With support from TMU and other donors, The Nature Conservancy has sent staff members to Mongolia to lend technical assistance to in-country staff, partners, and stakeholders on the ground there. Check out this video where Senior Conservation Ecologist Chris Prague discusses conservation issues in Mongolia and what he has learned:
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What initially started as a ten-day visit to Mongolia quickly turned into a fourteen-day one after I arrived because I was so taken with the country. I was lucky enough to travel with a group led by The Nature Conservancy (TNC), visiting national parks within a couple hours’ drive of Ulaan Baatar, Kazak communities in the Altai Mountains, and the beautiful and legendary Gobi. Spectacular is the first word that comes to mind, and something magical occurred each day, from seeing wild horses in Hustain Nuruu National Park to coming upon a heard of argali sheep after a long hike over several mountain ridges in Gun Galuut Nature Reserve. I was overwhelmed by Mongolia’s big, beautiful, open sky and space coupled with the incredibly rich cultural heritage. One cannot help but feel the speed with which change is developing in Mongolia and how cultural preservation and environmental conservation are inextricably linked. The group was joined by TNC staff Enkhtuya Oidov, Mongolia Program Director, and Gala Davaa, Mongolia Director of Conservation–both superstars whose dedication and knowledge made the entire trip an extraordinary experience. TMU has been supporting programs with Mongolia since 1996, and TNC has been working in Mongolia since 2002, focusing specifically on protecting Mongolia’s grasslands. Recognizing that 40% of Mongolia is now under lease for mining and energy exploration, TNC is implementing their Development by Design approach which aims to steer development away from areas that have been designated as conservation priorities. To learn more about TNC’s Mongolia program, please visit their website: A special thanks to Enkhtuya, Gala, Soyolmaa, Zach, JoAnn, and Tim for being so much fun! cheers, Carrie  Enkhtuya and Gala  Hustain Nuruu National Park  Takhi--wild horses!  fun in the butcher shop in Olgii  Bayan-Olgii  a horse race during Naadam  the eagle hunter`s brother  making milk tea  serving milk tea  the eagle hunter  archery!  spotting argali sheep  smiling after finding argali sheep  sunset in the Gobi  sand dunes in the Gobi  me in the Gobi  A ger in the Gobi  Ulaan Baatar at sunset  the group As Carrie returns from Ulaanbaatar tomorrow armed with hundreds, if not thousands, of photos and pages of information from her fabulous trip, we thought it’d be nice to get a little background on what exactly makes the nation of Mongolia so great. Roughly twice the size of Texas, Mongolia is a nation that spans lowlands to mountains, from desert to steppe. It has a rich history tied directly to the land on which the people rely. It is the world’s least densely populated country: only 2.9 million people live spread over 600,000 square miles. Running the numbers quickly, that means that groups of people are separated by a mile or more. Compare this to New York City: we’re separated by about a foot! The ample space in Mongolia is used mostly for husbandry, a profession which sustains over one third of the population. Several hard winters spanning from 1999 to 2002, however, brought the industry to its knees, and many Mongolians began to rethink this traditional way of life. The country is again facing hardship after last winter when almost 17 percent of the country’s livestock died from cold and exposure, again forcing herders to head to the cities to find work. Though the export of livestock products (chiefly cashmere) is important for Mongolian herders, there are consequences to unregulated expansion. With a radical explosion in goat population, the grassy steppe is becoming desert, impacting future Now, I don’t want to make Mongolia out to be some kind of disastrous, ticking time bomb. Quite the contrary: Mongolia is the epitome of spirit, surviving for thousands of years in commune with nature. Eco-tourism is beginning to flourish, Mongolians are taking an active interest in biodiversity