Scientific and applied justification management of NAS to prevent desertification processes in southern Kazakhstan, to ensure the sd rural areas

1. «Kazakhstan-2050» Strategy», «The new political course of the established state» Address by the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan from December 14, 2012.
2. Decree of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan dated May 30, 2013 № 577 "On the Concept for the transition of the Republic of Kazakhstan to a "green economy".
3. Government Program "Digital Kazakhstan" dated December 12, 2017 No. 827.
4. Government program "Development of the agro-industrial complex of the Republic of Kazakhstan" for 2017-2021 years from February 14, 2017 № 420.
5. Decree of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan dated February 15, 2018 № 636. "On Approval of the Strategic Development Plan of the Republic of Kazakhstan until 2025".
6. Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan dated January 6, 2012 № 527-IV. "On National Security of the Republic of Kazakhstan".
7. "National project on water resources management in Kazakhstan until 2025".
8. Strategic Plan of the Ministry of Ecology, Geology and Natural Resources of the Republic of Kazakhstan for 2017-2021 dated 10.09.2019 No. 26.
9. Strategic measures to combat desertification in the Republic of Kazakhstan until 2025.

Desertification is a global problem covering arid and semi-arid territories of the Earth's landmass. This process has a strong impact on the sustainable development of regions, negatively affects the biodiversity of ecosystems and their environmental safety. These phenomena cause complex problems of socio-economic stability, in particular poverty problems.

According to the UN, some 2 billion people depend on dryland ecosystems for their livelihoods, 90% of whom live in developing countries. In the least developed countries, the situation is steadily worsening as overpopulation forces the use of drylands for agriculture, overgrazing, land depletion and excessive groundwater withdrawal.

Central Asia is a classic example of an arid and subarid area characterized by serious transboundary desertification problems. According to the GTZ publication, nowhere at present is there an entire region of more than four million square kilometers that faces a greater threat from desertification than the region between the Caspian Sea and the Tien Shan and Altai mountain systems. Currently, more than 2/3 of Central Asia is dry land. In Kazakhstan, for example, the World Bank estimates that 66% of the country's territory is subject to desertification;

The Concept of Transition of the Republic of Kazakhstan to a Green Economy considers desertification as a serious cause for concern and envisages adherence to the principles of green agriculture, which will ensure the development of the sector and at the same time preserve and improve the environment. The problem of desertification is reflected in the state programs on development of regions, Sustainable Development Goals, "Strategic measure to combat desertification in the Republic of Kazakhstan until 2025" and the National project on development of agro-industrial complex of the Republic of Kazakhstan for 2021-2025.

We see the solution of the above problems in the development of scientific and applied substantiation of sustainable management of natural-agricultural systems to prevent the development of desertification processes in the southern regions of Kazakhstan, allowing to ensure economic development, food security and a high standard of living of the population.

The object of the study is the southern region of the Republic of Kazakhstan. Landscapes of the southern region are predisposed to desertification, which began to rapidly increase against the background of climatic changes and growth of anthropogenic load. Natural pastures of arid ecosystems are the basis of distant cattle breeding and, at the same time, are the basis of biodiversity and natural environment for a significant part of the population of Kazakhstan. A serious problem in the development of most rural settlements of the southern region is overloading of pastures - the result of increasing livestock in private farms and other agricultural formations. Irrigated lands in the region are subject to salinization and degradation. All this leads to deterioration of ecological situation and land degradation, as a result of which desertification processes are activated.

• To develop scientific and methodological foundations of management, assessment and thematic multi-scale mapping of natural and agricultural systems subject to desertification;
• Create informational-analytical database;
• To determine the main parameters for assessing the risk of desertification in natural and agricultural systems;
• To develop criteria, indicators, evaluation of degradation of agricultural and rangeland use;
• To conduct field studies of the state of natural and agricultural systems of agricultural and pasture use;
• To perform monitoring observations of the desertification processes development in natural and agricultural systems;
• To develop and create an information-analytical database on blocks: natural, agricultural, environmental;
• To develop and create a modern landscapes map for the development of a series of applied assessment maps of special content to combat desertification.
• To conduct inventory and evaluation mapping of the development of desertification processes in natural and agricultural systems based on RS and monitoring observations;
• To conduct field studies of natural and agricultural systems, monitoring observations on key areas of NAS for the development of desertification processes;
• Develop and create multi-scale assessment and application maps:
  1. agricultural development of natural complexes;
  2. manifestations of desertification processes in natural and agricultural systems of pasture and agricultural use;
  3. resistance of natural complexes to agricultural impact;
  4. degree of degradation of natural and agricultural systems;
  5. functional zoning of NAS subject to desertification.
• Conduct an assessment:
  1. productivity of natural and agricultural systems of agricultural and pasture use;
  2. dynamics of desertification processes in natural and agricultural systems;
  3. landscape and ecological state of natural and agricultural systems.
• To develop a sustainable management system of natural and agricultural systems for preventing the development of desertification processes;
• Conduct a survey of farms on the use of soil-water-saving technologies;
• To develop and create a database on technologies that prevent the development of desertification in natural and agricultural systems;
• To develop scientifically-based requirements, recommendations and measures to prevent the development of desertification processes in natural and agricultural systems;
• To evaluate the effectiveness of the developed recommendations and measures to prevent the development of desertification processes in natural and agricultural systems;
• Create a schema of the organization of agricultural environmental management;
• To develop environmental protection measures maps to prevent the development of desertification processes in natural and agricultural systems;
• To develop and create a Web-application for sustainable management of agricultural and pasture use;
• To conduct seminars, training in agricultural formations on measures to prevent desertification, popularize soil-water-saving technologies and introduction of scientific results of the Program.

• Geoffrey M. Henebry – Ph.D., Professor in the Department of Geography, Environment and Spatial Sciences and the Center for Global Change and Earth Observation at Michigan State University. He focuses on land use, climate change and land degradation in Central Asian countries. h-index – 45
• Mirzabaev Alisher – Ph.D., Senior Scientist, International Rice Research Institute (ITRI), Los Baños, Philippines. Main areas of specialization: Land use economics and land degradation; Ecosystem restoration; Climate change impacts, adaptation and mitigation; Nature-based solutions; Agri-food systems transformations; Water-energy-food security nexus, renewable energies. h-index - 20
• Qadir Manzoor – Ph.D., Deputy Director, Institute for Water, Environment and Health, United Nations University (UNU-INWEH) Hamilton, Canada. Research area: water-related sustainable development by contributing to policy, institutional and technical aspects of non-conventional water resources utilization, wastewater-related resource recovery and safe reuse, water quality and environmental health, assessment and remediation of land degradation caused by salinization, and water and food security in the face of climate change. h-index - 47

Publication of articles in international peer-reviewed scientific journals

• At least 3 (three) articles and (or) reviews in peer-reviewed scientific publications in the scientific direction of the program, which are in the 1st (first), 2nd (second) and (or) 3rd (third) quartile in terms of impact factor in the Web of Science database and (or) have a CiteScore percentile in the Scopus database of at least 50 (fifty);
• At least 3 (three) articles or reviews in a peer-reviewed foreign or domestic publication recommended by CQAFSHE RK;
• Issue of a monograph based on the research results.

• State agencies;
• Scientific organizations dealing with problems of agriculture, land degradation, etc.;
• Higher educational institutions;
• Republican and territorial management structures;
• Agricultural formations (farms, peasant farms, agricultural cooperatives, etc.);
• Project organizations in the field of development of integral plans of socio-economic development of regions of Kazakhstan;
• Non-governmental organizations, experts in the field of agriculture and environmental protection, ecology.