Institute of Mongolian Biodiversity and Ecological Studies (IMBES)
Initial Surveys | Capacity Building | Long Term Ecological Research
When Clyde Goulden first saw Lake Hövsgöl in 1994, he knew it was special. He also realized it offered a unique opportunity to study the ecology and biodiversity of an unspoiled landscape.
Lake Hövsgöl (Hövsgöl Nuur) is a 100 mile long lake located 20 miles from the Russian border in northern Mongolia. It's the 16th largest lake on the planet, yet it's in remarkably pristine condition. Moreover, the watershed contains large tracts of virgin taiga forest, steppe, alpine tundra and wetlands, all of which lie protected within the boundaries of Hövsgöl National Park.
Appreciation of the uniqueness of Hövsgöl prompted Goulden and others to consider the environmental and economic forces that would affect its future. Mongolia was —and is— in a time of transition that presents both opportunities and daunting challenges. Recently released from Soviet domination and opening itself to the outside world, the nation is also trying to cope with severe economic disruption and the pressures of globalization. Mongolians are committed to preserving their natural heritage, but they're are also in need of economic development. Scientists at Hövsgöl would have to assist in building the local scientific and conservation infrastructures. They would also need to address sustainable development and climate change.
Initial Surveys
In 1995, The Institute of Mongolian Biodiversity and Ecological Studies (IMBES) was founded at the Academy to support research at Hövsgöl. That same year, a multidisciplinary team of scientists from the United States, Mongolia, Russia and Japan started a multi-year study of the lake's biodiversity, limnology and watershed. This research was funded largely through the National Science Foundation, which continues to regard this as one of its most successful international programs.
This work revealed and/or confirmed that Lake Hövsgöl is deep, cold and oligotrophic. It also confirmed that Hövsgöl is more than 2 million years old. As such, it's one of the world's oldest lakes. (By way of comparison, the Great Lakes are about 10,000 years old.) Its waters are home to fish and other aquatic species found nowhere else in the world, while the surrounding high mountains, taiga forests, wetlands, streams and steppes hosts numerous rare and endangered species of mammals, birds and plants.
The results of this initial research is presented in The Geology, Biodiversity and Ecology of Lake Hövsgöl (Mongolia), which was published in 2006 by Backhuys Publishers BV (www.backhuys.com, ISBN 90-5782-162-1).
Capacity Building
Capacity building, which refers to the development of local expertise and infrastructure, has been a crucial component of the work done in Mongolia. Scientists and students from the Mongolian Academy of Science and the Mongolian National University regularly cooperate with and participate in research, conferences and workshops at Hövsgöl. In addition, the Institute has sponsored the scientific training of Mongolian students at the Academy in Philadelphia.
IMBES has also played a role in the development of conservation infrastructure. From 1999-2001, USAID, the U.S. Department of the Interior, and IMBES worked to substantially improve Hövsgöl National Park by creating or upgrading the physical and technical infrastructure, training park staff, increasing park revenues and improving park-community relations.
Long Term Ecological Research
Concern with environmental protection, sustainable economic development and climate change led the government established the Mongolian Long Term Ecological Research network in 1997. Already the subject of considerable study, Hövsgöl National Park became the first site in this network and was soon adopted into the East Asian network of International Long Term Ecological Research Sites (ILTERS). (See www.ilternet.edu.)
The primarily goal of the Hövsgöl LTERS is to study the long term ecological interactions of livestock herding and climate change with the watershed's taiga forests, steppes and waters. The project is managed by the Mongolian Academy of Science with institutional support from the National University of Mongolia, the Mongolian government and IMBES. (See Hövsgöl Ecology, www.hovsgolecology.org for more information.)
Beginning in 2002, Global Environment Facility (GEF) became the primary sponsor of this project. Co-financing, as well as the contributions of supplies, equipment and expertise from other institutions and individual scientists in Japan, Norway, Taiwan, The Netherlands and the United States were and continue to be crucial.
Research at the Hövsgöl LTER is centered on six tributaries on the eastern shore of the lake. All of these drain narrow east-west valleys that contain a mixture of steppe, taiga, riparian and aquatic habitats, but they differ considerably with respect to grazing pressure. By studying the interactions of different grazing intensities on these watersheds, scientists hope to develop sustainable grazing practices. Moreover, the landscape at Hövsgöl is transitional between the Siberian Taiga and the Central Asian Steppe. As such, it's an ecological hotspot for the study of climate change.