Key Biodiversity Areas
In addition to Ramsar Sites, Important Bird Areas, and Flyway Network Sites, there are sites designated by the Government of Mongolia as Special Protected Areas, World Heritage Sites, and Biosphere Reserves. All of these sites are collectively be regarded as key biodiversity areas.
Special Protected Area
Mongolia’s Law on Special Protected Areas provides for four categories of protected areas:
- Strictly Protected Areas
- National Conservation Parks
- Nature Reserves
- Monuments
Link to Mongolian protected areas network, http://www.mpa.gov.mn/.
Link to the map of state special protected ares, http://www.mpa.gov.mn/gis.
World Heritage Sites
The aim of the World Heritage Convention, which came into force in 1975, is to identify and conserve cultural and natural monuments and sites of outstanding universal value. Parties to the Convention have a commitment to nominate suitable sites for recognition by UNESCO as natural or cultural World Heritage Sites.
Mongolia became a contracting party to the Convention in 1990 and has since nominated two natural World Heritage Sites (Uvs Nuur Basin and Landscapes of Dauria) and three cultural World Heritage Sites (Orkhon Valley, Petroglyphic Complexes of the Mongolian Altai, and Burkhan Khaldun Mountain).
table 1. Natural World Heritage Sites in Mongolia
|
Code |
Name |
Year designated | Area (ha) |
Latitude |
Longitude |
Download SIS |
| Natural site |
Uvs Nuur Basin |
2003 | 898,063 |
N49.93022 |
E115.42544 |
|
| Natural site |
Landscapes of Dauria |
2017 | 912,624 | N50.27500 | E92.71972 |
source: https://whc.unesco.org/en/statesparties/mn
Biosphere Reserves
The Man and the Biosphere Programme was initiated in 1971 by UNESCO. The programme aims to develop a basis for the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity, and for the improvement of the relationship between people and their environment. Countries participating in the programme are expected to designate one or more Biosphere Reserves, which are examples of terrestrial and coastal ecosystems where solutions are promoted to reconcile biodiversity conservation with its sustainable use.
Biosphere Reserves are organised into three types of management zone (core areas, buffer zones and transition areas), each of which has a defined management regime. The zonation scheme is applied differently in different settings, to accommodate geographical and socio-cultural conditions, available legal protection measures and local constraints. However, only the core area of a Biosphere Reserves requires legal protection, and hence can correspond to an existing protected area, such as a nature reserve or national park.
To date, Mongolia has designated six Biosphere Reserves covering a total area of 16,078,072 ha.
table 2. UNESCO Biosphere Reserves in Mongolia
|
Name |
Year designated | Core area (ha) |
Coordinates |
More information |
| Great Gobi | 1990 | 985,000 |
42°30' to 44°30'N |
html |
|
Bogd Khaan Mountain |
1996 | 41,651 | 47°43' to 47°54'N | html |
|
Uvs Lake Basin |
1997 |
366,080 |
52°31' to 52°43'N, 92°28' to 92°48'E (Uvs Nuur) 49°39' to 49°51'N, 91°19' to 91°39'E (Turgen Uul) 49°45' to 50°29'N, 94°23' to 95°35'E (Altan Els) 50°12' to 50°23'N, 90°24' to 91°20'E (Tsaagan Shovod) |
html |
| Khustain Nuruu | 2002 | 50,000 | 47°07'50'' to 47°09'10''N, 105°20'06'' to 106°43'38''E | html |
| Dornod Mongol | 2005 | 570,374 | 46°06' to 46°52’N; 116°11’ to 118°27’E | html |
| Mongol Daguur | 2007 | 15,600 | n/a | html |
source: http://www.unesco.org/