Desertification in Mongolia

Desertification in Mongolia

Overgrazing of Kashmir goats that produce the hair used in cashmere products is leading to desertification in Mongolia. Mongolia is located in Asia, specifically right above China. It is heavily plagued with poverty and a concerning rise in desertification. If you look at the photo to the left, the upper half of the map is greener. This is Outer Mongolia. However, as you can see, the grasslands are shrinking, and being replaced with desert. Inner Mongolia (the lower half of the map) looks to be almost entirely desert from an aerial photograph ("Mongolia.").

The "reason" for increasing desertification is overpopulation of grazing Kashmir goats. Poverty is common with with nomadic citizens of Mongolia and many of the residents are desperate. So, when the oppertunity to sustain themselves came along, many farmers took advantage. It is greedy, however in the conditions many of these people live in, you can hardly blame them.

Cashmere wool has always been considered a luxury due to its rarity, however in the 1990's it started being marketed as an affordable opulence. Finished Cashmere wool is a tedious process: it takes one goat 4 years to produce enough wool for one sweater. The specific type of hair needed grows underneath the top coat of the goat. Mongolia and particular regions of Asia are the only places in the world successful at "growing" this raw product. This is specifically because the temperatures range from -33°F in the winter to 107° F in the summer; the extreme temperatures crucial for the hair growth ("Mongolia Cashmere").

European countries purchased the finished products from Chinese factories whom were buying wool from farmers in Inner Mongolia. Goat herds increased in staggering numbers and quickly, Inner Mongolia was becoming a desert. That did not stop the process. Farmers spread out to find grasslands for their herds to graze. Kashmir goats are extremely hard on the land because they consume everything, and when they eat they rip the whole plant - normally grass - out of the ground. That left loose sand and quickly, one-third of Inner Mongolia became a wasteland. It is estimated to be uninhabitable by 2020 ("DEFORESTATION AND DESERTIFICATION IN CHINA"). Between 1994 and 1999 the Gobi Desert expanded by an area larger than the Netherlands (Buckley).

Inner Mongolia is controlled by the Chinese government, which was convient because the factories did not have to pay an export or import tax, nor did they have to smuggle it across the boarder. However, when the Gobi Desert began raining on Bejing, officials started cracking down.

Inner Mongolia's production rate of raw and finished cashmere wool dropped significantly, and Chinese factories turn their attention to independent outer Mongolia. As you would expect, Outer Mongolia's Kashmir goat population incresed in staggering numbers. To deter overpopulation and also to profit from, the Outer Mongolian government implimented an export tax on Cashmere wool. This has not discouraged anyone selling to China however, as China is the worlds largest Cashmere consumer, purchasing an estimated 2/3 of the overall yeild; 1/3 legally, 1/3 illegially. ("Mongolia Cashmere").

Sadly, very little is being done to solve this issue. When Chinese officials realized the problems in Inner Mongolia, they stepped in to stop them. It was far too late at that point, as the land has been almost entirely destroyed. Outer Mongolia took advantage if the oppertunity to flourish and began supplying Chinese factories with the Cashmere wool.

Outer Mongolia is extremely corrupt and poverty ridden, and many of its inhabitants realized the chance to be successful. Another hugely important matter to consider is that no one owns the land. It is a common area and people (nomads) live where they please and raise animals for their own benefits. That makes many famers feel that they are not responsible for the area and can enrich their own lives at the sake of the environment, leading to a lot more animals than the land can support ("Mongolia Cashmere").

Works Cited

Buckley, Michael. turning mongolia's grassland into desert. Meltdown in Tibet/Michael Buckley, n.d. Web. 31 Oct 2010. ">.

"TED Case Studies." Mongolia Cashmere. TED, n.d. Web. 31 Oct 2010. .">.

"DEFORESTATION AND DESERTIFICATION IN CHINA." DEFORESTATION AND DESERTIFICATION IN CHINA. Facts and Details, 04/2010. Web. 31 Oct 2010. ">.

"Mongolia." Google Earth. Web. 31 Oct 2010.