from nitrification and increased pesticide use. During the Soviet Era, agriculture was state owned and livestock was raised communally, permitting herds to migrate to remote pastures during seasons of extreme heat and cold; entire villages would often be emptied during summers and winters to migrate with livestock. Since the USSR's collapse, livestock numbers have dropped significantly, reducing pressure on grazing lands. However, under the Tajik government, territorial governments are responsible for the allocation of agricultural land, which has resulted in the private ownership of herds and pastures. Because it is less economically viable for an individual to move its herds to remote pastures and because pastures are often privately owned, livestock mobility is limited. Consequently, overgrazing has resulted in pastures without topsoil, vegetation, and ecological diversity. Deforestation 2% of Tajikistan's land is occupied by forest, a 23% decrease over the past century, two-thirds of which occurred since Tajik independence. The combination of increased population and poverty in rural areas is the main cause, which results in desertification, reduced watershed protection, and landslides. The rural population in Tajikistan has doubled since 1979, causing competition for arable land and farmers spreading to forested areas. Additionally, high energy prices caused by lacking infrastructure have forced rural populations to turn to illegal logging practices for fuel during the winter. Tajikistan had a 2018 Forest Landscape Integrity Index mean score of 8.65/10, ranking it 21st globally out of 172 countries. Energy Due to high prices and dependence on imports from its Central Asian neighbors, Tajikistan faces significant energy shortages. During the Soviet Era, energy was shared regionally, however, since the dissolution of the USSR and fragmentation of its Central Asian territory, regional energy agreements did not continue, leaving Tajikistan with limited domestic energy resources. The destruction of infrastructure during the civil war and refusal of World Bank funds has also contributed. In 2010, 2% of Tajik households had access to central pipeline heating and 15% to pipeline gas. TALCO, Tajikistan's main aluminum producer, consumes 40% of output from Barqi Tojik, Tajikistan's national power company. Tajikistan has largely turned to hydropower to meet its energy demands. In 2010, hydropower accounted for 16% of Tajikistan's electric output. This shift included plans to complete the Roghun and Sangtuda dams on the Vakhsh river from the Soviet Era, in addition to expanding the Nurek hydroelectric plant and constructing several smaller dams. In addition to contributing to the shrinking of