Posted on November, 01 2000
In this remotest of places - high up in the middle of mountains straddling Mongolia, Siberia and Khazakstan - I was convinced our car was about to blow up.
As it turned out, setting a fire under these hardy vehicles is a regular and normal occurrence. Chimed assured me that Gantilok knew exactly what he was doing and soon the frozen oil in the sump would melt and we could get on our way.
After staying in a ger for the night with the WWF-sponsored snow leopard ranger and his family and with all my companions dressed in traditional Mongolian long coats held together with wide coloured belts around the waist, I really felt I was in an epic movie set.
WWF coordinates several projects in the Altay Mountains. They are carried out with the help of local people and are all aimed at saving the rare and endangered snow leopard and its habitat. It is estimated only seven hundred remain in Mongolia, with around seven thousand surviving worldwide.
This is a region of breathtaking beauty inhabited by nomadic people, some Mongolian and some of Khazak descent who still live, essentially, as they did hundreds of years ago. Two weeks after our visit, the ger we had stayed in was being moved from the summer camp to the winter place, in preparation for the long, cold season ahead.
Chimed, who lives and works in the Mongolian capital, Ulaanbaatar, is a truly remarkable man. Born and raised as a nomad on the east Mongolian steppe he is far more at home in the countryside than in the city. He grew up herding sheep, riding horses and, seasonally, moving his tent.
After studying physics in former East Germany and spending ten years working at a observatory in Siberia, Chimed returned to Mongolia to head up the new WWF projects.
It is a huge challenge. His country faces the usual problems besetting developing nations. Economic development comes at a price, and usually that price is the environment. Mongolia has more to lose than most. The countryside is almost untouched. Outside Ulaanbaatar roads barely exist.
Overgrazing is a problem but because the nomads are so dependent on nature for their survival the environment in many places is a true wilderness.
Chimed takes field trips as often as possible. He says although the politicking in the capital is an important part of his job, the real conservation work happens at the grassroots level, working with the nomads.
The fire was put out and the car started. We were on our way to visit a 'snow leopard transect' - an area where the local ranger makes checks once a month to count how many of the big cats have crossed the line. He is an expert in finding signs of their presence.
Chimed looked on proudly as Iltanbaatar was taking notes " Iltanbaatar's father was a nomad but he was also a hunter. He killed many snow leopard and ibex and other animals. It's great that Iltanbaatar, with his expert knowledge of the area is now active in the fight to save these endangered animals. He realizes the importance of conservation and his sons accompany him on the survey. He hopes that they in turn will become conservationists.
With sponsorship from WWF, the nomads help protect the snow leopard from poachers and earn an annual bonus if none have been killed. They also earn extra income from knitting cashmere and camel clothing which is sold in Ulaanbaatar. Chimed dropped in on Daarima, the snow leopard project coordinator in the small administrative centre of Turgen. They drank tea (in Mongolia it is fermented and salted yak or horses milk) and ate dried yaks cheese. Chimed was at home.
A week later, back in Ulaanbaatar on the day he was due to meet the Prime Minister, Chimed made a poignant remark. "I love to travel in the countryside. This is my hobby. I think when your job is your hobby it makes everything worthwhile".
*Tanya Petersen is WWF's Executive Producer for TV and Film based in Gland, Switzerland.
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