World's walnuts at risk

THREATENED: OVERGRAZING, ILLEGAL LOGGING, RISING HEAT IMPACT FOREST → The crop is down to three to four tons and shrinking from 15 tons a day in 2000s.

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TRADING POST. People buy and sell walnuts in the village of Bazar-Korgon, about 700km from the capital Bishkek.

Rustling through fallen golden leaves, locals in a forest outside Arslanbob in the Kyrgyz mountains were scurrying for walnuts - an ancient pastime and economic lifeline for the region.

But the forest, the world's largest wild walnut grove, has for years been slowly fading due to overgrazing of livestock, illegal logging and rising temperatures.

"The forest used to be so dense but it has thinned out," said Asel Alisheva, who is from the village, Arslanbap, who has been foraging there for decades.