Can the nomads of Kyrgyzstan survive?

On the day I arrive in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan’s capital, it’s almost impossible to see the mountains that loom behind the city because of the smog. By the late morning, they have started to appear. Second-hand cars from around the world jam the four-lane highways that make up the city’s post-Soviet grid. Left-hand-drive cars (the correct side for Kyrgyz roads) are prized. My driver is on the right. He swerves to avoid a container truck covered with Chinese symbols.

“If you’re walking, you’re poor. The car is like the new horse,” explains Anton Usov, chief spokesman for…