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Our News
Interview with Galbadrakh E. “Monitoring is important”
WWF-Mongolia collaborates with local partners to protect the headwaters of natural springs in Gobi-Altai and Khovd provinces, under the Mongolian saiga antelope conservation framework. Eco-club members—school children—play an active role in monitoring. We spoke with E. Galbadrakh, Communications Officer of WWF-Mongolia’s Western office, about spring monitoring techniques and achievements.
How many natural springs are being monitored, and when did this work start?
WWF-Mongolia, with local partners, has protected 75 natural springs in western Mongolia. Since 2018, eco-club students have helped protect 17 springs. In 2023, eight sub-provinces allocated MNT 115 million for spring protection in the saiga habitat. Local governments designate the springs, and eco-club members monitor them in collaboration with environmental inspectors and rangers.
What tasks are involved in monitoring, and who trains the students?
Protection of natural spring headwaters is the first task to be done. Knowing what changes occur after fencing determines value of the work done. From this perspective, the monitoring is vitally important, in particular for the children because they are able to improve their environmental education and learn about the value of water, at a bigger picture. Knowledge, attitude, and perception of the children, who take part in nature conservation in their childhood, become positive.
Monitoring is done under guidance of researchers and professionals and covers diverse topics including water alkalinity or pH, discharges, flows, changes in green plant and icing coverages access by wildlife and domestic herds, among others. All these parameters are monitored at natural springs and streams after their headwaters are protected by fencing. All data is recorded in a monitoring logbook.
What is a monitoring logbook and what details are there in?
It is a logbook, where methodologies, tools and devices, and data from all the research and monitoring mentioned above are recorded down and kept. The monitoring is important source for reporting the progress and making decision on concerning issues. Eco-club students are happy to keep records in the monitoring logbook.
What challenges exist, and how does WWF-Mongolia support students?
Challenges include training students in monitoring tools and losing trained students when they graduate. WWF-Mongolia provides training and equipment, and recently introduced online courses to ensure continuity. To sustain the project, local governments and enterprises have committed funding from local income sources, such as livestock taxes and water use fees.
How do students understand the importance of spring protection?
No one cares if headwater of natural spring is just fenced around and left behind. It is often useless effort. If monitoring is continued at the natural spring, whose headwater is fenced around, it becomes different: there are obvious changes observed. Green plants occur inside the fences because the areas are freed from regular livestock trampling. Increasing green plants and their biomasses protect permafrost underground from the direct sunlight and water discharges get increased. The increased water discharges help water running for longer distances. All these are known and learned thanks to regular monitoring. That’s why the natural spring protection and its importance is one of the key advocacy areas to be delivered and shared by children with their parents, relatives, neighbours, and other local herders: users must be protectors or defenders.
© WWF-Mongolia
Galbadrakh E.