MINISTRY OF NATURE, GLOBAL UNITED NATIONS CONVENTION ON MONGOLIAN NATURE ENVIRONMENT AND ENVIRONMENT DEVELOPMENT BIOLOGICAL AND ENVIRONMENT TOURISM FACILITY PROGRAMME IN DIVERSITY CONSORTIUM OF MONGOLIA MONGOLIA FOURTH NATIONAL REPORT ON IMPLEMENTATION OF CONVENTION OF BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY Ulaanbaatar, 2009 FOREWORD Protecting biodiversity, ensuring sustainable utilization of natural resources and limiting the loss of habitat in the face of global climate change and negative anthropogenic impacts is a critical challenge for Mongolia, which has an environment with a harsh continental climate and fragile ecosystems. Today, it is globally recognized that a sustainable development strategy should be harmonized with the environment and in that respect the international community is creating international conventions and agreements that deal with environmental issues. In 1993, Mongolia joined the International Convention on Biological Diversity which was ratified by UN assembly. Mongolia subsequently approved a National Action Plan (NAP) on Biodiversity Conservation in 1996. Within the NAP implementation, measures like improving legal frameworks, strengthening biodiversity conservation management, increasing research activities on flora and fauna and its extinction, minimizing negative impacts toward biodiversity, restricting utilization, promoting public participation in environmental protection activities and expanding cooperation with the international community were carried out. It is my great pleasure to present the Fourth National Report on the implementation of the UN Convention on Biodiversity Conservation, developed in collaboration with the Mongolian Nature and Environment Consortium. This national report was produced following the set of guidelines developed by the CBD Secretariat. Invaluable contributions from relevant line Ministries, non-government organisations and scientists and researchers from various professional and research institutions played a fundamental role in generating this report. The Fourth National Report stipulates measures that the country has undertaken to fulfil the provisions of the Convention. The Report provides information on the experience of implementing national biodiversity strategies and action plans, and identifies obstacles and impediments in meeting the objectives of this Convention. We believe this report will serve as good reference material for policy makers in the environment and other sectors, non-governmental organisations, private sectors and students. I would like to take this opportunity to extend my appreciation to the Global Environmental Facility for the financial and technical support provided in producing this report. Member of Parliament, Member of Government, Minister of Nature, Environment and Tourism L.GANSUKH FOURTH NATIONAL REPORT ON CONSERVATION OF BIODIVERSITY OF MONGOLIA CONTENTS Executive summury................................................................................................................................................5 Chapter I. Overview of Biodiversity Status, Trends and Threats …………………………......................................7 Chapter II . Current status of the implementation of National Biodiversity action plan …....................................38 Chapter III. Sectoral and cross-sectoral integration or mainstreaming of biodiversity considerations..……67 Chapter IV. Progress towards the 2010 Target and Implementation of the Strategic Plan…........................77 Annex 1. Information on reporting parties and preparation of the report and references..........................104 Annex 2. Environment relevant projects implemented by MNE..................................................................108 Annex 3. COP 8 decisions requesting parties to submit information through national reports....................110 Annex 4. Progress towards targets of the Global Strategy for Plant Protection............................................113 Annex 5. Implementing the program of work on Protected area..................................................................119 3 FOURTH NATIONAL REPORT ON CONSERVATION OF BIODIVERSITY OF MONGOLIA ABBREVIATIONS ADB ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK CITES CONVENTION ON INTERNATIONAL TRADE IN ENDANGERED DSS DUST AND SANDSTORM EBA ENDEMIC BIRD AREAS FAO FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION GTZ GERMAN TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE GEF GLOBAL ENVIRONMENT FACILITY GIS GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEM IUCN INTERNATIONAL UNION FOR CONSERVATION OF NATUR IBAs IMPORTANT BIRD AREAS JICA JAPAN INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION ORGANIZATION MNET MINISTRY OF NATURE, ENVIRONMENT AND TOURISM MAS MONGOLIAN ACADEMY OF SCIENCE MALI MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE AND LIGTH INDUSTRY MOSTEC MINISTRY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY