Kazakhstan

The Federation of Eurasian Soil Science Societies was established by the collaboration of Soil Science Societies of four different countries which are Turkey, Russia, Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan in 2012. After 2016, Romania and Kyrgyzstan Soil Science Societies joined to FESSS. The primary goal of the Federation is to share knowledge on the most dynamic part of earth-soils and to "bridge the gap" between soil science, policy making, and public knowledge both nationally and internationally in the region.

Ethnic Kazakhs, a mix of Turkic and Mongol nomadic tribes who migrated to the region by the 13th century, were rarely united as a single nation. The area was conquered by Russia in the 18th century, and Kazakhstan became a Soviet Republic in 1936. Soviet policies reduced the number of ethnic Kazakhs in the 1930s and enabled non-ethnic Kazakhs to outnumber natives. During the 1950s and 1960s agricultural "Virgin Lands" program, Soviet citizens were encouraged to help cultivate Kazakhstan's northern pastures.

Robyn Meeks is an Assistant Professor at the Sanford School of Public Policy at Duke University and a faculty affiliate of the Duke Energy Initiative.

Her research is at the intersection of environmental and development economics with much of her work focusing on understanding individual and household responses to the introduction of various water and energy technologies, policies, and types of infrastructure in developing countries.  Professor Meeks has implemented field research in a number of countries, including Kyrgyzstan, Nepal, Kenya, Kazakhstan, and Peru.