|
MongoliaForestry
Mongolia's vast forests (15 million hectares) are exploited
for timber, hunting, and fur-bearing animals. In 1984 a Mongolian
source stated that the forestry sector accounted for about onesixth of gross national product
(GNP--see Glossary). Until
December 1987, exploitation of these resources was supervised by
the Forestry and Hunting Economy Section of the Ministry of
Forestry and Woodworking. In that month this section was
integrated into the new Ministry of Environmental Protection
(see Major State Organizations
, ch. 4). The woodworking component of the
former ministry presumably became part of the new Ministry of
Light Industry. The Ministry of Environmental Protection's
assumption of control of forest resources reflected the
government's concern over environmental degradation resulting
from indiscriminate deforestation. Forestry enterprises
reafforested only 5,000 hectares of the 20,000 hectares felled
annually. In addition, fires engulfed 1 million hectares of
forest between 1980 and 1986. Mongolia's shrinking forests
lowered water levels in many tributaries of the Selenge and Orhon
rivers, hurting soil conservation and creating water shortages in
Ulaanbaatar.
Timber enterprises and their downstream industries made a
sizable contribution to the Mongolian economy, accounting for 10
percent of gross industrial output in 1985. Approximately 2.5
million cubic meters of timber were cut annually. Fuel wood
accounted for about 55 percent of the timber cut, and the
remainder was processed by the woodworking industry. In 1986
Mongolia produced 627,000 cubic meters of sawn timber, of which
121,000 cubic meters was exported. Lumber also was exported;
lumber exports declined dramatically from 104,000 cubic meters in
1984 to 85,700 cubic meters in 1985 and to 39,000 cubic meters in
1986.
Mongolia's forests and steppes abounded with animals that
were hunted for their fur, meat, and other products in the late
1980s. Fur-bearing animals included marmots, muskrats, squirrels,
foxes, korsak (steppe foxes), and wolves, which were
hunted, and such animals as deer, sable, and ermine, which were
raised on state animal farms. Animal pelts were exported in large
numbers. In 1985 Mongolia exported more than 1 million small
hides, which included some of the 763,400 marmot pelts, 23,800
squirrel skins, 3,700 wolf skins, and other furs. Marmot also was
hunted for its fat, which was processed industrially. Mongolian
gazelles were hunted for their meat, and red deer, for their
antler velvet. Organized hunting of wild sheep was a foreign
tourist attraction.
Data as of June 1989
|
