Herders note that autumn seems colder and longer. The winters are generally colder and have more snow, though 2011 had little snow compared to other years. Herders were not concerned about dzuds, or extreme winter weather conditions, as reindeer are well adapted to cold winds and deep snow. The herders sometimes experience frozen pastures (as in August 2009). While frozen pastures are a disaster to tundra reindeer husbandry, the taiga herders ...

Herders from both the East and the West Taiga are concerned about the environmental changes that are taking place in their homeland. They report that snow seems to take longer to melt during springtime. Summers seem shorter and hotter, making it more challenging for the reindeer that prefer cooler temperatures. Patches of snow and ice that used to last through summer are now disappearing in mid-July. The rivers have less water and the ...

Mongolia has made a number of international commitments to protect its biodiversity, including ratifying all major international biodiversity conventions. As of 2009, protected areas covered 14% of Mongolia, and the country had set a target to protect 30% of the territory before 2015 (WWF 2010). However, according to an assessment by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF 2010), there appears to be little capacity to manage and enforce measures e...

Despite the changing political landscape of Mongolia over the last hundred years, the traditional reindeer herding system has been maintained. Nevertheless, recent political and economic transitions and upheavals have altered the Dukha community’s way of life and relationship with their natural environment and the herders now face an uncertain future.

Pastoralism, or extensive grazing on rangelands for livestock production, is a key production system of the world’s dryland areas. It provides a livelihood for between 100 and 200 million people (CBD Secretariat 2010), supplies 10% of the world’s meat production through approximately one billion heads of livestock, and makes a significant economic contribution to some of the world’s poorest regions (FAO 2001; WISP 2010).

Mongolia geopolitical map