Conservation Project – Mongolia River Outfitters and Fish Mongolia (MRO/FM) Conservation Project)

Conservation Project – (MRO/FM)

Table of Contents

• Introduction
• The Importance of Conservation Projects
• The Siberian Taimen: An Endangered Species
• The Role of MRO/FM in Conservation Efforts
• Goals of Conservation Projects
• Protecting Endangered Species
• Educating the Public
• Promoting Sustainable Practices
• Restoring Habitats
• Mongolia River Outfitters and Fish Mongolia (MRO/FM) Approach
• Identifying Threats to the Siberian Taimen
• Implementing Conservation Strategies
• Community Initiatives
• Engaging Local Communities
• Generating Revenue for Conservation
• Building Partnerships
• Regulation and Enforcement
• Developing Effective Policies
• Enforcing Conservation Laws
• Promoting Sustainable Practices
• Habitat Conservation and Science
• Protecting Critical Habitats
• Conducting Scientific Research
• Monitoring Population Trends
• Challenges and Benefits of the MRO/FM Approach
• Overcoming Obstacles
• Assessing the Impact of Conservation Efforts
• References

Introduction

            According to Deits et al. (2010), conservation projects are programs or a series of steps undertaken by environmental and conservation organizations for the protection of wildlife biodiversity endangered species and wild places. Advancements in technology and human encroachment has brought both positive effects and demerits to the natural habitat and biodiversity leading to the extinction of some wildlife species or the aforementioned species becoming endangered (Bishop, 2015; National Research Council, 2004). Some of the human activities that have resulted to the endangerment of wildlife include, overharvesting, overhunting habitat loss and degradation, the spread of disease and the introduction of nonnative species on a new habitat. Currently there are more than 10 endangered species in the wild and include the Javan Rhino, Amur Leopard, Sundra island tiger, Mountain Gorillas, Tapanulli Orangutan, Yangtze Finless Porpoise, Black Rhinos, African Forest Elephant and The Hawksbill Turtles (Gerber et al., 2018).

Goals of Conservation Projects

 Conservation projects serve several goals in helping increase the population of the endangered species thus preventing their extinction (McShane & Wells, 2004). The goals include educating people about sustainable practices, assisting in breeding programs, creating sustainable habits and nursing the animals back to health. The current conservation project by the Mongolia River Outfitters and Fish Mongolia (MRO/FM) focuses on an endangered fish species known as the Siberian Taimen. The fish is a type of giant trout or salmon found in parts of Russia, Asia and Siberia. The conservation project by Mongolia River Outfitters and Fish Mongolia (MRO/FM) will go through several practices currently undertaken to safeguard and prevent the extinction of the Siberian Taimen fish. Additionally, the research derived from Mongolia River Outfitters and Fish Mongolia (MRO/FM shall dive into the strategies and tools that other players such as the World Salmon Center are undertaking to help protect the endangered fish species.

Mongolia River Outfitters and Fish Mongolia (MRO/FM) approach)

Currently, numerous efforts are being undertaken in conserving the Siberian Taimen. Various reasons have made the species become endangered. The reasons include; Overfishing, pollution, logging, commodification of wildlife, mining, overgrazing and the lack of law enforcement. The reasons as mentioned earlier have rendered the Siberian Taimen endangered and thus need active measures put in place to combat the issue. The Taimen was once the most populous fish in the northern hemisphere but currently but human disturbance has led to the fish becoming extinct. Several actions have been undertaken by the Mongolia River Outfitters and Fish Mongolia (MRO/FM). They include Habitat conservation, Science, creating awareness and community initiatives.

Community Initiatives

Community initiatives means a network of partner organization and individuals dedicating to improving the conservational efforts of an endangered species in the current case. From a traditional standpoint most Mongolians have a high respect for nature. However, few people realize the benefits in the conservation of Taimen. The current MRO/ FM conservation initiative aims to change that perception by providing jobs to the locals aligned with conservation efforts. From the Jobs the jobs, the locals can now help their families while consequently engaging in the conservation efforts, which is a source of prove for the community members. Anglers are required to have fishing permits that approximately 500 USD. This implies that a large sum of money is generated from the activities and this goes directly to the county budget for the locals. The money generated is then used in useful projects such as supporting community interests and building of local schools. Additionally, MRO/FM generates additional money from partners and volunteers. Some of the partners include the world Salmon Center, Bioregions International, The Word Wildlife Fund and The Nature Conservancy. Re-investing the money donated by well-wishers, partner groups and volunteers goes a long way into ensuring the community projects are implemented that guarantee issues such as public awareness regarding conversation practices are adhered to help maintain the balance required to save the Taimen.

