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Building construction in rural Kyrgyzstan is heavily dominated by earthen buildings. Old and inappropriate residential building structures contribute significantly to high domestic space heating energy consumption. Therefore, it is necessary to understand the relevant building construction techniques. However, the scant information on Kyrgyz building techniques, especially for high-altitude rural settlements, was the prime motivation to perform the presented study. The key objective of the study is to investigate residential building construction techniques in high-altitude rural Kyrgyzstan, and this was to be achieved by house visits during field trips, literature review, and pilot interviews with local people. The analysis enabled the detailed identification of individual building envelopes as well as predominant building materials to be recorded. Based on the assessment, a housing profile was created that represents the typical characteristics of traditional rural Kyrgyz houses. Furthermore, the study demonstrates the potential for energy savings in rural Kyrgyz houses of 50–70%. However, local conditions prevent people from making improvements to all domestic energy efficiency parameters simultaneously. Therefore, the study developed a 'sequential roadmap' to reduce domestic space heating demand in different phases based on simulation studies. Existing low-income rural Kyrgyz habitations can use the presented roadmap to reduce domestic space heating demand sequentially to overcome financial barriers and, therefore, contribute to establishing sustainable buildings in Kyrgyzstan. These results may be partially replicated in other Central Asian rural communities depending on their location and building characteristics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Energy is a pivotal element for overall development. Therefore, affordable and clean energy for all (Sustainable Development Goal 7) is one of the important elements. Despite a suitable approach, Kyrgyzstan lags behind to achieve its Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. Improving access to energy can significantly impact the progress of many other sustainable development targets. However, access to reliable, sustainable, and adequate energy is a crucial task in rural Kyrgyzstan. Taking into consideration the energy situation and the importance of the availability of energy services, the overarching aim of the presented article is to map the potential of improving rural energy services to foster overall sustainable development goals. The article presents the most relevant information about rural energy usage behaviour based on three primary pillars: energy demand, energy carrier, and energy sources. In addition, the presented research article synthesises the key driving factors which have a direct or indirect impact on the energy services in rural areas. The summarised data displays a deep insight into a variety of complex and dynamic household energy consumption patterns. The article provides a potential solution nexus to foster improved energy services in rural Kyrgyzstan and therefore to foster the overall sustainable development in Kyrgyzstan. The findings of the article help to formulate a strategy to design rural energy services for policy makers and stockholders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Riparian forests are rare and valuable ecosystems in Central Asia, both due to their significance for biodiversity and to their provision of vital ecosystem services to local residents. However, the actual forest use behaviour is under-researched, official figures may not be trustworthy, and the question of over-use is up in the air. This paper sets out to shed light on riparian forest use behaviour by local residents using the example of Ak-Tal Village upon the Naryn River in Kyrgyzstan: Which economic use patterns do they practice (focusing on fuel wood and pasture)? Which other ecosystem services do they recognise? Is there forest over-exploitation? To answer these questions, this study builds on local knowledge, by applying the methods of focus group discussions and a household survey. Results show an extreme discrepancy between official wood consumption figures (50–60 m3 p.a.) and figures based on household wood consumption (310–404 m3 p.a.). The forest also serves as an important winter pasture over the seven months between October and April (stocking density 0.61 livestock units/ha), but payments for these ecosystem services are low, with annually 40 KGS/ha. Local residents are aware of additional material and nonmaterial ecosystem services of the riparian forest. Opinions diverge upon the question if there is forest over-exploitation, potentially because different stakeholders have different concepts of an optimal forest status. Consequently, optimal forest use behaviour can only be defined by the local users themselves, e.g., in a future stakeholder dialogue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In rural Kyrgyzstan, the energy need is usually derived from multiple natural energy resources such as firewood, charcoal, agricultural residues, animal dung, and wood branches, which are considered common and predominant practices. Because of the non-sustainable resources and heavy reliance on the environment, Kyrgyzstan is one of the most vulnerable countries to climate change in Central Asia. On the contrary, the great renewable energy potential in Kyrgyzstan is untapped, which could be the most promising solution to ensuring sustainable energy supply in the country. However, because of the lack of scientific knowledge, current energy policies, and the lack of infrastructure, renewable resources are mainly untapped. To exploit the country's renewable energy potential, there is a need for a systematic diagnosis to develop a strategy to explore renewables in Kyrgyzstan, which is currently missing in the existing literature. In that regard, the presented study aims to assess the current status of renewable energy sources by considering the local energy context from a potential point of view. Further to this, it provides a comparative overview through a matrix of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Such novel analysis would be the fundamental base for formulating policy advice and a national plan to enhance the utilization of renewable energy in Kyrgyzstan. The presented analysis was carried out based on the extensive literature review, the country's national plan, and the existing energy policies of Kyrgyzstan. The article found out that there is huge potential available for the renewable energy market. As compared to other renewable energy sources, solar energy has great potential and can be considered one of the pioneer sustainable sources for integration into the country's power generation framework. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The high-altitude Central Asian communities (mainly from rural Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan) face a high degree of energy complexity. The thematic knowledge clearly outlines that these communities hold special energy identity (information about energy requirements, energy consumption, classification of the building, energy resources, energy services, and challenges) and at the same time, energy poverty ironically exists. To mitigate energy poverty, there is an immediate need for sustainable energy transition through special energy planning. Though, the limited information about the energy identity of these communities restricts the energy transition process. The main aim of the paper was to outline the special and comparative energy profile of high-altitude Central Asian rural communities. To demonstrate the special energy profile, a novel correlative approach was developed which synthesises the information about energy context (current energy situation and critical issues), energy resources (available sustainable and non-sustainable energy and its usage) and energy services (available energy services to meet the energy need) by considering local boundary conditions. These various parameters were studied based on the extensive literature review, the author's interview with local people and the previous work of the authors. There is a large gap in the literature regarding energy information about high-altitude Central Asian communities. Based on the correlative approach, the presented article was the first attempt to develop a novel framework to interpret the energy identity of high-altitude Central Asian communities and thus contribute to knowledge. The derived special energy identity will serve as a profound base to develop an energy planning more effectively. The derived results categorised the spatial energy situation at the roof of the world. Even though access to electricity, the high-altitude Central Asian rural population suffers from unique and complex energy challenges articulated in the presented article. Energy is a costly and critical task for the local population. To resolve this issue, sustainable energy transition is an essential element for these settlements which ensures sustainable communities from the long-term perspective. This can be achieved by spatial energy planning for high-altitude communities (i.e. implementation of energy efficiency measures in combination with an energy supply system on a community level). • The high-altitude rural communities in Central Asia face unique energy challenges as significant energy required for heating due to old and uninsulated buildings, extreme cold climate and high-altitude terrain • A novel correlative approach was established to develop energy identity of communities situated at roof of the world • Guide for energy identity of high-altitude rural communities of Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan is developed • This study demonstrates immedaite need of sustainable energy transition at roof of the world • The research suggests that building energy efficiency is a key parameter to achieve the complex sustainable energy transition at roof of the World. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]