Mongolia’s reindeer herders and their taiga homeland are today facing unprecedented challenges from unregulated mining, forest logging, loss of access to natural resources, tourism, and climate change.

The Dukha herders and their ancestors have lived for centuries in this fragile transition region on the edge of the steppes, practising an ancient and unique form of reindeer husbandry and helping to conserve the region’s unique biodiversity. Yet this system of reindeer husbandry, with its close relationship between man and reindeer, is under threat.

This publication addresses the current state of reindeer husbandry of northern Mongolia and presents recommendations from the Mongolian reindeer herders for improving the sustainability of reindeer herding and the management of pastures and their homeland.