VZCZCXRO1626
RR RUEHCN RUEHGH RUEHHM RUEHLN RUEHMA RUEHPB RUEHPOD RUEHVC
DE RUEHUM #0692/01 3480729
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 140729Z DEC 07
FM AMEMBASSY ULAANBAATAR
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 1726
INFO RUEHJA/AMEMBASSY JAKARTA 0209
RUEHMO/AMEMBASSY MOSCOW 2004
RUEHAST/AMEMBASSY ALMATY 0181
RUEHPF/AMEMBASSY PHNOM PENH 0051
RUEHVK/AMCONSUL VLADIVOSTOK 0194
RUEHOO/CHINA POSTS COLLECTIVE
RUEHZN/ENVIRONMENT SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY COLLECTIVE
RUEHLN/AMCONSUL ST PETERSBURG 0004
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 0541
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA 0351
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC
RHEBAAA/DEPT OF ENERGY WASHDC
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHDC
RHMFISS/HQ EPA WASHINGTON DC 0026
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC
RUEHRC/USDA FAS WASHDC
RHHMUNA/CDR USPACOM HONOLULU HI
RUEHLMC/MILLENNIUM CHALLENGE CORP WASHDC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ULAANBAATAR 000692 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EAP/CM and OES 
STATE PASS USTR FOR WINELAND 
JAKARTA PLEASE PASS TO BALI CLIMATE CHANGE USDEL 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: SENV EAGR ENRG PGOV ECON PREL MG
SUBJECT: MONGOLIA URGED TO GET SERIOUS ON DEFORESTATION 
 
ULAANBAATA 00000692  001.2 OF 003 
 
 
¶1. SUMMARY: Mongolia has lost more than 10% of its forests since 
1990, according to Government of Mongolia (GOM) reports, and the 
problem is getting worse.  Fires, illegal logging, forest 
mismanagement and other factors are threatening important ecosystems 
and wildlife.  Past efforts by the GOM to manage forest resources 
were confused and ineffective.  The GOM passed a new Forestry Law 
earlier this year, but no concrete follow-up action has been taken. 
The deforestation problem, seen by many as a looming crisis, was 
addressed at a November 13 conference in Ulaanbaatar.  Government 
officials, Parliamentarians and NGO participants focused on the 
development and implementation of a national action plan, the Europe 
and North Asia "Forest Law Enforcement and Governance" (FLEG) 
program, aimed at combating illegal logging and other forest crimes 
within the framework of the Saint Petersburg Declaration.  The GOM's 
adoption of that declaration in 2005, its stated intention to abide 
by FLEG, and the passage of the Forestry Law may signal a new 
willingness to face the issue earnestly.  But capacity and 
implementation remain questionable.  If Mongolia is to effectively 
manage its forests, it will have to do more than simply sign 
international agreements.  END SUMMARY 
 
¶2. On November 13, more than 60 people, including Parliamentarians, 
Government officials and NGO reps, gathered in Ulaanbaatar to 
discuss Mongolia's growing deforestation crisis.  Talks centered on 
the development and implementation of the FLEG national action plan. 
 Delegates called on the GOM to take serious steps toward 
implementing the new Forestry Law, passed in May.  They noted that 
the GOM lacks control over Mongolia's forestry industry and called 
it crucial for the GOM to take immediate action to bring about 
responsible management.  Delegates also pointed out that Mongolia's 
forests could make a valuable contribution to the country's economy, 
if managed properly. 
 
LAW REQUIRES ESTABLISHMENT OF A FOREST AGENCY 
--------------------------------------------- - 
 
¶3. On November 25, 2005, the GOM signed on to the Saint Petersburg 
Declaration, in which participating countries agree to work 
individually and jointly to take action against illegal logging and 
associated forest crimes.  Participants agree to adopt the FLEG 
action plan that commits the country to enhance its forest law, 
regulations and policies, and to modify them in conformity with 
international laws and regulations. Mongolia followed up by passing 
the  Forestry Law in May 2007.  However, to date there has been no 
concrete action taken, according to NGO reports, despite repeated 
calls from international donors and NGOs that the GOM implement the 
legislation swiftly. The law orders the establishment of a Forest 
Agency to centralize planning and policy for forested areas that 
previously had been administered by a variety of ministries and 
local governments.  The Forest Agency, which is expected to be set 
up in the coming months, is intended to do the following: 
 
-- Develop a national forest management plan that would protect 
forested areas and determine how much timber may be harvested in 
each province; 
 
-- Integrate this forest management plan with long-term planning for 
land and water resources; 
 
-- Get local communities involved in the management of  forest 
resources, partly by issuing special contracts that give them 
"ownership" over forests in their areas; 
 
 
 
¶4. According to the GOM, forests cover 12.7 million hectares (ha), 
or 8.1%, of Mongolia's territory - an area roughly the size of 
Nicaragua.  The forests are mainly located in the north-central 
parts of Mongolia, forming the most southern extension of the east 
 
ULAANBAATA 00000692  002.2 OF 003 
 
 
Siberian taiga and constituting a transition zone to the saxaul 
scrub forests of the Central Asian steppe desert.  Some 37%, or 4.7 
million ha, of Mongolia's forests are classified as primary forest 
(the most bio-diverse form of forest), while 28%, or 3.6 million ha, 
are considered degraded. 
 
