The Ministry of Environment and Tourism (MoET) and The Nature Conservancy (TNC) Mongolia co-organized Kick-off Workshop to introduce the planning stages of the Project Finance For Permanence (PFP), a sustainable financial tool to protect lands and water and support local communities’ livelihoods.
Mongolia’s grasslands are increasingly threatened by climate change, overgrazing, and development pressures such as mining. As a result, approximately 70 percent of our country’s grasslands are degraded to some degree. That’s why the Mongolian government pledged to protect and sustainably manage 120 million acres, or 30 percent of the country, by 2030. To achieve this goal, the government of Mongolia is working to implement the PFP in collaboration with the Enduring Earth Partnership.
Quote: Uranchimeg.Ts
It is my honor to co-lead the Eternal Mongolia PFP initiative in Mongolia. The PFP approach is a great opportunity for Mongolia to accelerate large-scale conservation efforts rapidly and reach environmental goals.
“The MoET signed a Memorandum of Understanding with TNC on 24 August 2022 and agreed to work together on a potential collaboration to design and develop a PFP for Mongolia by the start of 2024,” said Uranchimeg.Ts, Director General of the Natural Reserve Policy and Coordination Department in MoET. “On behalf of the MoET, we would like to thank all stakeholders to support this initiative and look forward to working together to successfully deliver the PFP initiative by 2024.”
The PFP is the latest innovative approach that brings together the government, herders, local communities, funders, and other partners to secure long-term conservation, complete and sustained funding, and community benefits. This approach protects protected places because they are collaboratively designed, locally led, nationally supported, sustainably funded, and highly accountable.
Quote: Galbadrakh Davaa
The PFP approach has been demonstrated to be an effective tool that has already protected over 120 million hectares of lands, freshwater, and oceans around the world.
“This approach can help protect 30 percent of our country and improve the management of existing protected areas while involving herders and local communities in conservation to support their sustainable livelihoods. Together, we aim to discuss key policy issues and clarify our commitments and responsibilities of the relevant stakeholders for implementation of the PFP here today,” continues Galbadrakh Davaa, a country director of the TNC in Mongolia.
Over 150 participants are involved in the workshop, including representatives of government and non-government organizations in the environmental sector, local rangers, representatives of protected area administration and buffer zones, and other relevant stakeholders. They discussed the preliminary findings of a feasibility study, the scope and detailed goals of the initiative, and the sustainable finance mechanism for further implementation of the initiative.
Under the Enduring Earth Partnership, the PFP approach has been successfully implemented in other countries, such as Brazil, Bhutan, Peru, Canada, Costa Rica, and Colombia. Enduring Earth is a collaboration of TNC, The Pew Charitable Trusts, the World Wildlife Fund, and ZOMALAB, the family office of Ben and Lucy Ana Walton.
About TNC
The Nature Conservancy is a global conservation organization dedicated to conserving the lands and waters on which all life depends. Guided by science, we create innovative, on-the-ground solutions to our world’s toughest challenges so that nature and people can thrive together. We are tackling climate change, conserving lands, waters and oceans at an unprecedented scale, providing food and water sustainably and helping make cities more sustainable. Working in 76 countries and territories—37 by direct conservation impact and 39 through partners—we use a collaborative approach that engages local communities, governments, the private sector, and other partners. The representative office of The Nature Conservancy in Mongolia has been operating since 2008.