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The SPACES project supports the Mongolian Ministry of Environment and Tourism (MET) since 2019 in improving the management of protected areas to preserve their ecosystem services. One component of this work is the revision of the national law on protected areas. During this process, the project was able to provide many content-related proposals that were incorporated into the new version of the law, in particular to allow for more variety in park management models. Currently already 21 percent (32,891,617 ha) of the total land of Mongolia are under protection with the aim to expand the area to 30% until 2030. Nearly all protected areas in Mongolia are managed either by the national or local government, with the exception of three national parks that are under the management of a national NGOs. Hence, Mongolian colleagues often lack an idea of what different management models could look like in practice, as some of the suggested approaches are completely new to Mongolia. A study tour through several German national parks took place from October 5-16, 2023 to allow participants to experience different management models first hand and inspire new management approaches in Mongolia. Participants included directors of protected area administration, provincial departments for environment and tourism as well as the department for protected area policy coordination of the MET.

The tour started in Germany’s largest national park, the Schleswig-Holstein Wadden Sea (more info: DE, EN). The national park is an example for co-management, as the administration cooperates with a variety of NGOs in the park management. The participants were fascinated by the rich knowledge about the state of nature in the different zones of the national park, but also the general management. Especially the care of the areas by various NGOs and the participation of the public in bird monitoring are key for the successful management for such a large park. The cooperation with NGOs and the general public has led to a very high density in environmental data, based on which the administration can make sound management decisions.

After visiting the national park administration, the Mongolian group also met the CEO of the largest NGO in the Wadden Sea, the “Schutzstation Wattenmeer”. Here they learned about the NGO’s activities in the National Park Schleswig-Holstein Wadden Sea and were impressed by how much influence NGOs can have in effective national park management as well as the professional and financial commitments of the NGO to the national park.

The SPACES project supports the Mongolian Ministry of Environment and Tourism (MET) since 2019 in improving the management of protected areas to preserve their ecosystem services. One component of this work is the revision of the national law on protected areas. During this process, the project was able to provide many content-related proposals that were incorporated into the new version of the law, in particular to allow for more variety in park management models. Currently already 21 percent (32,891,617 ha) of the total land of Mongolia are under protection with the aim to expand the area to 30% until 2030. Nearly all protected areas in Mongolia are managed either by the national or local government, with the exception of three national parks that are under the management of a national NGOs. Hence, Mongolian colleagues often lack an idea of what different management models could look like in practice, as some of the suggested approaches are completely new to Mongolia. A study tour through several German national parks took place from October 5-16, 2023 to allow participants to experience different management models first hand and inspire new management approaches in Mongolia. Participants included directors of protected area administration, provincial departments for environment and tourism as well as the department for protected area policy coordination of the MET.

The Mongolian delegation at the info center “Multimar Wattformum”, part of the Schleswig-Holstein Wadden Sea

The tour started in Germany’s largest national park, the Schleswig-Holstein Wadden Sea (more info: DE, EN). The national park is an example for co-management, as the administration cooperates with a variety of NGOs in the park management. The participants were fascinated by the rich knowledge about the state of nature in the different zones of the national park, but also the general management. Especially the care of the areas by various NGOs and the participation of the public in bird monitoring are key for the successful management for such a large park. The cooperation with NGOs and the general public has led to a very high density in environmental data, based on which the administration can make sound management decisions.

During the tour through the info center “Multimar Wattforum” the group learned about interactive visitor guidance formats.

After visiting the national park administration, the Mongolian group also met the CEO of the largest NGO in the Wadden Sea, the “Schutzstation Wattenmeer”. Here they learned about the NGO’s activities in the National Park Schleswig-Holstein Wadden Sea and were impressed by how much influence NGOs can have in effective national park management as well as the professional and financial commitments of the NGO to the national park.

The Director General of the Protected Area Policy Coordination Department gifting the colleagues of the Schutzstation Wattenmeer traditional Mongolian souvenirs showcasing Mongolian ecology.

The second stop of the tour was the National Park “Vorpommersche Boddenlandschaft”(more info: DE, EN). With its history of protection under the socialist government of Eastern Germany, the park has less experience in co-management, something the Mongolian colleagues could very much relate to. However, the park administration is very active in the field of national park partnerships with the private sector. While for several national parks in Mongolia construction projects in and around their parks are a huge challenge, the participants were surprised to learn that all construction projects in the park and its surroundings must be approved by the park management. Thus, the national park can significantly influence the landscape surrounding it. After exchanging with the park administration, the group got to experience the various tourist offers of the national park, especially the arrival of the cranes at their sleeping place. This example showed how natural phenomena can be marketed for national park tourism in a sustainable manner.

The third visit was to Germany’s smallest National Park “Jasmund” (more info: DE, EN). Here, the participants learned about a completely new model. While the national park administration is state-run, the visitor guidance and information are under the management of a non-profit Ltd. They visited an impressive visitor center showcasing a completely new way of communicating to the public – a necessity when the organization is largely dependent on the income generated via visitors. Overall the group visited six different information centers during the entire study tour, each with a completely different approach in communicating to visitors.

Following the visits to the national parks, the group spent an evening with the Prof. Dr. Michael Succow and Prof. Dr. Hannes Knapp, two well-known German researchers in the field of ecology and nature conservation. They both began their scientific work in Mongolia 50 years ago and few of the participants knew that a large part of the protected areas that exist in Mongolia today can be traced back to the work of these two men.

In Berlin, the group visited the office of Germany’s largest NGO – the Nature and Biodiversity Conservation Union (NABU). With almost a million members, it is the third largest nature conservation NGO in the world and has almost as many members as all German political parties combined. In a casual conversation with the Director of the International Department, the Mongolian participants learned how important the work of an NGO is in the German political environment.

Before it was time to return to Mongolia, the group visited to an abandoned open pit mine, which has been left to natural development. The topic of mining and restoration of mining sites remains a huge challenge for nature conservation in Mongolia and often generates emotional discussions.

Overall, the tour was a success! All participants studied the different approaches attentively, often meetings had to be extended due to the large number of questions by our Mongolian colleagues and we are looking forward to continuing these discussions back in Mongolia together with our partners.

Contact Person
Thorsten Harder

Key Buzzwords
Study tour, National Parks, Germany, Mongolia, Protected Area Management