Regulation and Enforcement

            Regulation and enforcement are some of the key practices that guarantee in the conservation of biodiversity of endangered species. In this study, MRO/FM addresses the threats that face the extinction of the Taimen Fish to foster better behaviors. The conservation project ensures that policies are put in place that ensure the protection of the endangered species. On of the key decisions made by the Local and national government is in who is permitted and management decisions. Other regulations formulated include the Watershed Conservation Strategies, Improved protected area legislation, The Taimen recovery and conservation management Plans and the catch/release single hook practices. The following practices if strictly adhered to guarantees that the Taimen breed and multiply thus preventing their extinction.

Habitat Conversation and Science

Habitat Conservation plays a critical role in guaranteeing the survival of the Siberian Taimen. The MRO/FM protects the Siberian Taimen at the Watershed Level (Closs, 2016). The Conservation project works to protect approximately 1000 Kilometers of the Taimen Habitat. One Taimen Sanctuary was built in the year 2008 while the second Taimen habitat was built in the year 2015. On these sanctuaries the use of Motorboat and dam Diversions are not allowed. Additionally, MRO/FM supports and promotes science that helps in the conservation decision making process. There are several science initiatives that have been undertaken on the sanctuaries to help safeguard and protect the Siberia Taimen from extinction. Some of the scientific activities include genetic studies, recapture studies and red counts to understand spawning behaviors and the taimen populations (Hogan & Lovgren, 2023).. Additionally, scientists collect data rigorous information about the Taimen Population such as their weight, breeding patterns, length, lifespan and genetics. The information collected go a long way to understand on helping create a suitable environment that is instrumental to increase the Siberian Taimen numbers.

Challenges and Benefits of the MRO/FM Approach

The Project MRO/FM has faced numerous challenges when trying to implement the various strategies proposed to combat the steady decline of the Siberian Taimen. Some of the challenges include mining activities in the area. Mongolia is in the middle of a mining boom that is expected to rise to 95% in the coming years. Therefore, Mongolia has a close economic connection with the mining sector as it’s the primary source of the countries income. On the other hand, Mongolia has a history of illegal mining conducted in protected areas. Thus, protected areas like sanctuaries face a continuous threat of destruction by the illegal mining activities. Proper laws and policies need to be implemented to combat the issue. Based on the steps taken by the MRO/FM conservation project. It is going to be successful. The reason is because, MRO/FM has taken great measures in helping

References

Bishop, L. (2015). The right to science: Ensuring that everyone benefits from scientific and technological progress.

Closs, G., Krkosek, M., & Olden, J. D. (Eds.). (2016). Conservation of freshwater fishes (No. 20). Cambridge University Press.

Dietz, L. A., Brown, M., & Swaminathan, V. (2010). Increasing the impact of conservation projects. American Journal of Primatology, 72(5), 425-440.

Gerber, L. R., Runge, M. C., Maloney, R. F., Iacona, G. D., Drew, C. A., Avery-Gomm, S., … & Zablan, M. A. (2018). Endangered species recovery: A resource allocation problem. Science, 362(6412), 284-286.

Hogan, Z., & Lovgren, S. (2023). Chasing Giants: In Search of the World’s Largest Freshwater Fish. University of Nevada Press.

McShane, T. O., & Wells, M. P. (Eds.). (2004). Getting biodiversity projects to work: towards more effective conservation and development. Columbia University Press.

National Research Council, Policy, Global Affairs, Security, Cooperation, Office for Central Europe, … & Technology in Armenia. (2004). Science and Technology in Armenia: Toward a Knowledge-Based Economy. National Academies Press.

Otto, J., Zerner, C., Robinson, J., Donovan, R., Lavelle, M., Villarreal, R., … & Little, P. (2013). Natural connections: perspectives in community-based conservation. Island press.

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