History of WWF Mongolia in context of Mongolia’s Conservation evolution 1992 – until present

1. History of WWF Mongolia in context of Mongolia’s Conservation evolution 1992 – until present B.Chimed-Ochir, Country Representative 7th February 2011, Ulaanbaatar

2. Institutional development Evolution of WWF’s conservation priorities in context of country’s situation Evolution of conservation community in Mongolia Major threats and future trend WWF’s niche and challenges WWF’s vision and must - win objectives Content

3. 1992 – 1997: Project office with 3 staff 1997 – 2002: Country office with 9 staff (4 in field office Khovd) and registered as branch of international NGO in 1997 Since 2002: Programme office with 29 staff Institutional history

4. The project “National parks of Mongolia”, financed WWF Germany (1992 -1997) Establishment of new large scale PA Support Government for identifying financial sources for PA development Awareness and advocacy on PA’s First international NGO in Mongolia Evolution of WWF’s priorities(1992 – 1997)

5. Political and economical transition just started and lack of finance for everything Reform of environmental legislative acts Increased overall poverty level – migration from settlement to country site Freedom for travel - transboundary illegal trade with wildlife products increased Golden time for establishing large PA’s Country’s situation 1992 - 1997

6. Country’s PA network – WWF as major and single player Long-term contribution from Germany to nature conservation Some success stories …

7. First 5 years Conservation Programme with focus on: Species conservation; Saiga and Snow leopard PA management e.g. Khar Us Nuur NP Establishment new PA’s Financial sources: WWF-DE, WWF-NL, WWF-AT, Messerli, Mava Ecoregional approach – Altai-Sayan Evolution of WWF’s priorities(1998 – 2002)

8. Livestock number reached historical height – 32 Millions Two following drought in summer and harsh winter – lost 9 million livestock Increased mining activities, especially gold Country’s situation 1998 - 2002

9. Shifting from establishment to management of PA Saiga population increased during the project implementation (1998 – 2001) First time involvement of locale people into Snow leopard conservation Some success stories …

10. 2nd 5 years conservation programme Aligned with Global Programme: TDB and Ecoregion Species, Freshwater, Forest, Toxic and Climate change Altai-Sayan (80%) and Daurian (20%) ecoregions Major financial sources: WWF-SE and SIDA, WWF-DE, Hermsen and Otto foundation Evolution of WWF’s priorities(2003 – 2007)

11. Individual Illegal mining so called “Ninjas” New dam projects Overgrazing and habitat competition Climate change Weak management policies and institutional framework - bad governance Country’s situation(2003 – 2007)

12. Successful toxic campaign against massive use of rodenticide to control Brand’s vole Legislation adopting IRBM approaches EIA for Dorgon HPP Piloting community forestry in Khan Khokhie mountain range Mobile anti-poaching units in Western Mongolia Some success stories …

13. 3rd Conservation programme – update of 2nd CP in 2005 2 Ecoregions: Altai-Sayan and Daurian (later refocused on AHEC) with 3 pillars: Priority/Flagship Species: Argali, Snow leopard, Saiga, Saker Falcon, Mongolian Antelope, Taimen Freshwater conservation With cross-cutting issues: ESD, habitat protection and management, policy advocacy, law enforcement Main approaches: CBNRM and IRBM Financial sources: WWF-SE, NL, US, DE, MAVA and JFPR/ADB Evolution of WWF’s priorities(2006 – 2010)

14. Increased commodity price on world market e.g. copper, gold, coal etc Tremendous increase of state budget Increased public concern on mining impacts and corruption Overgrazing and desertification (almost 70% of country) Climate change, specially in frequency of extreme events, biomass and freshwater Country’s situation(2006 – 2010)

15. 1996 law on NGO More than 500 NGO but still weak … 2 international NGO; TNC and WCS (+TAF) Major players are GTZ, UNDP, SDC, (NL) ADB and WB integrated in sector development Public movements against mining activities Evolution of conservation communities

16. Mining development and large investment: Threats: Lot of money and corruption, freshwater ecosystem degradation, habitat fragmentation Opportunity: Social and environmental responsibility due to public reputation and increased funding Livestock sector and NR management: Threats: desertification, degradation and habitat loss Opportunity: dependencies of livelihood Climate change impacts: Forest, freshwater, pasture and vulnerability of livelihoods Major threats and future trend

17. For mining sector: Biodiversity offset programme Transparency and public involvement For livestock sector: Integrated policy and market based approaches for sustainable rangeland management Increased local community stewardship for their natural environment e.g. CBNRM Possible priority actions…

18. WWF’s niche: Well known and high reputation Local presences and competent staff Challenges: Flexibility and multi disciplinary team Increased competition for funding Building strategic partnership with development institutions and corporate sector WWF’s niche and challenges

19. WWF’s vision and must – win objectives: • To ensure local community stewardship for their natural environment