Research project “MORE STEP – Mobility at risk: Sustaining the Mongolian Steppe Ecosystem”

The Chair of Ecosystem Services contributes with its expertise in economics and policy analysis to the research project “MORE STEP – Mobility at risk: Sustaining the Mongolian Steppe Ecosystem”. The project is funded by the German Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), under the research program “BioTip – Tipping Points, Dynamics and Interdependencies of Social-ecological Systems”.

MORE STEP is a collaborative and transdisciplinary research project conducted by Mongolian and German partners.  The project brings together social and ecological sciences to identify societal drivers that can lead to an ecological tipping point of the Mongolian steppe ecosystem. The objective is the early identification of processes leading to potential tipping points including possible consequences for nature and society. MORE STEP particularly emphasizes the significance of mobility of wildlife and livestock in the context of societal change and aims to contribute to the sustainable development of the Mongolian Steppe ecosystem (https://www.morestep.org).

The following research activities are conducted by the team at the Chair of Ecosystem Services:

• Based on a literature analysis and analysis of available statistical data (at the national level, regional and local levels), the case study region is characterized from a socio-economic perspective and the historical Mongolian context since the 1990s presented.
• The existing policy instruments are analyzed and recommendations for the development of suitable policy mixes for the protection and sustainable use of Mongolian steppe ecosystem and for the improved provision of public services in rural areas developed.
• Policy options to protect wild herbivores and ecologically valuable steppes as well as the sustainable use of steppe ecosystems by nomadic pastoralists are explored and analyzed.
• The research results and policy measures relevant for the sustainable development of the Mongolian steppe ecosystem are presented and discussed in stakeholder workshops with scientists, political decision-makers, authorities and relevant NGOs in Mongolia.

Please read our recent publication: Kasymov, U., Ring, I. Gonchigsumlaa, G., Dejid, N., Drees, L. (2022). Exploring complementarity among interdependent pastoral institutions in Mongolia. Sustainability Science. doi.org/10.1007/s11625-022-01198-9

Authors: Ulan Kasymov and Irene Ring