https://mongolia.wcs.org RSS feeds for WCS Mongolia 60 https://mongolia.wcs.org/en-us/About-Us/News/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/22330/Exploring-Legal-Insights-into-Mongolias-Wildlife-Trade.aspx#Comments 0 https://mongolia.wcs.org/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=5560&ModuleID=10898&ArticleID=22330 https://mongolia.wcs.org:443/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=22330&PortalID=110&TabID=5560 https://mongolia.wcs.org/en-us/About-Us/News/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/22330/Exploring-Legal-Insights-into-Mongolias-Wildlife-Trade.aspx We are pleased to release our latest report: "Mongolia’s Wildlife Trade: An Analysis of International and National Legal Best Practices," now available in both Mongolian and English. This report marks the third installment in a series dedicated to understanding and addressing Mongolia's wildlife trade. WCS Mongolia partnered with Legal Atlas and the International Conservation Caucus Foundation to explore the legal frameworks surrounding wildlife trade. The main purpose is to assess the evolution and effectiveness of Mongolia's legal framework in combating illegal wildlife trade. This report builds upon extensive reviews conducted in 2006 and 2019 (see reference below), focusing on policy coherence and its impact on regulating the wildlife trade chain. It also explores legal regulations of online wildlife trade in Mongolia and the connections between wildlife disease and trade. What did the report find? Here's a glimpse: Mongolia's legislation demonstrates a commitment to wildlife conservation, with penalties imposed for offenses related to Very Rare and Rare species, as well as hunting within protected areas. Encouragingly Mongolia is a member of almost all treaties identified as either directly or indirectly related to wildlife trade. However, our analysis revealed some challenges. There are gaps in addressing organized crime's involvement in wildlife trafficking, along with limitations concerning crucial categories such as CITES-listed species and temporarily banned species. Additionally, the report highlights that Mongolia is not just a source country, and its legal environment needs to respond better to transit, illegal imports and re-exports. Dive into the full report for a deeper understanding of the topics and recommendations explored. We invite you to read the entire Report: In Mongolian (2024) In English (2023) Key References: Silent Steppe, the Illegal Wildlife Trade Crisis in Mongolia (2006) Silent Steppe II, Mongolia’s Wildlife Trade Crisis, Ten Years Later (2019) We thank the the US Department of State through the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs for funding this work. btsolmon@wcs.org Mon, 15 Apr 2024 06:27:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:22330 https://mongolia.wcs.org/en-us/About-Us/News/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/14654/Country-Reports-Predict-Project.aspx#Comments 0 https://mongolia.wcs.org/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=5560&ModuleID=10898&ArticleID=14654 https://mongolia.wcs.org:443/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=14654&PortalID=110&TabID=5560 https://mongolia.wcs.org/en-us/About-Us/News/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/14654/Country-Reports-Predict-Project.aspx In Mongolia, the PREDICT project focused on improving the national capacity for wild bird surveillance and early detection of avian influenza in order to help address threats to domestic animals and human health. Wild birds are the evolutionary hosts for influenza viruses which cause a range of signs in people from mild illness to death. FAO estimates the global economic costs of losses in the livestock/poultry sector from highly pathogenic avian influenza since 2003 are in the billions of US dollars. Located geographically where three major migratory flyways (East Asian-Australasian, Central Asian, and West Asian-East African Flyway) overlap, Mongolia is key importance in understanding the role wild birds play in the maintenance and spread of influenza viruses including highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1. Within Asia, Mongolia is a particularly ideal location to study the dynamics of wild bird influenza virus because the country has very low densities of domestic poultry compared to neighboring countries, support large concentrations of waterfowl, and has important breeding, molting, and pre-migratory staging areas, thus the relative absence of poultry within the country provides a near unique opportunity to study the epidemiology of the virus in the absence of domestic influence.  