Applying GIS and remote sensing in the South Gobi of Mongolia to support conservation interventions

Undral Erdenebat

This internship program included two main works such as GIS and remote sensing in the South Gobi of Mongolia.

Objectives:

• Learn how to develop and manage a database for a multi-project GIS program
• Learn how to create movement animations using Global Positioning System /GPS/ livestock tracking data
• Update an existing anthropogenic disturbance layer in the South Gobi for khulan habitat suitability analysis
• Identify remote sensing products used in time-series analysis of vegetation productivity in the South Gobi region
• Learn how to tell a conservation story using story maps
• Become a young leader and researcher on conservation for the future.

Final report

"The biggest threats to wildlife in these regions are development, poaching, and climate change. During the internship, research on the habitat of wild animals such as the gazelle and khulan in the vast area of Southern Gobi, how to protect them, and use GIS and remote sensing to fight poaching, contributed to the beginning of many ways that can be taken in the future. In the future, it was decided to digitize herder’s gers, which are important data for determining the index of human disturbance in the monitoring study of ungulates throughout Mongolia".