The Administration and Practice of Leasehold Pastoralism in Turkmenistan

Abstract Turkmenistan retains a centralised system of livestock production in which many essential assets are owned by the state. This article examines the impact of state ownership on natural resource allocation, husbandry practices and herd mobility. The article is based on a three-year study of rangelands, livestock production, flock economics and land tenure at two study sites, one in central and the other in eastern Turkmenistan. The study documents a high degree of variability in conditions at different pastoral localities, despite the imposition of a single, monolithic system of state administration. There is also ample evidence of the continuing importance of late Soviet-era agricultural reforms, but little evidence of any revival of indigenous Turkmen social institutions.