Comm: "From the Mongolian steppes the horsemen of Chinggis Khaan rode out to conquer a great empire. They travelled across a vast grassland that stretched from Hungary to the Pacific. In Eastern Mongolia the Steppeland still survives intact.

"Beneath the grassland are valuable oil and gold reserves...The challenge is to find ways of preserving one of the world's last great wildernesses.

"The Eastern steppe of Mongolia is sparsely populated...and for good reason...It's a harsh environment: with constant wind, freezing winters and fiercely hot summers. Here a thinly spread human population co-exists with animals and birds numbering in the millions.

Khulan: "I really love the steppe, the steppe makes me happy, free, it really is boundless, and when you are out in the steppe, your spirit becomes free and I think in many respects Mongolians are like Americans, and like Russians, like Australians maybe....We have something in common which is this love for limitless space."


Comm: "Economic development threatens the Steppe habitat that's home to numerous rare species... such as the Black Stork and Przewalski's Horse. This kind of habitat, once widespread, is now largely spoiled in neighbouring China and Russia."

Will Wilson: "This is it. There's no more. This is all. And the plan is, within two years they want to have this all partitioned off and sold. Privatisation."

Myagmarsuren, Eastern Steppes Protected Areas Administration: "If you divide the steppes what will happen to the 2 million gazelles? Private owners will build fences on the steppe and then the migration will be ended."

Comm: "Covering 300,000 Square kilometres...approximately the size of Japan...the Eastern Steppes of Mongolia are the last unspoilt and continuous grassland ecosystems in the northern hemisphere. Unsurprisingly Mongolia's resource-hungry neighbours are interested in tapping the natural wealth - above and below ground."

Batbold, Eastern Steppes Biodiversity Project: "It is expected to be a big development boom in that area very soon. For example the Tumen River Project which is in between these powerful countries: Russia and Korea, China and including Mongolia. So they will have a very big impact on that."

Comm: "The inevitable questions arise: who will benefit? And for how long?"

Andrew Laurie, Eastern Steppes Biodiversity Project: "There's a problem here, in the way that economic development and investment is viewed by some people as a way of making money for the country, but ignoring the needs of the people who actually live here and the people who will live here long after the investment is finished, the development has finished and the resources have finished."

Comm: "Racing to understand the diverse life of the steppe, wildlife conservationists supported by the Global Environment Facility are documenting the living treasures and co-operating with local people on conservation measures."

George Schaller, Wildlife Conservation Society: "We are still ecological illiterates. We don't know to what extent we can degrade environment before it can't compensate anymore and collapses."

Comm: "Sandwiched between the taiga forest of Siberia and the Gobi desert...the Mongolian Steppes are the home of a proud race of traditionally semi-nomadic people.

"Modern Mongolians stand at the crossroads between old and new."

Khulan, Mongolian Member of Parliament: "Mongolia's tradition of viewing man as part of nature, not as something opposed to nature. Man is an inherent organic part of nature...we never talk about taking something from nature, about conquering nature. We are part of it and have always been part of it. And this is how we have survived in our harsh climate."

Comm: "Mongolian nomads traditionally had no concept of the ownership of land. The Grasslands have always been shared by all."

George Schaller: "There are few places on Earth that have not been destroyed or degraded. Yes there are patches of different habitats, but here on the Eastern Steppes you have a whole ecosystem, a huge grassland with its distinctive species of plants and animals. You have the huge herds of Gazelles. You still have wolves that prey on them. You have the little corsac foxes, you have demoiselle cranes. you have a whole spectrum of wildlife that has...still lives in its original state."

Douglas Gardner, United Nations Development Programme: "We view this area as a planetary treasure. You have plants there, that...some species are endangered, some species have not yet been discovered that we feel one day might become a cure for some of the scourges of the planet, Malaria, HIV, Cancer."

Comm: "Although scientific study is incomplete, it is known that up to three million gazelles annually migrate across the Eastern Mongolian Steppe making this one of the last great migrations of hoofed mammals on Earth."

Andrew Laurie, Eastern Steppes Biodiversity Project: "We've seen 50,000 gazelle pouring past the vehicle we were in on both sides, in wave after wave, calling loudly in the kind of barking noise that they make. And this kind of thing we cannot see in other parts of the world anymore."

