The International Symposium on
"The Collapse and Restoration of the Mongolian Ecosystem Network in the Context of Global Environmental and Social Changes"

Place: Research Institute for Humanity and Nature, Kyoto, Japan
Date: 23rd-25th, January 2010

Organized by:
Research Institute for Humanity and Nature &
Center for Ecological Research, Kyoto University

Endorsed by the Global Land Project

Summary of the symposium

Participants in the symposium described the present status of Mongolian grasslands, and the livestock and socio-economic conditions of its pastoralist people. The scale and scope of grassland degradation, and its relation to recent climate change and overgrazing of livestock, were described. Based on this description, I think the interactive or dynamic character of such problems can be described in terms of an ecosystem network, which has a nested structure involving interactions among and within subsystems (e.g. steppes, forests, rivers, agricultural fields and mine areas), including human societies. I will propose this theory and describe the evidence on which it is based in a book to be published shortly.

In general discussion, symposium participants discussed how environmental changes are predicted and how solutions to environmental problems can be identified. Participants discussed the need for systems that can detect and respond to environmental changes in the near term, while also developing scenario analyses to evaluate future goals over a longer long time scale. Although the occurrence of unexpected events makes prediction difficult, we may make probabilistic predictions. Finding solutions for the Mongolian grasslands requires consideration of pastoralists' economic and social incentives, improvement of infrastructure, and investigation of institutions. As our RIHN project, Collapse and Restoration of Ecosystem Networks with Human Activity, lasts for a further three years, we will continue to investigate and analyze the present and potential future ecosystem networks in the Mongolian grasslands.

Norio Yamamura

Aims:

The purpose of the symposium is firstly to describe the present status of the Mongolian ecosystem network. How is it affected by such phenomena as global warming, vegetation degradation, soil desiccation, livestock population increase, new patterns of nomadic migration, distribution and prices of livestock products, land law and the development of mining? Secondly, the symposium addresses the restoration of the Mongolian ecosystem network, considering its capacity to adapt to changing climatic and economic conditions, and the social and ecological components of sustainable nomadism.

The symposium provides an opportunity for interdisciplinary discussion of nature and society in the Mongolian ecological network, especially as they are expressed in nomadism. Furthermore, it encourages multidisciplinary and integrative research projects and activities, such as our RIHN project, "Collapse and Restoration of Ecosystem Network under Human Activity".

Agenda

23rd January, 2010

24th January, 2010

25th January, 2010

Note:Abbreviations for Institutions

• CER: Center for Ecological Research, Kyoto University
• JAMSTEC: Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology
• JICA: Japan International Cooperation Agency
• JIRCAS: Japan International Research Center for Agricultural Sciences
• MAS: Mongolian Academy of Science
• RIHN: Research Institute for Humanity and Nature
• WMO: World Meteorological Organization

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Contact:

Research Institute for Humanity and Nature
457-4 Motoyama, Kamigamo, Kita-ku, Kyoto, 603-8047 JAPAN
Tel.+81-75-707-2100 Fax.+81-75-707-2106
email: mn_sympochikyu.ac.jp