Under the guidance of the eternal blue sky: cultural ecosystem services that support well-being in Mongolian pastureland

ABSTRACT

This paper investigates what ‘cultural ecosystem services’ are important for nomadic herders’ well-being in Mongolian pasturelands, and how nomads’ knowledge facilitates understanding of these cultural ecosystem services. Nomads’ appreciation of cultural ecosystem services is an aspect of their local knowledge and practices. Interviews, focus group discussions, and a household survey were conducted in the case study area of north-east Mongolia to understand what the main cultural ecosystem services relied upon at a local level are, and how people perceive their benefits. The key cultural ecosystem services supporting their well-being are historical and cultural heritage, sacred and religious landscape values, inspirational values of landscape and the symbolic and aesthetic meaning of the landscape. The paper contributes to debates regarding cultural ecosystem services assessment by addressing the importance of memories and perceptions of local communities and emphasising its importance for local decision making.

KEYWORDS:

• Cultural ecosystem services
• pastureland
• local knowledge
• nomads
• well-being
• north-east Mongolia

Acknowledgments

We wish to gratefully acknowledge and thank the research participants for their participation in the study and for generously sharing their rich knowledge and experience of nature.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1. https://amurinfocenter.org/en/ecoregion/dauria-steppe/.

2. https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1448/.

3. Law on the Protected Areas of Mongolia, Article 13, p. 5.

4. The Mongolian traditional long song was approved by UNESCO as a cultural heritage in 2008.

5. ‘My country’ (poem is written by D.Sengee and melody by L.Murdorj).

6. Genghis Khan—in western literature, we used here in Mongolian spelling (Чингис хаан - Chinggis Khaan).

7. The Secret History of the Mongolia is the oldest written text in the Mongolian language, written in the thirteenth century. The only and most significant native Mongolian account of Chinggis Khaan.

8. Bulag (Булаг in Mongolian)— Stream.

9. Rashaan (рашаан in Mongolian)—spa or mineral water.

Additional information

Funding

This research study was funded by Macquarie University and supported by an International Macquarie Research Excellence Scholarship (iMQRES) for Navchaa Tugjamba.

Notes on contributors

Navchaa Tugjamba

Navchaa Tugjamba is a Research fellow at the Department of Geography, Mongolian National University of Education. Her research interests include the integration of ecosystem services into environmental management; traditional ecological knowledge: nomadic herders’ adaptation knowledge and practice, environmental management, ecotourism management and environmental education.

Greg Walkerden

Greg Walkerden is Honorary Senior Research Fellow in the Division of Geography and Planning in the Macquarie School of Social Sciences, Macquarie University, Australia. He has spent more than thirty years seeking to catalyse change in environmental management, through roles in government, consulting, NGOs, and universities. His research interests are in adaptation - particularly ways of shaping transformations intentionally and of building adaptive capacity.

Fiona Miller

Fiona Miller is Associate Professor in the Division of Geography and Planning in the Macquarie School of Social Sciences, Macquarie University, Australia. Fiona is a human geographer who conducts research from a political ecology perspective on the equity dimensions of climate change, particularly adaptation and society-water relations, engaging with issues of vulnerability, resilience, and justice. Her research praxis is inter-disciplinary and policy-oriented with an emphasis on collaborative research partnerships, notably in Southeast Asia.