and conservation, and, instead of reinventing the wheel, the nation is combining modern methods and ideas with its traditional past. Instead of Cyrillic, there is a push to reestablish the traditional Mongolian script, one that is as flowing as the country’s many rivers. Cattle population control is now a priority, and many herders may soon be able to return to their way of life. The untapped resources put Mongolia in a position for accelerated future growth, and Mongolians are ready to take the reins. Mongolia may be between the two giants Russia and China, but it shines just as brightly on its own. If you’re a little too eager to wait for Carrie’s update, visit Mongoluls for a little more information on Mongolia. Until next time, David Gordon was kind enough to be a TMU guest blogger last week and share important lessons that we are all in the process of learning from the Gulf Coast oil spill. Carrie shared some personal thoughts on Pacific Environment’s blog here: And if this oil spill has got you down (like us!) and you are wondering what you can do, please check in with our favorite environmental advice columnist on Grist by David Gordon Executive Director, Pacific Environment
On April 20, when the Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded and sunk in the Gulf of Mexico, causing an ongoing environmental disaster, I was in Moscow. Once it became clear that oil continued to gush from the well blowout, my thoughts immediately turned to the communities along the Gulf of Mexico. Many people along the Gulf Coast gain their livelihoods from fishing and tourism. The rich communities of wildlife - birds, fish, and whales - depend on the Gulf Coast. All of these communities are at risk from the spill. The impacts of the spill are likely to linger for decades. Now that oil has spilled into the Gulf Coast’s marshes and wetlands, no good means exist for cleaning it up. Nature will have to repair itself. The fisheries and other wildlife of the Gulf Coast will also likely feel the impacts for decades. Just as in 1989, after the Exxon Valdez struck Bligh Reef, we will undoubtedly learn a lot of lessons from this blowout and oil spill. Here are eight essential lessons that I think we are learning:
1. It is dangerous to place too much trust in large corporations to “self-regulate.” The U.S. government did not ask BP to prepare a full environmental impact review, instead issuing a “waiver.” 2. We need to prepare for all contingencies. BP did not think a blowout like this was likely, so they did not know how to stop the blowout. They have had to engineer approaches as they go along, which has lead to far greater damage. 3. We need independent government regulators who are not tied to the industry. President Obama has now recognized the “cozy relationship” between regulators and industry. This relationship allowed BP to cut corners as they were drilling the well, which likely led to the blowout. 4. Oil producers need to carry full financial responsibility for their pollution. The U.S. Congress is trying to raise liability limits, since these limits are capped at $75 million, even though the damage from the spill will be far, far greater. 5. We need an active non-governmental sector that watchdogs government agencies and companies. Although many had warned about a culture of corruption within Minerals Management Service, this culture has not changed fast enough. 6. Oil companies are moving into more and more remote places to drill for oil. This is why BP is drilling at more than 5,000 feet below the surface in the Gulf of Mexico, which creates enormous technological challenges. This is why Shell and other oil companies are trying to drill for oil in the Arctic and Russia’s Sea of Okhotsk, despite the immense challenges found there. 7. Our technological advances to drill for oil have advanced greatly, while we have not advanced our technologies to prevent oil spills and to clean them up afterwards. BP has shown that there is no good way to clean up an oil spill of this magnitude in the Gulf of Mexico. Similarly, there is no good way to clean up an oil spill in the Arctic. 8. The best way to prevent these disasters from occurring in the future is to get off our addiction to oil.
