Ulaanbaatar
Nationally standardized methodology developed for rangeland monitoring
Society
Ulaanbaatar/MONTSAME/. As one of the few remaining countries
with a robust, nomadic pastoral culture supported by extensive natural
rangelands, Mongolia is well positioned to offer sustainable, rangeland-based
goods and services to its citizens and to global consumers who place a premium
on sustainable products.
The primary challenge to sustainable livestock production in
Mongolia is that rangeland health, the set of environmental conditions that
sustain the productivity and biodiversity of rangelands is in decline in many
areas. The Green Gold and Animal Health project of the Swiss Cooperation in
Mongolia collaborated with government ministries and universities to develop
new assessment, monitoring, and management procedures to understand and improve
rangeland health across Mongolia. A nationally standardized methodology for
rangeland monitoring provides robust evaluations of long-term changes in
rangeland health. The National Agency for Meteorology and Environmental
Monitoring (NAMEM) now has the capacity to continue the new monitoring
procedures and report to the nation on these trends.
Based on the results of testing in pilot soums, a photo
point monitoring method was developed to provide information on the cover of
plant functional groups that is adequate for grazing management decisions and
to report vegetation trends at the functional group level. The Agency for Land
Management, Geodesy and Cartography made a decision to adopt this method and
implement it nationally as a basis for assessing grazing management impacts.
The photo point monitoring system covers over 5000 spots in total representing
different pasture user’s groups (PUGs) and different seasonal pastures
Source: Swiss Cooperation in Mongolia
