Abstract
The nationwide proportion of goats relative to the five main kinds of livestock (horses, cattle, camels, sheep, and goats) in Mongolia has been mostly stable. The number increased dramatically subsequent to the country’s transition from socialism to a market economy. This trend has harmful ecological consequences because of the heavier environmental impact of goat browsing. To circumvent fatal damage to the pasturelands, it is necessary to stop the continuous increase of goats. This chapter details how the Mongolian herders’ justification for an increase in the proportion of goats among their livestock is based on short-term financial incentives. Some suggestions are then offered with a view to achieving sustainable usage of pasturelands in Mongolia. Furthermore, the discussion shows that this issue hinges on the “happiness” of Mongolian herders.
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This place is called the “22nd check point” or “22 Tovchoo” in Mongolian. There is a regulation that restricts the entrance of live animals for commercial purposes beyond this border. Therefore, people selling live animals personally to city consumers directly gather outside of the border annually. Those herders are relatively wealthy because coming to the capital city is expensive. Often it takes more than 1 month to reach Ulaanbaatar, and furthermore, it takes many weeks to sell all their livestock. Therefore, only when they can anticipate additional benefits by going to Ulaanbaatar will they start traveling with their sheep and goats. Cars are usually used to transport these animals so as to avoid the extra cost of hiring trucks.
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Maekawa, A. (2013). The Cash in Cashmere: Herders’ Incentives and Strategies to Increase the Goat Population in Post-Socialist Mongolia. In: Yamamura, N., Fujita, N., Maekawa, A. (eds) The Mongolian Ecosystem Network. Ecological Research Monographs. Springer, Tokyo. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-4-431-54052-6_17
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-4-431-54052-6_17
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