Hovsgol National Park has become one of the most attractive destinations in Mongolia, both for foreign and Mongolian tourists. The Park’s tourism assets are the unique combination of:

• Beautiful, pristine and untouched nature: of the purest lake on earth, mountains, larch forest, flora and fauna
• Lifestyle and culture of the local inhabitants: horse-based autonomous nomadic existence, herding, shamanism, local beliefs and customs

In recent years, increased tourism in the Park, infrastructure development, electricity lines and mobile phone stations has becoming the case of uncontrolled littering around the camps set-up for visitors and at scenic spots, selected for picnics or camping. Over 90% of he garbage disposed of improperly in the park are done so by Mongolian visitors and Mongolian employees of the visitors camps.

Up to date, there is practically no non-biodegradable products that are produced in Mongolia: virtually all plastics and other polluting elements are imported. Garbage begets garbage: without quick action, the Park will quickly lose its pristine condition and the friendly welcome to visitors from the locals.

Swiss and American friends together with Hovsgol Travel Company set up the non-profit Mongolia Sunrise to Sunset Ultrarunning event in 1998 in order to preserve Hovsgol National Park’s nature and culture, and in 1999, a litter education and control project which aimed to support the Park’s sustainable development. The project promotes Hovsgol National Park as a travel destination to a culturally open public and by ensuring that the Park’s local inhabitants can keep their cultural identity.

In 2008, volunteers installed signs shaped like a shaman’s drum bearing the message “Do Not Dump Your Waste If You Respect Nature” on 12 hills along the road from Ulaanbaatar to Hovsgol.

The project team has also organized a number of activities to provide educational opportunities for the Hovsgol community, raising awareness of the negative impacts of dumping waste and garbage.

Through events such as essay and freehand sketch contests (“My Litter-Free Hovsgol”), the team has also helped raise awareness of environmental issues among local children in Hatgal Village.

The project distributes an average 10-20 thousand garbage bags per year at the entrance of the Hovsgol National Park. Special biodegradable garbage bags provided by Mongolia Sunrise to Sunset are manufactured in Shanghai, China and cost US$0.50 per unit or MNT600 per unit. Air transportation cost for importing into Mongolia is MNT300 per bag.

Based on this, we spend an average MNT13 million per year only on environmentally friendly garbage bags. Anyone visiting Hovsgol can obtain the biodegradable garbage bags free of charge at the entrance of the Hovsgol National Park.

Tom Baatar, local resident, said:

“My father Lustai (spirit of Water) have treated us to respect the Nature, worship and bring the donations to Natural spirits. Hatgal was industrial town, and after the privatization in Mongolia, industrial town like Hatgal was closed down, many jobless people with limited number of cattle left vacant with very little territory of pastures. Tourism is the main income for us right now, myself I rent the horses and work as the horse trip guide in summer for Trekmongolia and MS2S for the last 10 years. With the income I get, I provide the food, clothes and other belongings to my family. 11 years ago we had a very interesting event: a running event. My aunt … said, I’ve never seen people racing, only horses were racing before. Everyone was out of the ger to see the runners. It was a very new for us, I remember, how I was excited to work at the aid station. I was at the aid station which was nearby Hirvesteig, standing on the heel, seeing sunrise, smelling the morning frost, I had a sensitive feeling that some changes were going to happen in life of our people. We were only 12 families left on the western shore of Hovsgol lake. The runners are very different from regular tourists, it was very strange, they run and don’t get awards. Later Erke explained us, that our Hovsgol lake, trees, mountains and even little flowers, which weren’t noticed by us are the gifts for them. To be honest, it was the first time I felt very proud of my homeland. We say the man known by his deeds, MS2S have made their promises. Beside offering garbage bags to visitors, the main thing they have educated us. My father used to smoke pipe cigar, all the Mongolians, Russians brought us first cigarettes and rapped candies, we didn’t know how the plastic, cigarettes buds, cans can be so harmful for the nature until we’ve learned from MS2S.”

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