AND CULTURE MAP MONGOLIAN ACTION PLAN MSUE MONGOLIAN STATE UNIVERCITY OF EDUCATION NUM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF MONGOLIA NGO NON GOVERNMENT ORAGANIZATION PRC PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF CHINA PAA PROTECTED AREA ADMINISTRATION TDA TRANSBOUNDARY DIAGNOSTIC ANALYSIS SDC SWISS DEVELOPMENT AND COOPERATION AGENCY SAP STRATIC ACTION PLAN SPIA STATE PROFFESIONAL INSPECTION AGENCY SPA SPECIAL PROTECTED AREA UB ULAANBAATAR UNEP UNITED NATION ENVIRONMENT PROGRAM UNCCD CONVENTION ON COMBATING DESERTIFICATION UNDP UNITED NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM WB WORLD BANK WWF WORLD WIDE FUND ZSL ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF LONDON 4 FOURTH NATIONAL REPORT ON CONSERVATION OF BIODIVERSITY OF MONGOLIA EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Mongolia, with an area 1.567 million sq.km, lies in a transitional zone at 42° to 52° N, between the boreal forests of Siberia and the Gobi desert, spanning the southernmost border of the permafrost and the northernmost deserts of Central Asia. The country is far from the sea and has an extreme continental climate with marked ranges of seasonal and diurnal temperatures, and low precipitation. Altitude ranges from 560m in the far East to 4374m in the Altai mountains. Mongolia’s wide range of relatively intact ecosystems provides habitat for a variety of plant and animal species, some of which are globally endangered. Mongolia belongs to one of the few countries which is still considered relatively untouched regarding air, water, plant and animal species in the world. This national report is consists executive summury, four chapter, conclusion and annexes. In first chapter provides results of the status and trends of, and major threats to, various components of biodiversity in Mongolia. It includes an overview of the Mongolia’s biodiversity in terms of ecosystems, habitats, species and status and trends of important biodiversity components, using any indicators that exist. Human influence on the country has been relatively light, the taiga, steppe and desert ecosystems have been less affected by man than in neighboring countries. The eastern steppe ecosystem is still the home to hundreds of thousands of migratory Mongolian gazelles. There have been 128 plant species registered as endangered and threatened in the second edition of Mongolian red book (1997). This group lncludes 75 medicinal species, 11 for food, 16 species used in industry, 55 decorative species and 15 species used in the soil fixing process and in controlling pests. More than 100 species of plants are currently used for medicinal purposes and more than 200 species are used for pharmaceutical purposes. Additionally, 200 species are used for tea, 50 species for food and over 100 species are important for livestock feed. It must be emphasized, however, that because of the intensive use of more than 80 species for food and other purposes, the numbers and resources of species like Sausurrea involucrate, Allium altaicum, Sophora alopecuroides, Glycyrrhiza uralensis, Gentian algida, Cynomorium soongaricum, Allium oblicium and many others are decreasing rapidly today in Mongolia. For example, since 1998, the biological resource of Glycyrrhiza uralensis has been decreased by a factor of 6.6and the industrial resource by 7.2. Saposhnokovia divaricata is an important medicinal plant distributed in the eastern parts of Mongolia, with a 17.8 tonne biological resource and a 110.7 tonne industrial resourse, however, now some 5=6 tonnes is being prepared annually for foreign export. According to inventory of 2007, the total forest fund is 19002.2 thousand ha, including closed forest area occupies 13397.1 thous.ha. Area of forest fund occupies 12.1 percent of Mongolian total land area. Closed forest area (country’s percentage of forest land) occupies 8.56 percent of the total land area. Coniferous and deciduous forests are occupied 75.6 percent of our country forest fund and saxaul forest 24.6 percent occupy. Forest of the country consists of 140 species tree, shrub and larch, pine, cedar, spruce, fir are conifer, birch, aspen, poplar, elm, willow, shrub are deciduous. Dominant main tree is a larch. Today, 19 insect species (which includes 11 species of butterflies and moths, 4 species of wasps, 2 species of beetles, 1 species of dragonfly and 1 species of fly) are conserved by legal protection. However, information about their population approaches and the detailed factors influencing rates of population decline are still poor. Despite this, in recent years some species with membranous wings and aquatic insects’ population approaches in Mongolia have been discovered through studies on biology and ecology of those animals and the base line of information is slowly accumulating. For example, an open population of butterfly and moth species: Leptidea morsei F., Nymphalis vau-album (Dennis & Schiff)., Euphydryas intermedia