The repercussions of the Gulf of Mexico spill will be felt far beyond the Gulf itself. Since the spill, several of Pacific Environment’s programs have leapt into action. Our Alaska Program is working with indigenous villages in Alaska’s Arctic to stop Shell’s proposed exploratory drilling, which is supposed to start in just over a month. The similarities between Shell’s proposed drilling and the BP tragedy in the Gulf are eerie. Shell was also given a waiver because the potential for blowout was deemed to be minimal. Yet in the Arctic, there is no way to clean up an oil spill in ice conditions. We are working with our partners in the Alaska Native and environmental communities to halt Shell’s plans until we understand why the Gulf of Mexico spill occurred and to make sure it won’t be repeated. You can help by calling the White House at (202) 456-1111 and asking them to halt Shell’s plans. We need a time-out for the Arctic. We have also been in close contact with our partners in Russia in the Sosnovka Coalition to inform them about the oil spill. Our partners in Russia face similar challenges as offshore drilling moves into more remote areas of the Sea of Okhotsk. Our partners are advocating for a new oil pollution law in Russia. Our partners are also reviewing newly released plans to conduct underwater seismic testing for oil and gas throughout Russia’s Far East and the Russian Arctic. These plans demonstrate Russia’s interest in developing its offshore oil and gas reserves. Just as in the U.S., these plans should be paused until we know more about how to prevent a similar spill from occurring in the future. Pacific Environment is moving forward with plans for exchanges that address both oil safety issues and the alternatives. We are planning an exchange this fall that will bring Alaska Natives from the Arctic to Russia to learn about oil and gas development issues. And we are planning an exchange in June that will bring renewable energy experts to Altai to help promote alternatives to oil. We will learn many important lessons from the Gulf of Mexico tragedy. For now, though, as oil continues to wash up along the Gulf Coast, I continue to think about the communities -of people and wildlife- that will suffer for years as a result of our addiction to oil. On Monday, April 26th, TMU hosted The Invisible Mentor, the first in what will be a larger series of discussions on pressing issues in the fields of the arts and the environment. The Invisible Mentor centered on the topic of mentorship in the performing arts and explored who and what influences the life work of some of the most inspirational theater and dance artists in the field today. Our esteemed panel included: Ivy Baldwin (Artistic Director of Ivy Baldwin Dance) Anne Bogart (Artistic Director of the SITI Company) Yanira Castro (Artistic Director of a canary torsi) Ping Chong (Artistic Director of Ping Chong & Company) Ellen Lauren (Associate Artistic Director of the SITI Company) Dan Safer (Artistic Director of Witness Relocation) Kate Valk (founding member of The Wooster Group) The Panelists dissected their impressions of the inherent power and structural implications of the word “mentor,” and spoke with heart and eloquence on what it means to be a creative presence in the performing arts and how artistic influences, connections, and personal relationships are the result of an organic process between the communion of like minds. The conversation was insightful, provocative, and uplifting–we’ll be discussing and debating here in the office for months to come!
I just got back to New York after a whirlwind visit to St. Petersburg and Moscow. The trip may have been a short eight days, but they were action packed, and I met so many amazing people who are doing great work! From visits to contemporary art spaces (Winzavod and Garage in Moscow and Etazhi and Nepokorennie in St. Petersburg) to performances by Russian theater greats at the Golden Mask Festival–it was a brilliant time! Thank you to everyone who took the time to share themselves and their work! Cheers, Carrie Here are a few of my favorite pictures from the trip, and check out John Freedman’s video blog on the Moscow Times website:  Carrie, Kama Ginkas, and Genrietta Yanovskaya  Susan Katz and Elena Yaichnikova at Winzavod in Moscow  Installation at Winzavod  Ilya Gaponov's and Kirill Koteshov's work exhibited at Garage in Moscow  Fabrika/ Aktovy Zal Contemporary Dance Space in Moscow  Philip Arnoult and John Freedman  Carrie and Ira Bliznets at the State Russian Museum in St. Petersburg In a New York Times op-ed published over the weekend, Al Gore writes: Winston Churchill is widely quoted as having said, “Sometimes doing your best is not good enough. Sometimes you must do what is required.” Now is that time. Public officials must rise to this challenge by doing what is required; and the public must demand that they do so–or must replace them. The challenge that he refers to, of course, is climate change. And the time IS now. Please write your representatives at the federal, state, and local level and let them know how personal this issue is to you. Please don’t be discouraged by the enormity of what is in front of us all. Let’s think about what we can do as individuals to have a positive impact. Talk about it with friends and share ideas with each other. Heck, share ideas with us–we’ll post ‘em! As one of the leading emitters of GHGs, the world is looking to the United States to be a leader in finding a solution. Let’s put the positive back in leader and get started! Here’s a link to Mr. Gore’s full piece: We Can’t Wish Climate Change Away Carrie E. Thompson |
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