Victor R. Squires is a Guest Professor in the Institute of Desertification Studies, Beijing and an Adjunct Professor at the University of Arizona, Tucson, USA.Lu Qi is Director and Chief Researcher of the Institute of Desertification Studies, Chinese Academy of Forestry, China.

• Part I: Introduction1. Greater Central Asia: its peoples and their history and geography 2. Biogeography and natural resources of Greater Central Asia: an overview3. Managing the commons in the post-Soviet transition: what are the challenges of institutional change in pastoral systems in Uzbekistan?Part II: Sustainable land management: a dream or an economic and ecological imperative4. Sustainable land management: a pathway to sustainable development 5. The future we want: putting aspirations for a land degradation neutral world into practice in the GCA region6. Barriers to sustainable land management in Greater Central Asia: with special reference to the five former Soviet republicsPart III: The nature and extent of land degradation in Greater Central Asia7. Assessment of land degradation processes and identification of long-term trends in vegetation dynamics in the drylands of Greater Central Asia8. Land degradation indicators: development and implementation by remote sensing techniques9. Mitigation of desertification and land degradation impacts and multilateral cooperation in Greater Central AsiaPart IV: Thematic issues of SLM in Great Central Asia10. Water in Central Asia: a cross-cutting management issue11. Water from the mountains of Greater Central Asia: a resource under threatPart V: Consolidating and summarizing findings: the way forward12. Greater Central Asia as the new frontier in the twenty-first century13. Greater Central Asia: China, Russia or multilateralism? 14. Unifying perspectives on land, water, people, national development and an agenda for future social-ecological research

Victor R. Squires is a Guest Professor in the Institute of Desertification Studies, Beijing and an Adjunct Professor at the University of Arizona, Tucson, USA.Lu Qi is Director and Chief Researcher of the Institute of Desertification Studies, Chinese Academy of Forestry, China.

• Part I: Introduction1. Greater Central Asia: its peoples and their history and geography 2. Biogeography and natural resources of Greater Central Asia: an overview3. Managing the commons in the post-Soviet transition: what are the challenges of institutional change in pastoral systems in Uzbekistan?Part II: Sustainable land management: a dream or an economic and ecological imperative4. Sustainable land management: a pathway to sustainable development 5. The future we want: putting aspirations for a land degradation neutral world into practice in the GCA region6. Barriers to sustainable land management in Greater Central Asia: with special reference to the five former Soviet republicsPart III: The nature and extent of land degradation in Greater Central Asia7. Assessment of land degradation processes and identification of long-term trends in vegetation dynamics in the drylands of Greater Central Asia8. Land degradation indicators: development and implementation by remote sensing techniques9. Mitigation of desertification and land degradation impacts and multilateral cooperation in Greater Central AsiaPart IV: Thematic issues of SLM in Great Central Asia10. Water in Central Asia: a cross-cutting management issue11. Water from the mountains of Greater Central Asia: a resource under threatPart V: Consolidating and summarizing findings: the way forward12. Greater Central Asia as the new frontier in the twenty-first century13. Greater Central Asia: China, Russia or multilateralism? 14. Unifying perspectives on land, water, people, national development and an agenda for future social-ecological research

Victor R. Squires is a Guest Professor in the Institute of Desertification Studies, Beijing and an Adjunct Professor at the University of Arizona, Tucson, USA.Lu Qi is Director and Chief Researcher of the Institute of Desertification Studies, Chinese Academy of Forestry, China.

• Part I: Introduction1. Greater Central Asia: its peoples and their history and geography 2. Biogeography and natural resources of Greater Central Asia: an overview3. Managing the commons in the post-Soviet transition: what are the challenges of institutional change in pastoral systems in Uzbekistan?Part II: Sustainable land management: a dream or an economic and ecological imperative4. Sustainable land management: a pathway to sustainable development 5. The future we want: putting aspirations for a land degradation neutral world into practice in the GCA region6. Barriers to sustainable land management in Greater Central Asia: with special reference to the five former Soviet republicsPart III: The nature and extent of land degradation in Greater Central Asia7. Assessment of land degradation processes and identification of long-term trends in vegetation dynamics in the drylands of Greater Central Asia8. Land degradation indicators: development and implementation by remote sensing techniques9. Mitigation of desertification and land degradation impacts and multilateral cooperation in Greater Central AsiaPart IV: Thematic issues of SLM in Great Central Asia10. Water in Central Asia: a cross-cutting management issue11. Water from the mountains of Greater Central Asia: a resource under threatPart V: Consolidating and summarizing findings: the way forward12. Greater Central Asia as the new frontier in the twenty-first century13. Greater Central Asia: China, Russia or multilateralism? 14. Unifying perspectives on land, water, people, national development and an agenda for future social-ecological research