Grasslands of the World.pdf - Disasters and Conflicts - UNEP

Grazing management in Mongolia 267
Figure 7.2
Extent of grasslands in Mongolia .
desert to the south and the taiga to the north; these facilitate neither trade nor
transport. Access to the sea is through the Chinese port of Tianjin, 1 000 km
from the frontier. There are very few hard-surfaced roads; the main Russia-
China railway traverses the country, but there are few internal lines. Livestock
move to market by droving; other commodities have to be transported over
poor, unsurfaced roads and tracks. The pastoral and climatic situation has
close parallels in neighbouring parts of Inner Asia: Buryatia, Tuva and some
Chinese regions (Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region and the northern part
of Xinjiang Autonomous Region), although the Mongolian economy and lifestyle
are much more pastoral and its crop sector vestigial. Under slightly different
climatic conditions, experience in the transition from collective to private
herding is also relevant to parts of Central Asia – Kazakhstan , Kyrgyzstan and
Tajikistan. Mongolia’s pastoral industry was less drastically modified by collectivization
than that of the CIS countries in that herder mobility was maintained
as the key to assuring year-round feeding and risk avoidance , and hardy, local
breeds remained the basis of the industry. Technologies and strategies developed
in Mongolia may have relevance throughout the region.
Grasslands and arid grazing cover 1 210 000 km 2 (80 percent of the land area
– see Figure 7.2) and forest and forest scrub 150 000 km 2 (10 percent). Some
90 000 km 2 are said to be used in settlement and infrastructure and 52 000 km 2
in national parks. The arable area is under 10 000 km 2 , all mechanized , largescale
farms , although much fell out of cultivation following the demise of the
state farms (about 7 000 km 2 are estimated to be recoverable). About 80 percent
of the country, therefore, is extensive grazing exploited by traditional, pastoral
methods (Plate 7.2). The five main biogeographical zones are:
• high mountains (70 000 km 2 );