Fjölrit RALA - 05.12.1999, Qupperneq 113

Zambyn Batjargal
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vation is mostly fodder pasture and a signifícant percentage of this area is marginal
and environmentally unsuitable for crop production.
Another factor is vehicle-induced degradation from overland travel in the absence
of an established road system. It is estimated that nationwide there are four times as
many vehicle tracks as are necessary, causing degradation and denudation of 0.7 mil-
lion ha of land.
The deforestation due to clearcutting for timber harvest, fíre and insect infestations
are among the factors contributing to soil erosion. Generally located on sloped or
steep terrain, deforested areas as well as vehicle tracks are particularly subject to water
erosion.
Mining and inadequate waste management can also make significant contribution
to land degradation. An estimated 100,000 ha of land have been degraded by coal and
gold mining activities. The development of strip mines and the deposition of overbur-
den, spoils, and tailings all degrade land resources. Only a very minimal amount of the
land degraded by mining activities has been restored.
Domestic, industrial, construction, and other forms of waste are currently deposited
on the soil surface in unnecessarily large dumping sites on the outskirts of cities and
towns.
Animal husbandry is an essential factor of desertification risk in
Mongolja
The most prevalent human activity in Mongolia that can potentially induce anthropo-
genic land degradation augmenting desertification risk is animal husbandry, charac-
terized by livestock grazing. This is most pronounced at locations where climatic,
topo-edaphic, and human influences create a “convergence” of factors that lead to ac-
celerated degradation. Grazing pressure is greatest near settlements and water sources.
The carrying capacity of pasture land is frequently exceeded in the areas receiving the
greatest grazing pressure, resulting in degradation of the composition of plant species
and soil denudation.
Animal husbandry continues to be the dominant economic sector in Mongolia, with
daily impacts on virtually all the population. The semi-nomadic livestock herders were
estimated as 183.6 thousand households or 410.0 thousand herdsmen with total 31.3
million livestock in 1997 (Mongolian Statistical Yearbook 1998).
During the last 10 years, between 1987 and 1997, the number of livestock in Mon-
golia increased by 38%. An increase in total livestock numbers is of concem because
the country has lost the original traditional livestock herding system due to moderiza-
tion of the socio-economic system, including grazing control practices, and at the
same time has not yet established mechanisms to ensure the sustainable use of range-
lands through livestock control and monitoring. In order to decrease the desertification
risk, it is necessary to develop animal husbandry management strategy based on both
the best traditional livestock herding practices and modem scientific methods. It
should be taken into account that nomadic pastoralists, particularly in the Mongolian
territory, have grazed different ecosystems for thousand of years in a sustainable man-
ner.