Comm: "Mongolia has embarked on an ambitious scheme to safeguard the most biologically diverse and endangered places. It has pledged to designate 30% of the country as protected areas. There are 9 protected areas on the Eastern Steppe, totalling 12,000 sq km.

"Lhagva is one of only 4 rangers working for the Eastern Steppes Protected Areas Administration. Working alone, Lhagva patrols the 300 sq km Ugtam Nature reserve. With Rangers so thin on the ground conservation cannot work without the participation of people living on the edges of the reserves. Mongols have always lived close to the earth, supplementing what they can harvest from their herds, with hunting for food and skins. An administration for conservation and strict wildlife laws exist...Environmental inspectors enforce them, as best they can. For the most part, local use is small scale. The biggest threats to the grasslands come from outsiders who want to exploit the resources.

"Intensive attempts to exploit the steppe came during the 70 years of communism following the Mongolian Revolution of 1921...inefficiency and ineptitude limited the impact of attempted exploitation. But the Steppe is still littered with failed soviet style agricultural or industrial projects.

"When the Soviet Union collapsed Mongolia began a painful transition to a market economy. Now, commercial forces are poised to exploit the resources of the Eastern Mongolian Steppes...and these international developers are well funded and well organised."

Robert J. Vachon, SOCO International: "We signed a production sharing contract with the Petroleum Authority of Mongolia in 1993, actually the first ever signed and we have spent, in the Tamsag basin, 52,000,000 Dollars in the last six years."

Comm: "The pressures on the steppe are not just from the discovery of oil. Extracting the mineral riches will add to that pressure."

Will Wilson: "Mining Gold can be quite dangerous to the environment. It releases a number of different chemicals into the water system, which then carries it around and it can start permeating the plants, it can start permeating the muck in the wetlands and the next thing you know the birds have it. It goes everywhere and it gets into the DNA, some of it can get into the DNA, and it can start working in nasty ways, in there. It affects amphibians, it effects insects, it can be very nasty."

Comm: "Dividing the grasslands into small parts would fundamentally alter the nature of the steppe. The infrastructure needed to extract oil, coal and metals...including Railway-lines, roads, and increased population could break up the Eastern Steppe....making migration for animals and people...a thing of the past."

George Schaller: "Development in the Eastern Steppes will come. There is already oil development, or uranium prospecting, a railroad will be built. Or with more bore-holes to provide wells, more herdsmen will move in. The fact is, much of the destruction in the world is simply due to wastefulness and poor planning. You can develop certain areas in the Eastern Steppes and still maintain the grasslands. But you have to set limits on things."

Comm: "If Human and domestic animal populations grow with development, increasing the size of settlements...they will strain water supplies and damage the fragile soil. The danger is, that the pressures from overgrazing could degrade the grassland...and that could lead to desertification.

"Mongol Nomads traditionally move their herds and their homes at least twice each year to reduce the impact on the land."

Sonomtserengiin Mendsaihan, Mongolian Minister of the Environment: "Mongols have always been one of the closest people to the environment because of the historic use of nomadic herding. We can say that we have collected a rich experience in relation to and in protection of the environment inherited by our tradition and custom. That is why we as a people have preserved nature in Mongolia in a relatively undamaged condition."

Comm: "Basic to the Mongolians ability to pack up and move at a moments notice...are their ingenious and very cosy dwellings. White felt tents called GER in Mongolian and Yurt in Russian they are elegant and functional. Built around a hub with 2 supporting poles, a collapsible lattice frame and wooden ceiling spokes... they take about 30 minutes to erect.

"The Horse is central to the Mongols nomadic life....Mongol children learn to ride before they learn to walk. And this begins the lifelong love between Mongols and Horses.

"Aside from drinking mare's milk, Mongols make butter, cheese and an alcoholic beverage; - Airak - The champagne of the Steppe.

"To a Mongol, horses represent not only wealth and status, they provide food and transportation. To clearly see the Mongol's almost mythic relationship with the horse just watch a horse race...the jockeys are children...the race course can be as long as 30 kilometres.

"Magic powers are attributed to the winning horse...and spectators scramble to touch it, hoping some will rub off."

