Celebrating 25 Years of Action for Biodiversity

Mongolia introduced wildlife species protection in the school curricula and achieved over 96 per cent of targets for the National Biodiversity Action Plan [ ] 159 Addressing the causes of climate change Mongolia has conducted IUCN Red List assessments of its entire known vertebrate species. There are some positive trends in biodiversity, such as the increase in the number of known species. Since the Fourth National Report of the Convention on Biolog- ical Diversity, the number of known fungi, lichen, plant, insect and bird species found in Mongolia has risen. However, ecosystem services associ- ated with healthy grasslands, arboreal forest and semi-arid saxaul forests — such as gas exchange and carbon storage — are likely to be reduced by changes in Mongolia’s biodiversity. Services at risk of a noticeable impact include water storage, soil structure and composition, nutrient storage and cycling. Mongolia has twice reviewed its initial National Biodiversity Action Plan (NBAP), produced in 1996. The first review, in 2000, indicated that al- though a significant number of actions were being implemented, there were holes in overall coordination and im- proved implementation was required to meet targets. As a result of this, a committee was established to oversee the implementation of the NBAP, with funding from the Global Environ- ment Facility and the United Nations Development Programme Biodiversity Project. A second review of the NBAP in 2009 concluded that it was fulfilling its main objectives and achieving its potential contribution to protect bio- diversity in Mongolia, achieving 96.5 per cent of the NBAP targets. Collectively, the reviews generally reported positively on the fulfilment of Mongolia’s original NBAP. The subsequent stage led to the recruit- ment of a project manager, who pro- duced a draft of the revised NBSAP for Mongolia before an Inception Workshop in June 2012. In addition, the Australian NBSAP was used as a model due to similarities between the two countries, both of which have vast area, low human den- sity, traditional knowledge of nomadic herders and local groups living tradi- tionally off the land. Until the revised NBSAP has been completed, the orig- inal NBAP will be referred to along with the 2011–2020 Aichi targets. The Government has implemented actions related to the Aichi Biodiver- sity Targets, including the estab- lishment of a degree programme in ecology and the training of teachers and higher level officials in ecological issues. It has also established a con- servation training centre to provide high-level training to staff of the Ministry of Environment and Green Development as well as a library for related materials. Gorkhi-Terelj National Park. Mongolia Mongolia M ongolia is susceptible to climate change due to its location and vulnerable ecosystems, together with its economic system, which is highly dependent on seasonal climates. There have been significant changes over the past 40 years in anthropogenic activities, including population increases, changes in farming and herding, and human population distribution. Lower precipitation rates and the drying of many surface water sources have put Mongolia in a position where the buffering and recovery potential of a healthy ecosystem are more important than ever to curb the impacts of climate change and stochastic environmental events. Marcin Konsek on Wikimedia Commons