Programa 2º dia Mongólia - 25 de Agosto - Visita ao Parque Hustai
Hustai National Park lies in the foothills of the southern Khenti Mountain Range about 100km south west of Ulaanbaatar, the capital city of Mongolia. It takes its name (sometimes also known as Khustain Nuruu National Park) from birch trees growing in surrounding mountain forests. In Mongolian khustai means "with birch" and nuruu means "mountains".
The park's area was used at the turn of the century as a hunting ground for Bogd Khaan, the last ruling Khaan of Mongolia, and afterwards by Mongolian political officials. While nomads have also used the park as a pasture reserve for their stock, the park has never had a permanent settlement or been used for agriculture. This limited use has allowed the preservation of one of the world's most threatened ecosystems: steppe. Steppe and forest steppe are being destroyed throughout Central Asia, along with their endemic genetic resources, through ploughing for cultivation, overgrazing, excessive burning or wood collection.
Mountain steppe areas are a blend of species representative of Siberian taiga and Central Asian steppe. Forest habitat is found on the cooler, moister northern slopes while steppe vegetation such as Siberian Needlegrass (Stipa sibirica) is predominant on the other slopes. Hustai National Park is a fine example of the wide river valleys separated by hilly terrain that characterise forest steppe.
Mongolians are tremendously proud of their natural heritage and proclaimed their first protected area more than 200 years ago. Despite the country's difficult transition to a free market economy and successive changes of government, the Mongolian Parliament has strengthened environmental laws and announced plans to extend the protected area system from 14% to 30% of the country's landmass.
In 1990, an agreement of cooperation was signed between the Mongolian Association for Conservation of Nature and Environment (MACNE), the Foundation Reserves for the Przewalski Horse (FRPH), the Governor of the Central Aimag (province) and representatives from Altanbulag, Bayankhangai and Argalant soums (districts) who owned the land on which Hustai National Park is now located. The Mongolian Government soon thereafter (March 2nd, 1991) endorsed the project and appointed MACNE to manage the protected area. In 1993, Hustain Nuruu was upgraded from protected area status to reserve status and conservation measures were strengthened. In 1998, the area's status was upgraded once more and Hustain Nuruu Reserve became Hustai National Park. As a national park, regulations on land use were tightened and all grazing and hunting was forbidden.
Hustai National Park has three main management aims. The first is the long term conservation of the ecosystem's biodiversity. A sustainable ecosystem is being restored using modern genetic and geographic principles and nature management is being integrated with social-economic processes to allow local people to benefit from wildlife conservation. In line with this aim, many buffer zone programs have been initiated in the area surrounding the park.
The second aim is the establishment of a viable, self-sustaining population of Takhi. The Takh is the world's last truly wild horse. It is critically endangered and it is hoped that in the future, Hustai National Park may serve as a breeding centre for Takhi re-introduction programmes throughout Mongolia and the Central Asian Steppe.
The final aim is the formation and management of a training and research centre. The centre's facilities are available for local and international researchers and students to study a wide range of fields.
