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Nested target: Rivers, lakes, flyways, salmonids, sturgeon, peatlands.

The freshwater ecosystem of Mongolia does play an important role both at national local and international level. ASER and AHEC gives life to three of the world’s ten largest rivers – the Ob’, the Yenisey (ASER) and Amur (AHEC), with a combined total watershed of over 7.5 million km2. These three rivers are crucial for the quality and health of freshwater ecosystems for an area as large as Europe.

The endorheic Great Lakes Basin of western Mongolia is an aggregation of several closed inland depressions represent a globally outstanding assemblage of distinct landscapes, including high mountain ranges with glaciated peaks, deep and wide valleys, forests, forest steppes, large lake and wetland complexes, semi- desert areas, and the Gobi Desert.

The Mongolian part of AHEC ecoregion also has more than 400 smaller lakes covering a total area of about 1,450 square kilometers. Over 1.7% (26,297 sq.km) of Mongolia is covered by peatlands standing as 16th largest peatland occurring country.

Nested target: Boreal, riparian, climate-vulnerable patch forests.

The Mongolian boreal forests are part of the largest tract of unbroken forest in the world, and one of the best examples of boreal forests in Asia. Characterized by low temperatures, permafrost, and seasonal droughts, these forests are dominated by coniferous species like larch, spruce, fir, and pine. Only in Mongolia the boreal forest has sub-boreal coniferous forest belts that consist of larch Larix sibirica forest.

Boreal and sub-boreal forest occupy 9.5 million hectares or 6.1 percent of Mongolia’s territory. Under pressure, this transitional forest is usually replaced by steppe communities . Riparian and patch forests are essential for maintaining ecological balance, conserving biodiversity, and supporting human well-being.

Nested target: Mongolian gazelle, argali, great bustard.

Mongolia hosts the world’s largest intact and continuous grassland steppe. It represents the eastern part of the Palearctic/Eurasian steppe biome covering a total of 67.3 million hectares covering 43.04% of Mongolia.

According to their soil and vegetation characteristics, the steppe ecosystems are classified as meadow steppe, moderate dry steppe, dry steppe and desert steppe covering 7.03%, 12.05%, 14.94% and 9.05% of Mongolia respectively. Besides the vital importance to biodiversity including migratory birds and ungulates, the steppe is an inseparable part of nomadic herders' livelihoods and heritage.

Nested target: Siberian ibex (Capra sibirica) Marmots (Marmota ssp.)

Specifically the snow leopard, Eurasian lynx, and Pallas's cat, are key predators in Mongolia’s mountain, Gobi, and steppe ecosystems.

According to the national assessment, the snow leopard is classified as Endangered by the IUCN Red List, while both the Eurasian lynx and Pallas's cat are listed as Near Threatened. The snow leopard is considered a very rare species, and the Eurasian lynx is classified as rare; both are protected under the Law on Fauna. The snow leopard inhabits approximately 326,617 km² in the western half of the country, primarily in mountainous regions, with an estimated 806 to 1,127 adult individuals.

The Eurasian lynx is distributed more widely, occurring throughout Mongolia but in relatively sparse populations. It is considered that Gobi’s Altai mountains in the southern Mongolia is occupied by subspecies Lynx lynx isabellinus (Blyth, 1847), known as a ‘Gobi lynx’ by locals, adapted to rocky hilltops, bush woodlands, desert valley between mountains, and oasis in the Gobi Altai mountain range . Reduction of prey base caused by drying out water sources and retaliatory hunting are considered its main threats. Recent study also shown that the lynx in Southern Mongolia share same area and prey base with snow leopard and appears to be pushed into flatter areas and areas with more shrubs to reduce direct competition, and negative interactions that could lead to injury and even mortality. Pallas's cat is found across the steppe ecosystems, including mountainous steppe areas, and tends to prefer habitats near rocky terrain.

The Pallas’s cat is classified as Near Threatened in the IUCN Red List and also in the National Red Lists of Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia and Pakistan. In China and Turkmenistan, the Pallas’s cat is listed as Endangered. The species is listed as Extinct in Armenia and Azerbaijan. Generally, the Pallas’s cat is considered to be widespread but is not common across its range and has a fragmented distribution. The largest populations of Pallas’s cats are believed to exist in Mongolia.

“Gobi’s Great Six”: wild camel, Gobi bear, takhi horse, khulan, Mongolian saiga, goitered gazelle.

Considering the importance of protecting the Gobi ecosystem in holistic way, WWF-Mongolia started a public campaign “Gobi’s Great Six” (referred as “GG-6”), in September 2016, using the following six globally endangered species as the symbol of Mongolian Gobi and the need for coordination conservation actions:

• Wild Bactrian camel (Camelus bactrianus ferus – IUCN EN),

• Gobi bear (Ursus arctos pruinosus – IUCN LC),

• Takhi horse (Equus ferus przewalskii – IUCN EN),

• Khulan (Equus hemionus – IUCN NT),

• Mongolian saiga (Saiga borealis mongolica – IUCN EN), and

• Goitered gazelle (Gazella subgutturosa – IUCN VU)

In Mongolia all these species are classified as very rare, rare and protected by the Law on Fauna. They are included in the Red List of Mongolian Mammals.