Andrew Laurie: "If we maintain the steppe ecosystem, we maintain the potential for using the steppe in pastoral lifestyle, which has been used for centuries. If we fragment it, we lose the chance to do that. We'll actually destroy the life support system here, the normal life support system, the life support system in which Mongolia has great pride and cultural tradition."

Comm: "There are two distinctly different approaches to modernisation. One is firmly rooted in the urban settled lifestyle and the other steeped in the traditions of the Nomad."

Khulan: "I think our herders are the bearers of genuine Mongolian values, genuine Mongolian traditions... but what type of modernisation should Mongolia pursue...that will depend on the type of the development model that we will define and will implement."

Douglas Garnder: "The challenge is, how to do they have growth? How do they get the schools, and the health centres and the opportunities for families that they're seeking, at the same time how do they still have a chance to breathe clean air, travel on the steppes, ride horses."

Comm: "Schools in the Capital Ulan Baatar and other towns are the only schools available. The nomads either send their children to boarding school or settle in the towns...giving up their way of life."

Will Wilson: "The driving force for the families in our valley is this incredible thirst for education. They want education. And they get stuck because they don't want to go to UB, they don't want to go to Choilbalsan. They would like to stay out there. But they need to get their children into school."

Comm: "Modern advances like satellite phones and the internet might help sustain the nomadic life and protect the steppes."

Will Wilson: "We have the technology right now to put a virtual University into this country, where everybody here would be within 50 km of a terminal. We could do that easily, easily we could do that."

Enkhsaikhan, Asiaspace: "Because I too appreciate very much Mongolian style of living, it means that room to go everywhere, to stay wherever you want. This technology fits that, I think, because there is only small device to bring with you. And there will be no huge terrestrial systems, no more earth digging, no more destroying of nature."

Comm: "Wealthy and successful herders are leading their communities in adopting modern technologies like wind energy and photo-voltaic solar electricity, providing them with mobile sources of energy...perfectly suited to their traditional lifestyle."

Rentsendor: "I bought the windmill 4 years ago for $150 dollars and when I learned at the herdsmen's association meeting that solar panels could be integrated, I bought one for $170 dollars..."

Comm: "The entire system cost Rentsendorj less than $350 dollars, but has led to a dramatic improvement in his family's quality of life.

"The appeal of the traditions and the undisturbed nature of Mongolia...is opening up possibilities for an alternative method of income from Eco-tourism."

Sabine Schmidt, GTZ Mongolia: "The benefit from tourism should go to the local people. Our project, for example, supports some activities where local people have a GER, or, you know, the traditional Mongolian tent where people can stay inside the park area and experience a great landscape and a great environment and almost share in the daily life of the herders."

Vox Pop, tourist: "In terms of developing eco-tourism and having as low impact as possible cause what's going to bring people here is just what we saw this last couple of weeks ..was just open spaces."

Comm: "The endless horizon, the peace and simplicity of the steppe...is for some a challenge...a call to alter and to shape the nature of the grasslands to benefit people. This is true for outside developers and Mongolians alike. But what will the environmental impact of change be on the steppe?"

Jumain Chimeg, WWF Mongolia: "Of course economic development is very important for local people. Local peoples want electricity, heating, development of infrastructure. But every kind of development projects should be assessed on environmental impact."

Robert J. Vachon: "As they progress, the crops can move quicker, they can get their animals to market better by using this existing roads that we will be putting in in the long run. Time, and only time will do it. It's like us, we've spent this money and we're looking down the road many years before we'll ever start recouping anything, many years...And it will take a few years for the impact in the local areas to show improvement. But it always does in the long run."

Myagmarsuren: "Since 1990, the coming of democracy and the privatisation of state industries, a great many assets have been lost and a great deal of damage has been done...looking back it is easy to see that mistakes were made from lack of planning and this suggests that we should not rush to privatise the steppes."

George Schaller: "There's very few people who have not as yet damaged their environment. Now this is very rare in today's world. And this gives us an opportunity to plan for the future. You can develop places without destroying the environment. And this, one hopes, will happen in the Eastern Steppes."

Khulan: "Without ecological thinking there is no economy as such. And if we are talking about economic development we're talking about ecological development. So I think this is what Mongolia can contribute in the future to the world development."