Sustainable Development of Protected Areas in the Altai-Sayan Ecoregion

Geographical location:

Europe/Middle-East > North Asia/Mongolia > Mongolia

Summary

The overall goal of the project is to develop, practice and implement mechanisms for the sustainable development of the protected areas (PAs) network within the Mongolian part of the Altai-Sayan ecoregion.

Specific aims will incorporate conservation of transboundary populations of flagship species, such as the Altai argali and snow leopard, and sustainable socio-economic development.

Background

The Altai-Sayan ecoregion is a relatively large area with 1,065,000 km2, running roughly east to west through the area where Russia, Kazakhstan, China and Mongolia meet. The Altai Mountains extend along the Russian-Kazakhstan border in the northwest to the Chinese-Mongolian border in the southwest. The Western and Eastern Sayan Mountains extend toward the east from the Altai Mountains almost to the southern tip of Lake Baikal. The ecoregion is largely within the Russian and Mongolian territories, with approximately 62% in Russia, 29% in Mongolia, 5% in China and 4% in Kazakhstan.

The area contains geographically distinct biomes, consisting of high mountains, tundra, alpine forest, wetland, steppe and desert that share a large majority of their species, dynamics and environmental conditions. The Altai-Sayan Mountains are extremely rugged, with rich forests stretching high into the mountain valleys, with glaciers in the higher valleys.

The Altai Sayan is one of the last refuges for the Altai argali (Ovis ammon ammon), the largest wild sheep on Earth and contains important populations of the endangered snow leopard (Uncia uncia). The snow leopard and argali sheep are critical species indicative of the overall health of the Altai-Sayan ecoregion.

Although crossed by the political borders of Russia, Mongolia, Kazakhstan and China, the Altai-Sayan ecoregion shares not only common natural heritage but also cultural heritage. The local population of all the 4 countries in the Altai-Sayan ecoregion shares a common history, lifestyle, religion, food, music and more.

The distribution range of the 2 species lies across the border of Mongolia and Russia. It is therefore obvious that conservation efforts in one country will be ineffective if similar attempts are not made to protect critical habitats in the second country to which an animal migrates. Therefore, this proposed project will be complementary to the WWF Russia project called ‘Ensuring Long-Term Conservation of the Altai-Sayan Ecoregion: Promoting Synergy between Conservation and Development'.

The Mongolian part of the Altai-Sayan ecoregion is located in western and northwestern Mongolia, including the Khovsgol mountain area, and the Great Lakes basin. The Altai Mountains in Mongolia, the highest in the country (maximum 4,374 m), begins at its northwest corner and then runs southeastwards for 1,500 km along the southern border.

Objectives

- Develop conservation strategies for the Altai argali and snow leopard.

- Ensure work is complementary to WWF Russia’s project.

Solution

1. Ecological connectivity and processes, and critical ecosystems in the Altai-Sayan ecoregion are maintained and further improved on a landscape level.

2. Long-term sustainability of meta-populations of flagship species is secured.

3. Bilateral and multi-lateral agreements between the Altai-Sayan countries secure adequate conditions for protection of habitats and species, and for transboundary cooperation of all nature-conservation and nature-related agencies.