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Nomadic Turkic people lived here before the heyday of the Great Silk Road. Later Tajiks have settled in this region and are making up the majority of the population at the present time. The orchards, groves of walnut and mulberry trees are situated along neatly lined up irrigation ditches, making cultural landscape, preserved more than one hundred years.
Keeping large and small cattle, sheep and silkworm breeding, along with moderate gardening and agriculture since ancient times have been an integral part of this mountain region. For many centuries caravans had been moving through the region. Hence this route was an integral part of the Great Silk Road.
Since the collapse of the Soviet Union and the subsequent loss of jobs, as well as cash assistance, population of the region are desperately struggling with a dramatic rise of unemployment.
Project of the Government of the Republic of Uzbekistan, UNDP and the GEF "Establishment of Nuratau-Kyzylkum Biosphere Reserve as a model for biodiversity preservation in Uzbekistan", deals with the development of ecotourism in the region, demonstrating to the people about alternative sources of income, which contributes to improvement of people conditions and is an incentive for nature preservation. |
