed for conservation actions and for sustainable livelihood. Land tenure rights encompasses land ownership, lease of land and/or other rights related to the use of land. 

In Georgia, most land is state owned. But after the breakdown of the Soviet Union land tenure rights have not been properly documented or registered. Today, traditional land-use rights based on verbal agreements and traditions are translated into legally documented/registered leases by the CBOs representing their respective villages. Resolving uncertain land tenure is one of the major benefits the ECF is bringing to partner communities, providing them with a clear economic perspective for the future while preserving the existing community management of shared pastures and meadows. 

Establishing a CBO is the step between the FPA process and signing a Conservation Agreements. CBOs are created with ECF’s guidance and are responsible for:

i) securing and implementing a Conservation Agreement

ii) the fair and equitable distribution of benefits among the community

iii) acting as the legal entity representing the community in a Conservation Agreement.

CBOs are formed under the national law that is appropriate to its purpose, country and region. If creating a CBO is not possible, an NGO can act as a CBO in the Conservation Agreement. 

To establish a CBO requires the local community to make a long-term commitment to cooperation and take responsibility for conservation actions. In this way the CBO contributes to strengthening the social capital and increasing sustainable land-use practices. CBO’s help build community connectedness, communication and resilience related to nature conservation efforts. CBOs are encouraged to consider biodiversity as part of the local economy and work closely with ECF toagree on sustainable land-use. CBOs are encouraged to seek other sources of funding for community projects and to develop their activities as a sustainable business during the implementation period of the Conservation Agreement. 

In Tajikistan, precipitation varies by season. In spring, precipitation is relatively high, while in the summer months are hot and dry. Irrigation water is provided through meltwater. Depending on the type of land use and local climatic conditions, different activities on harvesting and conserving water can be undertaken for making it available for annual crops.

Water from snow and rain can be harvested by installing contour trenches alongside contour lines or terraces. The trenches should be discontinuous and shifted, following a scheme of a chessboard. The trenches should be dug with 1m width, 1.5-2m length and 0.5m depth. This method has several important benefits:

• Enables water infiltration, making it thus available for annual crops
• Prevents the water run-off
• Averts  soil erosion, soil degradation, gullying and landslide

Planting different annual crops in a particular order over several years on the same field, also known as crop rotation helps to ensure long-term soil sustainability as the crops have different requirements in terms of nutrients. This prevents the accumulation and propagation of soil-borne diseases and pests. In Tajikistan, many farmers prefer cultivating the same cash crops, e.g. cereals in rain-fed areas, instead of applying crop rotation as in short-term this produces more income. In order to avoid the long-term negative effects, oil crops (flax, sunflower, and safflower) and pulses (chickpeas, green peas, and lentils) can be used to promote crop rotation and diversification. Pulses fix nitrogen and thus improve soil fertility. Crop rotation can be combined with the no-tillage practice for having an even better effect.  

An example of a three-year rotation could be:

-  Year 1. Cereal crop, e.g. winter wheat

-  Year 2. Legumes, e.g. lentil, chickpea

-  Year 3. Oil crop, e.g. safflower 

Rotation of annual crops with perennial fodder plants as alfalfa or esparcet may also be considered, as these have a very positive effect on soil fertility.

The traditional technique of soil cultivation in Tajikistan using a plough or a disc for breaking and turning the soil's surface leads to a loss of fertility by the destruction of organic matter, reduced capacity for water retention and soil erosion, especially on slope areas. Therefore, soil cultivation within fields of rainfed annual crops should be limited to a minimum. In order to prevent the negative effects of the traditional cultivation methods, farmers are encouraged to apply the no-tillage or low tillage techniques. When applying the no-tillage technique, the soil is not disturbed as only a small slot is opened for collocating seeds and eventually fertilizer. When applying the low-tillage technique, the soil is cultivated superficially with discs but not turned at all as it occurs by ploughing. Both techniques can be applied by using a single axle (two-wheel hillside) tractors which are promoted by the project. No-tillage or low tillage must be carried out along contour lines on slope areas.

Rills develop easily on degraded, steep sites during heavy rains and eventually enlarge to become gullies. Often times the area for planting rainfed annual crops is crossed by gullies. The construction of check dams is necessary to control erosion and capture nutrients, silt and moisture. Either living or dead material can be used for the construction of check dams. Further, check dams should be reinforced by planting bushes and trees alongside the gullies. As the gullies normally originate above the planned plot, this area has to be considered as well. For living material, it is recommended to plant fruit trees and bushes. Investing in gully plugging and check dams is rewarding since it can generate some yield and income in the future. However, living material also attracts livestock; hence the area might need to be fenced.

Intercropping is a planting technique that involves cultivating two or more crops at the same time on the same field. Intercropping will result in increased yields as the plants use the available space and nutrients more efficiently and help each other to develop. The associated crops should belong to different plant families, in order not to share the same pests and diseases and to have different requirements on soil fertility and nutrients and extracting them from different horizons of the soil. Intercropping creates biodiversity, which attracts beneficial and predatory insects. As flowering increases, intercropping also favors pollinating insects and thus beekeeping.

There are three basic classifications for intercropping: a) mixed cropping, which involves planting a variety of compatible plants together without any definite arrangement (eg. maize planted together with beans); b) row cropping or alley cropping, in which different crops are planted alongside each other in rows (eg. alternating rows of carrots and onions); c) temporal intercropping, in which a slow-growing crop is planted together with a faster growing one, which is harvested earlier, allowing the slow-growing crop to subsequently occupy the entire planting area (eg. potatoes and pumpkins). 

Irrigation by gravity (furrow or surface irrigation) is the main irrigation technique used in Tajikistan for annual crops. In order to avoid erosion the irrigation should be made by furrows which are following slightly inclined contour lines. The water influx should be slow, so as to increase water infiltration into the soil and reduce the risk of erosion along the irrigation furrow. Furthermore, measures should be implemented to make irrigation by gravity more effective, e.g. by lining irrigation channels with plastic foil for reducing water loss through infiltration or by distributing the water to the furrows by plastic pipes for achieving a homogeneous allocation.

Special attention should be paid to avoid too much watering; excessive water should be evacuated properly as it can cause soil erosion, the formation of gullies or attract pests.

In a gravity irrigation system, it is crucial to break the soil surface between the furrows in order to destroy capillaries and thus preserve humidity.

More sophisticated and efficient irrigation techniques as drip and sprinkler irrigation are economically not viable in most cases in annual irrigated crops.