In Mongolia, the grassland steppe covers 860,000 sq.kms, some 55.4% of the country. The Mongolian steppe is considered as the last remaining pristine grassland in Eurasia that once started in Eastern Europe and reaches to the steppes of Manchuria. The grassland steppe is home to many different iconic  species including an estimated about 2 million of Mongolian gazelles that are an inseparable element of this pristine ecosystem, both inhabiting and shaping it. The Mongolian gazelle’s annual migration is one of the last large-scale migrations in the northern hemispherematched only by two other ungulate migrations in the world: the wildebeest in East Africa and the caribou in North America.

The Eastern steppe is also home of over 20,000 herder families that raise diverse domestic livestock that are their main livelihood source. Only 9.8% of the steppe is protected, although there is a target of 30% protection by 2025 according to the National Biodiversity Strategy Action Program which is fully aligned with Aichi Targets.