Mobilität im Wandel: Nachhaltige Entwicklung des Mongolischen Steppenökosystems (MoreStep)

The research project "MORE STEP – Mobility at risk: Sustaining the Mongolian Steppe Ecosystem" is a collaborative and interdisciplinary research project of Mongolian and German partners funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research. The main aim is to bring social and ecological sciences together to identify societal drivers that can lead to an ecological tipping point of the Mongolian steppe ecosystem. The objective is the early identification including possible consequences for nature and society. In this context land degradation and the reduced sustainability of ecosystems by societal transformation processes – such as urbanization or changes to the nomadic way of life – will be central themes. The project particularly emphasizes the importance of mobility of wildlife and livestock in the context of societal change and seeks to contribute to the sustainable development of the Mongolian Steppe ecosystem.

Project Goals

• To assess the effects of the key drivers of current societal transformations – urbanization, changing nomadic lifestyles, and economic development – on Mongolian rangelands as a social-ecological system,
• To identify the key regulating mechanisms for mobility and their interactions that could lead to a tipping point with regard to herbivore abundance,
• To identify a set of indicators capable of assessing the system state with regard to the tipping point, and
• To synthesize and identify management measures as well as governance options that will best avert reaching the potential tipping point.