Rangeland Ecology & Management

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WHAT IS CHANGING IN THE RANGELANDS, WHY AND HOW THESE CHANGES OCCUR: CASE STUDY FROM THE SOUTH GOBI OF MONGOLIA
Author
Baival, Batkhishig
Tsevlee, Altanzul
Fernandez-Gimenez, Maria
Publisher
Society for Range Management
Publication Year
2015
Body

What is changing in the rangelands, how do herders characterize these changes and why are such changes are happening? These were the questions we asked in the beginning of collaborative rangeland monitoring in three mining impacts areas in the South Gobi of Mongolia. The community wanted to know the causes and dynamics of the rangeland changes they witness on daily basis. We facilitated formation of multi-party collaborative rangeland monitoring teams in three areas and organized a series of workshops, trainings and consultations to train community members in rangeland sampling and monitoring. Members of monitoring team collaboratively designed what, where, why and how to monitor their rangelands. We emphasized drawing on local experience and expert knowledge to institutionalize collaborative rangeland monitoring in these areas. Provincial and sub-provincial Agriculture Offices provided full support and participated in order to understand the principles and processes of rangeland monitoring with the aim of scaling up this initiative across the province. The main outcome of this project is that collaborative rangeland monitoring teams could serve as models for how local government, agency, private sector and users can collaborate in rangeland monitoring and improve their capacity for implementing efficient rangeland management strategies not only in mining impact zones, but also in other areas that face land degradation. We collaboratively documented participatory processes that we followed to implement rangeland monitoring. In addition, by setting three cases of participatory rangeland monitoring, we will contribute in increasing local technical capacity for land use planning, monitoring, and implementation by using Ecological Site Description methods and supporting local governments to use their legal authorities to implement better rangeland management plans. 

Language
English
Resource Type
Text
Document Type
Conference Proceedings
Conference Name
SRM Sacramento, CA