The Nature Conservancy. Protecting nature. Preserving life.™

Mongolia: Test Your Knowledge!

Test your knowledge of Mongolia, where the Conservancy is helping local communities to make endangered grasslands more resilient to climate change. Click on the links that you think best answer each quiz question below. Good luck!

1. In what year did Mongolia declare the world’s first national park?

   1600

   1600 | Incorrect

   1778

   1778 | Correct

   In the 1500s, long before it was officially designated a park by the Mongolian government, the Ming Dynasty recognized Bogdkhan Uul as a nature reserve.

   1865

   1865 | Incorrect

   1923

   1923 | Incorrect

2. What percentage of the Mongolian steppe has protected status?

   More than 20%

   More than 20% | Incorrect

   15%

   15% | Incorrect

   9%

   9% | Incorrect

   Less than 6%

   Less than 6% | Correct

   What’s worse, only two percent of that land is adequately managed and enforced.

3. By establishing and strengthening protected areas in Mongolia’s Eastern Steppe, the Conservancy hopes to help which of the following species adapt to the stresses of climate change?

   Mongolian Gazelle

   Mongolian Gazelle | Correct

   Mongolian gazelles don’t have a fixed migration route, and therefore require a large amount of unbroken habitat.

   Bactrian Camel

   Bactrian Camel | Incorrect

   Gobi Bear

   Gobi Bear | Incorrect

   Giant Panda

   Giant Panda | Incorrect

4. How has the transition to a market economy in Mongolia led to land use shifts that are damaging grasslands and worsening climate change impacts?

   The increasing threat of overgrazing

   The increasing threat of overgrazing | Incorrect

   Increased number of cashmere goats which eat not just grasses but also their roots, destroying vegetation cover which can lead to desertification

   Increased number of cashmere goats which eat not just grasses but also their roots, destroying vegetation cover which can lead to desertification | Incorrect

   The shift to non-traditional goat-dominated herds, leading to overgrazing

   The shift to non-traditional goat-dominated herds, leading to overgrazing | Incorrect

   All of the above

   All of the above | Correct

   Read Conservancy scientist Gala Davaa’s take on how modernization in Mongolia is affecting the steppes where he grew up.

5. Grassland ecosystems, which help absorb carbon emissions, have suffered severe reductions worldwide. By how much have grasslands been reduced from their original range?

   30%

   30% | Incorrect

   40%

   40% | Incorrect

   50%

   50% | Correct

   Conservancy scientists are working to restore grassland habitats all over the world, from Australia to Patagonia to the Great Plains.

   60%

   60% | Incorrect

6. The grasslands of Toson Hulstai Nature Reserve lie in the heart of Mongolia’s Eastern Steppe, which covers:

   50 million acres

   50 million acres | Incorrect

   70 million acres

   70 million acres | Correct

   Toson Hulstai itself covers 1.2 million acres, leaving the rangers tasked with patrolling it a difficult job.

   90 million acres

   90 million acres | Incorrect

   100 million acres

   100 million acres | Incorrect

7. The Eastern Steppe faces a number of urgent threats, including:

   Overgrazing, which reduces native grasses

   Overgrazing, which reduces native grasses | Incorrect

   Fragmentation resulting from mining operations

   Fragmentation resulting from mining operations | Incorrect

   Climate change, which is damaging the grasslands local people and species need

   Climate change, which is damaging the grasslands local people and species need | Incorrect

   All of the above

   All of the above | Correct

   Our Development by Design strategy is helping Mongolia find sustainable ways to develop and improve its people’s livelihoods.

8. An "aimag" is Mongolian for:

   "Province"

   "Province" | Correct

   Increasingly, the Conservancy is partnering with local organizations and communities to develop smart land use plans.

   "Animal"

   "Animal" | Incorrect

   "Steppe"

   "Steppe" | Incorrect

   "Stream" or "River"

   "Stream" or "River" | Incorrect

9. When Mongolian rangers from Toson Hulstai Nature Reserve came to the U.S. to learn more about how to help grasslands adapt to climate change, which state did they visit?

   Montana

   Montana | Incorrect

   Alaska

   Alaska | Incorrect

   California

   California | Correct

   The rangers visited California’s Carrizo Plain National Monument to learn more about collaborative land use planning.

   Texas

   Texas | Incorrect

10. What percentage of Mongolians still live traditional nomadic lifestyles?

    30%

    30% | Incorrect

    40%

    40% | Correct

    The Conservancy is working with local people to keep grazing sustainable and reinforce traditional ways of life.

    50%

    50% | Incorrect

    60%

    60% | Incorrect