Restoring Land. Restoring Hope. UNCCD COP17 Side Event on the UNESCO World Heritage Nominations in Mongolia

Together with its Mongolian and international partners from the International Takhi Group and the Mongolian Bird Conservation Center, the Michael Succow Foundation organised the side event.

The event was very well attended: instead of the planned 30 participants, more than 70 people took part, including representatives of CMS, WWF, WCS, FZG and GIZ, as well as representatives of local communities from Mongolia.

Following welcoming remarks by Uranchimeg Tserendorj, Head of the Protected Areas Department at the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change, and Uyanga Sukhbataar, Deputy Secretary-General of the National Commission for UNESCO, a teaser of the recently nationally and internationally award-winning film “Guardian of Great Gobi” was shown: Их Говийн Манаач · The Guardian of the Great Gobi.

During the panel discussion following presentations by the Michael Succow Foundation and the Mongolian Bird Conservation Center, civil society organisations and representatives of local communities expressed their concerns about mining licences in and around the nominated World Heritage sites, as well as a potentially planned new transport corridor from China near Naransevstei, on the edge of the Great Gobi A Strictly Protected Area.

The Ministry of Environment and Climate Change subsequently publicly reaffirmed its commitment to taking these concerns seriously and not supporting the project. The Mongolian President has also opposed the project. However, continued vigilance is necessary, as political majorities can change quickly in Mongolia’s democracy.

We will continue to closely monitor developments and support local representatives and Mongolia’s very active civil society in their efforts, including those aimed at protecting the country’s steppes and deserts.

As part of the International Climate Initiative (IKI), the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Climate Action, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMUKN) commissioned the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH to implement the project “Policy Dialogue and Knowledge Management on Climate Protection Strategies” (DIAPOL-CE).