Context
Mongolia has a rich and partly unique biodiversity of global significance in pristine vegetation zones. However, the Mongolian fauna and flora are under acute threat. Species and habitat loss, deforestation and forest destruction as well as largely unregu- lated overuse of publicly accessible pasture areas have led to a complex threat situation that increasingly threatens the exis-
tence of entire ecosystems.
Main causes are rural poverty, lack of knowledge, and lack of resources. The current practices of conservation and manage- ment of biodiversity and ecosystems still follow the principles of planned economy and total protection. This is especially true for the management of forests.
Currently observed negative effects of climate change that are comparably pronounced in Mongolia such as increase in temperature, precipitation decrease, increase of extreme environmental weather conditions, and decrease of ecosystem capacities will be further aggravating the situation in the future.
Objective
The stakeholders of the Mongolian forestry sector will implement proven concepts for the conservation and sustainable use of forest ecosystems and of their biodiversity in consideration of climate change impacts.
Approach
The programme combines climate, biodiversity and environ- mental policy advice at the national level with the implementa- tion of technical and organizational innovations at the regional level in aimags and soums. At the local level, the programme works directly with forest concessionaires and forest user groups.
The advisory team of the programme supports the elaboration and submission of legal regulation proposals that are essential for ensuring Sustainable Forest Management. In cooperation with its partner organizations, the programme is working on regulations for the use of genetic resources – "Access and Ben- efit Sharing" – on certification of sustainable forest manage- ment and on regulations for seed and reproductive material, including a financially feasible strategy for sustainable forest management.
The intervention area "Piloting of sustainable forest manage- ment" aims to apply technical tools and concepts for sustaina- ble forest management. This relates particularly to the planning and decision-making procedures for silvicultural and harvest regulations. It includes the assessment of the sustainably feasi- ble timber supply as a precondition for sustainable supply stra-t egies. Non-timber forest products such as nuts, seeds, berries, and medicinal plants significantly contribute to food security of the rural and urban population and partly provide income that has the potential to considerably increase the livelihood of the rural poor. Therefore, instruments for a sustainable utilization of these products shall be developed as well.
The intervention area "Integrated vocational education" aims at implementing an extensive pilot training system for sustainable forest management capacity building. The Ministry of Social Welfare and Labour of Mongolia will be advised on improving the vocational training system for foresters. Private inventory companies will be qualified for improved forest management practices and forest units and environmental agencies will be trained for efficient monitoring, planning and implementation of forestry measures. The profession of forestry, pre-dominantly obtained by men, shall be made more attractive for women through advice on the curricula. The consulting services for the particular tasks shall be under- taken by a team of national and international experts.
The programme is part of the core priority area "Biodiversity" in the German-Mongolian cooperation and is planned in consis-t ency with international standards such as UN-REDD (reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation). The pro- gramme promotes the legal and sustainable use of forest re- sources through ENA-FLEG (Europe and North Asia Forest Law Enforcement and Governance).
The consulting firms Landesbetrieb HessenForst Consulting and ECO Consult Sepp & Busacker support the imple- mentation of the programme.
Results
Since programme implementation in 2012, improvements to the political, legal, and administrative implementation frame- work as well as the likelihood of the programme to contribute to the country’s overarching development goals have increased significantly. The programme itself provides crucial contribu- tions through capacity development, information and know- edge management and especially through provision of up to date and reliable basic information on land, biodiversity, carbon stock and timber production potential of Mongolian forests in moving towards implementing development and environment- tal policy dialogues and reducing political obstacles.
In cooperation with the six local vocational education and training institutes in Selenge, Bulgan Khuvsgul, Zavkhan and Khentii aimags, dual capacity based professional forestry courses have started successfully. Additionally, pilot areas in school forests were established in order to implement sustainable forest management practices. First concepts for a more sustainable forest management have been elaborated, taking into account the new climate conditions. Qualified and skilled forest workers graduating from the vocational schools shall be further acting as multipliers of sustainable forest management.
The development of concepts for a comprehensive national certification system for sustainable forest management, taking into account social and safety standards has well advanced.