FOREST AREAS SHRINKING 
---------------------- 
 
¶5. A looming deforestation crisis has resulted from a combination of 
forest fires, illegal logging, overgrazing, mining, improper 
management, poor enforcement of forest legislation, damage by pests 
and diseases, and climate change.  The  GOM and local communities 
seem largely unprepared to deal with the situation. According to the 
World Bank, Mongolia lost approximately 4 million ha of forest in 
the last century, an average of 40,000 ha annually.  However, 
following the collapse of the Soviet system and the loosening of 
forestry controls, an average of 82,700 hectares of forest per year 
disappeared between 1990 and 2000 -- an average annual deforestation 
rate of 0.72%.  Things then went from bad to worse.  Between 2000 
and 2005, the rate of deforestation increased by 7.6% to 0.77% per 
annum.  Overall, between 1990 and 2005, Mongolia lost 10.8% of its 
forest cover, or around 1.24 million hectares.  At the current rate 
and without proper reforestation, Mongolia could see its forests 
vanish completely within the next 150 years. 
 
INCREASE IN MAN-MADE FOREST FIRES 
--------------------------------- 
 
¶6. Forest fires have, by far, the most serious impact on Mongolian 
forests.  Most of the country's forest fires have been caused by 
natural factors (lightening strikes) but more and more are being 
attributed to human activity; specifically, fires that get out of 
control, started by herders, hunters and antler collectors.  Reduced 
precipitation has also led to drier conditions that enable forest 
fires to spread.  According to the GOM, Mongolian experienced 90 
forest fires in 2006, which burned over 400,000 ha -- double the 
reported area for 2005.  The World Wildlife Federation (WWF) states 
that between 1990 and 2000, about 7.52 million ha of forest 
experienced fires, with 1.6 million ha being completely lost because 
of slow regeneration and the replacement of fire-damaged forests by 
non-forest ecosystems. 
 
ILLEGAL LOGGING TAKING A TOLL... 
-------------------------------- 
 
¶7. Illegal and unsustainable logging is depleting and degrading 
resources in accessible forest areas, particularly those near urban 
areas.  Despite Mongolia's low population density, there is 
increasingly high demand for timber, both for use in construction 
and manufacturing, as well as for fuel-wood to support a growing 
population.  There are also concerns that the depletion and 
degradation of the southern forests may be contributing to 
desertification. 
 
... AS DOES MISMANAGEMENT 
------------------------- 
 
 ¶8. NGO and academic researchers say Mongolia's forestry sector is 
in disarray following the breakdown of central authority in 1991 and 
the institutional inadequacies, weaknesses and mismanagement of the 
post-socialist period.  The GOM did not have the capacity to protect 
its forested areas, although all forests in the country are 
state-owned.  Consequently, the illegal logging industry grew.  In 
2006, the GOM issued licenses for the harvesting of 617.2 thousand 
cubic meters of timber, only 25% of the estimated consumption/demand 
of about 2.5 million cubic meters annually.  Although estimates of 
annual wood consumption vary widely, due to a lack of reliable data, 
it is widely believed that some 1.9 million cubic meters of timber 
 
ULAANBAATA 00000692  003.2 OF 003 
 
 
were illegally harvested in 2006 alone. 
 
STEPPE, DESERT AREAS EXPANDING 
------------------------------ 
 
¶9. In addition to logging, a long-term, cyclical drying and warming 
of the climate is causing a slow northerly retreat of forests, as 
steppe and desert zones expand. According to the WWF, high 
mountains, tundra and taiga regions are expected to decrease by 0.1% 
to 0.5% in 2020, and by 4-14% in 2050.  The area of forest steppe 
may shrink by as much as 3% in the first quarter and 7% in the 
second quarter of the 21st Century.  In the south, heavy pressure on 
the limited resources from grazing and timber collection is leading 
to severe depletion of shrub forests.  One million ha of forest is 
said to be affected by forest insects and diseases, and 200 thousand 
ha of forest needs to be restored. 
 
¶10. On a number of levels, Mongolia has identified deforestation as 
a serious problem, but the country has had trouble translating that 
into concrete action.  One of Mongolia's objectives under its 
Millennium Development Goal commitments is the development of 
strategies to slow the progress of deforestation. Mongolia's New 
National Development Strategy also prioritizes effective and 
sustainable management of forests.  Every year, Parliament sets 
aside funds for the reforestation of 100 thousand ha of land, but 
these efforts have been plagued by inefficiencies and corruption. 
(The same could be said for the  "Green Wall" reforestation project 
launched in southern Mongolia in 2004.  It was aimed at building a 
wall of trees that would hold back the advance of the Gobi desert.) 
So far, only 215 thousand ha of forest has been treated, and 70 
thousand ha forest has been restored for last 10 years. 
 
COMMENT 
-------- 
¶11. If Mongolia is to effectively manage its forests, it will have 
to do more than simply international agreements.  The FLEG national 
action plan will have to gain awareness and traction, and a 
realistic plan to address illegal logging (and associated trading 
and corruption) needs to be developed.  The Forest Law should be 
fully implemented in a way that will involve all stakeholders, 
including timber-harvesting communities and the private sector. 
Meanwhile, local communities -- poor and lacking the financial 
resources to undertake extensive forest management - will have to be 
educated and empowered.  .  This will require, first and foremost, 
funding and political will from the powers that be in Ulaanbaatar, 
not to mention greater involvement by the international community. 
END COMMENT. 
 
Minton