SEARCHING FOR ANTIDOTES TO GLOBALIZATION : LOCAL INSITUTIONS AT MONGOLIA’S SACRED BOGD KHAN MOUNTAIN by David Tyler Sadoway B.E.S. Hons. Co-op (Urban & Regional Planning), University of Waterloo, 1991. Research Project Submitted in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Resource Management in the School of Resource and Environmental Management Report No. 291 SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY April 2002 This work may be reproduced in whole or in part. ii Approval page iii A b s t r a c t The Bogd Khan Mountain (Uul) is a sacred natural and cultural site—an island-like forest-steppe mountain massif revered for centuries by Mongolians. This sacred site is also a 41, 651 hectare state-designated ‘Strictly Protected Area’ and a listed UNESCO Biosphere Reserve of global significance (1996). Bogd Khan Uul is adjacent to the nation's capital, largest and fastest growing city—Ulaanbaatar. This case study employs an inter-scale research frame to draw linkages between current resource management problems at Bogd Khan Uul while at the same time examines the capacity of local, national and multilateral institutions to address these. In the process the research provides a glimpse of centuries old Mongol traditions—human ingenuity shaped by understandings that have co-evolved with the cycles of nature. The study provides contemporary insights into the dramatic changes that affected Mongolia and its institutions during its tumultuous global integration in the final decade of the second millennium. The study’s inter-scaled Globalocal Diversity Spiral (GDS) framework focuses upon Bogd Khan Uul site-specific issues of forest and vegetation over-harvest, animal overgrazing and problematic tourism development; and key contextual issues of material poverty and local traditions. The research uses surveys and interviews to draw-upon the wisdom of a network of rangers who live and work on the periphery of the park. The study presents 21 knowledge applications that focus upon overcoming material poverty and building upon existing ‘pride’ in the mountain. Linked to the findings, three pathways are recommended: instigating park co-management or power- sharing processes; kick-starting ecological and cultural restoration; and initiating economic localization in communities and neighbourhoods adjacent to the sacred mountain. The study concludes that Mongol systems of survival can provide valuable lessons for biodiversity planners and for communities searching to address the significant problems associated with globalization. iv D e d i c a t i o n This work is dedicated to Mother Earth, Father Sky and to all my friends and relations on the delicate web of life that connects us all—past, present and future. This effort is also dedicated to friends in Mongolia. And this writing is in memory of Gramps Ted and Louie; and for Mathew. Each of you taught me to respect and love nature. v . A c k n o w l e d g e m e n t s Having once been shaped by academic institutions, I vowed to never return and be confined by the walls of the ivory tower. This vow was made after discovering the multitude of lessons out there in 'the university of life'. In 1997, I accepted an internship in Mongolia, supported by the University of British Columbia's Sustainable Development Research Institute. After returning to Canada in 1998, seeking new direction, I broke my vow and returned to the ivory tower, atop Burnaby Mountain, to Simon Fraser University. From this mountain in Canada I chose to follow-up on an interest at another mountain in Mongolia—the sacred Bogd Khan Uul. I returned to Mongolia on two separate occasions in 1999 and 2000, largely self-financed, but not without the substantial help of family, friends, Simon Fraser University and a B.C. and Canada Student Loan and of course the credit card. My questions about local knowledge do not prompt pat answers as this work may suggest and instead hint at the riches in the land of ‘hook tangor’ (blue skies). Ikh Bayarlaa—Great Big Thanks ! Ikh Bayarlaa (thank you) to the rangers, circling the sacred mountain—for your kindness, your gifts, your insights: Nyambu, Sumya, Ishjamts, ErdeneBat, Enkamgalanbaatar, Darma, Batdamzul, Naransuren, Tuvansuren, Gomsuren, Tsendayurgh, Ganghulug, Batsuur, Sosurbarum, Ch.Batsaikhan, Z.Batsaikhan, Sharaa, Baatar, Vanchindorj, Purvee, Battumur and Tsayaan Ovgon. Special thanks to the Bogd Khan Uul management team—Managers Batdulam and Chinzorig, Head Ranger Purevdorj, Nyamsuren, always accommodating in spite of an office move; to Enkhtuul for helping me appreciate the beauty of the vegetation on the mountain. Thanks for your patience with my arrival in the midst of an office move. Also thanks to Karen Poland for your extensive thoughts and advice. vi Thank you to Dr. Wayne Nelles and S.D.R.I. for permitting me to visit Mongolia in the first place. Thank you to Dr. Badarch and Dr. Khuldorj for your invitations to work with the Mongolia-U.N. Project, M.A.P. 21. Thank you to Tsetsgee, my kind ‘Mongolian mother’ for ideas; for an office and for being there. Thanks to Michael Kohn for a crash pad, your mountain bike and ‘steppe baseball.’ And to John Farrington thank you for reminding me of the importance of heading to the hills now and then. Thanks to the brilliance of Daniel Hrushka for encouraging me to face the intricacies of empiricism and for being an ever so human roommate in U.B. Oggie, thanks for your astute insights and translations throughout 1999 and 2000. To Bat, thank you for your kind help with my pilot survey in 1999. Thanks to Ziggy for your inspiring thoughts and for helping brave the freak summer storm and the raging river! Many thanks to Khosbayer with translating the initial 2000 survey; and to ‘Speed Kills’ Erdene-Arjune for the help in circumambulating the mountain by foot, by jeep, by bus, hitchhiking and mountain biking—in spite of the early mornings, flat tires and ripped oil pans. Thanks to Undarga for your patience in translating at the last minute. Thanks to Bolormaa for your computer help and for your sense of humour! Enkhbayer, thank you for providing me with valuable access to the Joint Conservation Collection. Thanks to Douglas Gardner for the opportunity to work for and to learn about the United Nations. Thanks to Jean Etienne for your reminders to stay grounded. Thank you to Dr.Ole Bruun and N.I.A.S. for the opportunity to connect with fellow Mongol researchers in Copenhagen in 1999. Thanks to Amelia McCrae for helping with the horse trip in summer 2000. Thanks to Idre Zorig and your family for organizing travels and accommodations. Many thanks to Gerelbat for helping get us back around the mountain with your Hyundai Galloper X.L. during the August crunch. And to the unknown driver of the Russian-German joint venture vehicle—thanks for getting us along the way. Thanks for Munkhtuya with the G.I.S. mapping assistance. Thanks to Yoko Watanabe, Davaasuren, Batar, Chimed-Ochir and Elbegzaya at the World Wide Fund for Nature. Thanks to Brian Darrin for helping track down written materials on the mountain in 1999. Thanks to Demberal at the National Statistical Office for those last minute numbers. Thanks to Chuluntsetseg and Oyene-Erdene for the inspiration to keep thinking about Mongolia's nature. Thank you to Yuri and Battogtokh for your frank discussions about the vii Mongolian Environmental Trust Fund. Ikh Bayarlaa to Alan Saffery at the Mongolian National Tourism Office and to the people at the G.T.Z. Buffer Zone project in Ulaanbaatar. And to the fellow students of life in Mongolia for inspiration: Cia, Jerry, Catherine, David and Jill, Laura, Jacinda, Yves, Robert, Morden, Didi, Susan, Julie and so many others. And in Vancouver thanks to: Glenys and Paul, Angie, Ted, Tom, Joe, Esther, Trev, Cheryl for the use of your computers (and vehicles) and Charlotte thanks for the writer’s retreats. Helen—thank you for your thoughtful proofreading. Thanks to my old and new friends for putting up with me during my various mind-body disassociations. To Rhonda, Bev, Mary-Anne and Laurence, many thanks for the help through the years. Thanks to my teachers at Simon Fraser University: Peter Williams, Evelyn Pinkerton, Wolfgang Haider, Jesai Jaymes and Pat Howard—amongst many others. Thanks to all my teachers on the road of life and all the kind Bodhisattvas along the journey. viii C O N T E N T S Approval................................................................................................ii. Abstract.................................................................................................iii. Dedication............................................................................................iv. Acknowledgements..............................................................................v. Chapter One Introduction: A Sacred Mongolian Mountain ...............1 1.1 Nature protection in post-revolutionary Mongolia..................................................1 1.2 Research line of inquiry...........................................................................................2 1.3 A revolution in nature protection?...........................................................................3 1.4 Emergent institutions operating at different scales..................................................4 1.5 Local ecological knowledge: wisdom that can bridge cultures...............................5 1.6 Study organization...................................................................................................6 Chapter Two Conceptual Context.......................................................9