National parks and biodiversity
There are four different types of protected areas in Mongolia, which have different levels of protection: strictly protected areas, national parks, nature reserves and natural monuments.
Mongolia combines strictly protected areas, where ecosystems are particularly fragile, and national parks, which have a more educational dimension, even recreational for some, with many activities (hiking, climbing, etc.). We will quote:
Gurvan Saikhan National Park. Located in the south of the country, it protects the Gurvan Saikhan mountains, in the Gobi-Altai range. The park is famous for its picturesque "singing sands" (Khongoryn Els dunes). It is home to a remarkable diversity of flora and fauna, including the iconic snow leopard, and nearly two-thirds of endemic plants.
Gorkhi-Terelj National Park. Located near the capital, the park, which offers a number of outdoor activities, is home to a wide variety of natural environments: steppes, forests, rivers, rocks with unique shapes. The time of Gunj, built in the eighteenth century, gives a historical dimension to the park.
Khomyn Tal National Park: created in 2020, it hosts Przewalski's horses, an endangered species and reintroduced, which is the subject of a scientific monitoring between France and Mongolia.
Protected areas have experienced a significant development since the opening to the market economy, even if we can emphasize that since the thirteenth century there were sacred places where certain human activities were prohibited (hunting and forestry). We will also mention, in the eighteenth century, the "first official declaration" of a protected area in the world, namely sacred mountain Bogd Khan. The biosphere reserve (classified Unesco) of Bogd Khan Uul is now, since 1996, part of the strictly protected areas of the country.
Among the threats to biodiversity is the overexploitation of certain resources, including medicinal plants. The fall of the USSR resulted in a return to ancestral medicines, which, with the establishment of the market economy, led to excessive harvesting of medicinal plants, some of which are now threatened. Tourism can also contribute to the decline of biodiversity. Visitors should be encouraged to respect environmental regulations, not to collect plants, and more generally to use resources (water, energy) wisely. A "zero waste" approach can also be adopted, in order not to contribute to the pollution of the environment, as well as a low carbon approach(agirpourlatransition.ademe.fr/).
Pastoralism in crisis and rural exodus
Livestock breeding, the ancestral way of life of nomadic populations, is going through many difficulties. They are due to various factors that combine. The transition to a market economy, after the collapse of the USSR, has changed the breeding practices. The herds have grown, which has led to pressure on the natural environment. To this overgrazing is added the introduction of cashmere goats in the farms. The goats threaten the grazing areas by pulling out the roots of the plants. Another factor is climate change, which is reflected in a greater frequency and intensity of extreme events, including the dzud (or züd), which refers to particularly cold winters, preceded by very hot summers that result in grass inaccessible to livestock, buried under a thick layer of snow, a phenomenon that causes significant mortality of livestock. It is estimated that one million animals were lost in 2018. Faced with this situation, herders are leaving the steppe and their way of life, in search of better opportunities in the capital. Climate change is also very noticeable in the north of the country, inhabited by reindeer herders called Tsaatan. Global warming is disrupting the tundra ecosystems that provide food for the reindeer. The Tsaatan are also forced to move in search of snow-covered areas in summer that provide livable conditions for the reindeer. But the snow is melting, threatening the reindeer and the survival of the people.
Desertification and deforestation
As previously mentioned, desertification is partly the result of livestock farming practices. Ancestral pastoralism, respectful of the environment and large natural spaces, has been replaced by the establishment of larger herds, which have exerted pressure on the steppe. To this overgrazing is added the introduction of cashmere goats, for an international market, including European, particularly growing in recent years. The goats, whose proportion in the herds has increased (ratio passing from one goat for three sheep to one goat for one sheep), contribute to the degradation of the environment, by pulling out the roots of the plants. Climate change is also aggravating the desertification of the territory, inducing a decrease in water reserves, linked to a decrease in rainfall. According to the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), nearly 70% of pastures are affected by these problems. Faced with this situation, "sustainable cashmere industries" are emerging, which include ecological restoration of the environment, reduction of the size of the herd and water consumption, and assistance to breeders to maintain their income. Organizations such as the UNDP are also involved in projects on sustainable livestock practices. In particular, the UN organization has developed a platform for exchange between the various actors in the cashmere industry: http://sustainablecashmereplatform.com.
As consumers, we can also act at our own level, by making informed purchases, in particular by favoring sectors that benefit from environmental and social traceability. Deforestation is also an important ecological issue in Mongolia, linked to human practices (logging without "sustainable" management which also leads to erosion), forest fires and climate change. The country, which had 7% of forest area in 2000 (including areas of taiga in the north of the country, composed of larch and pine), would have lost, between 2000 and 2012, 4 676 km2 of forest (net deforestation rate).Ulaanbaatar facing air pollution
The capital is now home to half of the population. Many nomads come to swell the shantytowns of the peripheral districts of Ulaanbaatar, where they install their yurt. The conditions are precarious, in the absence of water networks. The question of heating is particularly sensitive. The inhabitants, living in poorly insulated yurts, are forced to use large quantities of coal to heat themselves. The resulting pollution levels far exceed the threshold values recommended by the World Health Organization. This situation causes respiratory illnesses, which particularly affect children. Some schools are forced to close, sometimes for more than a month. Other parents are forced to send their children, sometimes more than a thousand kilometers away, to get away from this noxious air. Faced with this, NGOs and institutions such as UNICEF are carrying out projects to fight against air pollution. For example, they are helping to improve the insulation of yurts. As for the government, it has put in place regulations concerning emitting industries (including thermal power plants and mines), and announced means for alternative energies. It has also banned the use of coal for heating in 2018, without result, as well as the settlement of new inhabitants in the capital in 2018 and 2020. This last measure, however, should not be renewed. Indeed, two international studies have shown that this ban did not address the issue of migration to the capital, but rather made it more difficult for newcomers to integrate and showed that settling in the city offered them more opportunities.
Impacts of the extractive industry
The country's subsoil is particularly rich in minerals, including coal, gold and copper. The country has one of the world's largest known reserves of high quality coal, mined in Talvan Tolgo, and of gold and copper in the newly mined Oyu Tolgoi mine. However, the extraction processes have significant environmental and health impacts. Mining is very water-intensive and is responsible for the detour of waterways, drying up certain areas and increasing the difficulties of livestock farmers. The use of heavy metals (cyanide, mercury) results in the contamination of the environment, threatening the entire food chain. When we know that jewelry is the first consumption of gold in the world, this can make us think about our consumption choices and alternative solutions such as recycling materials. Faced with this situation, local populations are getting organized. The "River Movements" organization, which brings together farmers, has succeeded, thanks to its activism, in having mining permits suspended.
