The Restoration Process: Lessons from a Community-Based Conservation Initiative in Tunkhel, Mongolia

Authors

John Wendt, SIT Study AbroadFollow

Home Institution

Colorado State University

Publication Date

Spring 2015

Program Name

Mongolia: Geopolitics and the Environment

Abstract

As policy makers transition away from central planning, Mongolia’s natural resource professionals are challenged with cultivating community support for stewardship in a time of escalating ecological disturbance. Nutag Action Research Partners has partnered with community members and government officials in Tunkhel, a small village in north-central Mongolia, to develop local resource management capacity and jointly draft a Conservation Plan for a commonly grazed riparian pasture. This study is a preliminary assessment of the ecological and social factors influencing project implementation. Information was collected using a variety of qualitative methods including meeting observation, surveys, interviews, photographs, and a review of previous studies. Findings indicate that project success is at risk of being hampered by a host of factors including low participation rates, conflicting goals, time constraints, perceptions of resource devaluation, inaccurate ecosystem characterization, and failure of cross-scale collaboration. The case study offers actionable suggestions to mitigate threats to project success.

Disciplines

Asian Studies | Environmental Health and Protection | Environmental Indicators and Impact Assessment | Environmental Monitoring | Environmental Sciences | Environmental Studies | Natural Resources and Conservation | Natural Resources Management and Policy | Sustainability

Recommended Citation

Wendt, John, "The Restoration Process: Lessons from a Community-Based Conservation Initiative in Tunkhel, Mongolia" (2015). Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection. 2085.
https://digitalcollections.sit.edu/isp_collection/2085