Projects

The Khulan Project

The Khulan project was a collaborative process between the International Center for the Advancement of Pastorial Systems, the University of Frieberg, Oregon State Univerity and Texas A&M University to monitor Khulan in Mongolia. Significant environmental, social, and economic changes taking place in Mongolia are affecting herders, Khulan, and all wildlife in the Gobi region. This study has tested new information systems using near real-time technologies to asses and monitor habitat needs of large herbivores, specifically the Khulan, in the Mongolian Gobi.

As more information becomes available about the pressures driving the Khulan to extinction, it is increasingly evident that human poaching is a significant factor in the short term. Some estimates predict that offtake could be high enough to drive the Khulan to extinction within ten years. Furthermore, there appears to be little awareness among Mongolians that they are losing a resource at this alarming rate. The Khulan project decided that a short video providing information on the khulan, the research project, and poaching may be the best way to engage Mongolians in protection of their wildlife resources.