btsolmon@wcs.org Thu, 30 Jul 2020 02:06:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:14654 https://mongolia.wcs.org/en-us/About-Us/News/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/14316/After-65-years-a-Desert-Nomad-Crosses-a-Railroad-Track-and-Makes-History.aspx#Comments 0 https://mongolia.wcs.org/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=5560&ModuleID=10898&ArticleID=14316 https://mongolia.wcs.org:443/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=14316&PortalID=110&TabID=5560 https://mongolia.wcs.org/en-us/About-Us/News/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/14316/After-65-years-a-Desert-Nomad-Crosses-a-Railroad-Track-and-Makes-History.aspx The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) released a photo today of a single Asiatic wild ass or khulan (Equus hemionus hemionus) crossing a previously impenetrable barrier along the Trans Mongolian Railroad – the first known crossing by this near-threatened species into the eastern steppe in 65 years. The crossing is part of the new Trans Mongolian Railroad ‘Wildlife Friendly’ Fence Corridor, a project that creates simple modifications to existing fence designs that run the length of the railroad. In this initial pilot phase, gaps at two locations now provide safe passage for khulan, with plans for more follow. The project was implemented by WCS, in partnership with the Ulaanbaatar Railroad Authority, Mongolian Academy of Sciences, and funded by Oyu Tolgoi LLC, the Secretariat for the Convention on Migratory Species, Ministry of Nature, Environment and Tourism, Ministry of Roads Transportation Development. The photo was taken some 750 kilometers from the capital city Ulaanbaatar by one of 85 remote cameras set up along the railroad by WCS conservationists. In addition to khulan, hundreds of herds of Mongolian gazelle and goitered gazelle have been documented using the crossings. Said WCS Mongolia Conservation Director Dr. Kirk Olson: “The documentation of the return of khulan to the eastern steppe is an event that should be heard around the world. A seven-decade old barrier dividing one of the remotest places on the planet is coming down and a starting point for reconnecting the Gobi-Steppe Ecosystem and revitalizing the spectacular wildlife migrations that dwarf the more celebrated Serengeti Ecosystem.” Since completion of the Trans-Mongolian Railroad in 1955, khulan have been blocked from accessing what was their former range in the eastern grasslands of Mongolia. Each year thousands of Mongolian gazelles are entangled in the corridor fencing and many more starve after being prevented from reaching quality pasture during their nomadic movements. Habitat fragmentation, resulting from the onslaught of the construction of highways, railroads, and pipelines around planet is one of the leading contributors to biodiversity loss. The Gobi-Steppe Ecosystem is one of the largest grazing ecosystems on the planet and is threatened with fragmentation due to the construction of new transportation corridors to facilitate international trade. The population of khulan in Mongolia is estimated at around 60,000 individuals and classified by the IUCN as 'Near threatened' with extinction. The population stronghold, centered in Mongolia's South Gobi Desert, had been steadily shrinking from habitat degradation and a growing tangle of development and population expansion across its former range. There are an estimated 1,000,000 Mongolian gazelles across nearly 850,000 square kilometers. ### btsolmon@wcs.org Thu, 11 Jun 2020 07:12:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:14316 https://mongolia.wcs.org/en-us/About-Us/News/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/13052/With-new-protections-saiga-antelope-may-continue-to-be-a-symbol-of-Central-Asia-commentary.aspx#Comments 0 https://mongolia.wcs.org/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=5560&ModuleID=10898&ArticleID=13052 https://mongolia.wcs.org:443/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=13052&PortalID=110&TabID=5560 https://mongolia.wcs.org/en-us/About-Us/News/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/13052/With-new-protections-saiga-antelope-may-continue-to-be-a-symbol-of-Central-Asia-commentary.aspx The saiga antelope has great cultural, historical, and ecological importance to Mongolia. So I was proud to be advisor to the Mongolian Government Delegation at the 18th Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) in Geneva to ensure that the saiga received critically needed extra trade protections that will safeguard its survival for generations to come.Saiga antelope are classified as Critically Endangered on the IUCN “Red List” of threatened species. Disease and poaching have taken their toll on this ancient animal. Saiga antelope historically ranged into Yukon and Alaska and co-existed with woolly mammoths during the Ice Age. Today, they roam the vast areas of Eurasia, including Mongolia, but they are facing significant threats to their survival.The majority of the 183 governments that are Parties to CITES gathered this week for their global meeting to regulate or prohibit commercial trade in threatened and endangered species. The Mongolian Government introduced a proposal to transfer the saiga antelope from CITES Appendix II to Appendix I. Appendix II allows sustainable and legal international trade; Appendix I prohibits all international commercial trade and thus provides strengthened protection.Mongolia has been a Party to CITES since 1996, and this was our first CITES proposal. We are a small and developing country, but we are rich in the precious biodiversity of Central Asia. Global saiga populations used to be widespread and numbered well over 1 million individuals in the 1970s. However, the species repeatedly experienced drastic declines, reaching an all-time low of 50,000 animals in the early 2000s. btsolmon@wcs.org Wed, 11 Sep 2019 04:21:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:13052