Batsukh Nemekhjargal

Support and Strengthen Established Herder’s Communities

Herders at the sacred site.

Summer view of north Unjuul mountain.

Herders at the summer camp & meeting.

Herds at the pasture.

Restoring the hand operating well.

Town/RegionCountryCategoriesDate
Tov ProvinceMongoliaAsia, communities, Habitat, Mammals4 Aug 2008

Although the effects of global warming and increased aridity are likely to put the Mongolian ecosystems under stress, it is evident that most threats are of a more local nature and directly or indirectly caused by man.

The Argali wild sheep’s (Ovis ammon) historical home range is threatened of disappearance and the area is one of them in Mongolia. The focus of this particular project is to build local level capacity.

Basing on protection of Argali as a key species and its natural habitats ensure long term conservation of wildlife and sustainable natural resources use in the Unjuul mountains area by supporting and strengthening the being established herder’s communities.

It was recognised that a considerable part of the earth’s biodiversity survives on territories under the ownership, control or management of indigenous peoples and local (including mobile) communities `. Most such sites have been hitherto unrecognised in formal national and international conservation systems, perhaps because [their] management systems are often based on customary tenure, norms and institutions that are not formally or legally recognised `. At the Congress agreed a recommendation in support of the national and international recognition of such areas (Recommendation 5.29, Vth IUCN WPC).

A long-term strategy is the conservation and sustainable utilisation of natural resources in which the benefit to the local population is the principal orientation.

The support to the herder’s communities for better water supply will improve their livelihood and directly contribute to the conservation of wildlife.

Herders respect critical Argali habitat, and livestock is being kept off identified critical wildlife range. Implementation of management plan of the community conservation area is started and it will contribute to the biodiversity and Argali conservation national action plans.

Planned activities:

• Support and strengthen the established herder’s communities and facilitate implementation of their work plan.

• Construct well for livestock, restore and rehabilitate open spring water for wildlife in the community managed area.

• The project will train the stakeholders on alternative income generating activities and improve understanding about conservation and sustainable use of natural resources.

To read about Batsukh's previous project http://www.ruffordsmallgrants.org/rsg/projects/batsukh_nemekhjargal
or for more information contact nbatsukh@magicnet.mn

Project Update: November 2008 - March 2009

The project have been introduced a collaborative management approach for conservation of Argali sheep and other wildlife, and trained the herder groups on how to protect and manage important habitats of wildlife while improving their livelihoods. As result of the project activities and negotiation with Ministry of Nature and Environment and local stakeholders the Argali sheep trophy hunting stopped for two years in the area.

The project organized two training-workshops. The first one organized at the site involving all herder community members in July on different issues including conservation measures, sustainable natural resource use, law enforcement and government policy to support communities on pasture management and nature conservation. It was planned only one training as well as set in the project document but we agreed with herder community members that we can spend the budget more efficiently and organize second training in Ulaanbaatar, because there was planned joint training on community development, reduction of poverty and alternative income generation activities and exchange experiences of different communities from other regions. The capacity building training-workshop organized in November 2008 and 5 members of herder community attended the workshop and trained on above mentioned issues. Some pictures about experiences and activities of other communities are attached that the participants presented during the training.

The herder community members provided with simple brochures, guidance and training materials that will help to get ideas on different environmental issues and practices.

It took place two times free broadcasting on Mongolian radio.

The project team had coordination field trip to the site at the end of November and had meetings with local stakeholders and herder groups, agreed on further activities and arrangements.

The project activities would be completed successfully in time as planned.

Final Report

Read about the activities undertaken and findings of this project in the final report below.

File DownloadSize
Detailed Final Report.doc806.5 KB

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