As I’ve previously noted, China has cornered well over 90% of the market for rare earth metals, which are essential in various high-tech products.The Telegraph ran an article on August 24th pointing out that China is now deploying these resources to ga…
Posts Tagged ‘Mongolia’
Hidden Gobi Desert relics found
August 1st, 2009 |
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Rare Buddhist treasures, not seen for more than 70 years, have been unearthed in the Gobi Desert.
The historic artefacts were buried in the 1930s during Mongolia’s Communist purge, when hundreds of monasteries were looted and destroyed.
The relics include statues, art work, manuscripts and personal belongings of a famous 19th Century Buddhist master.
The leader of the search team, Michael Eisenriegler, described it as an "adventure of a lifetime".
A total of 64 crates of treasures were buried in the desert by a monk named Tudev, in an attempt to save them from the ransacking of the Mongolian and Soviet armies.
They belonged to Buddhist master Danzan Ravjaa and only Tudev knew where they were hidden. He passed on the secret to his grandson who dug up some of the boxes in the 1990s and opened a museum.
The current Austrian-Mongolian treasure hunt team found two more boxes. Mr Eisenriegler told the BBC World Service they were filled with "the most amazing Buddhist art objects".
"It is of tremendous value for Mongolian culture because Buddhism was almost extinct in the Communist times, especially in the 1930s.
"I’m totally exhausted right now but I’m also totally impressed with what I’ve seen."
The latest finds will be put on show at the Danzan Ravjaa Museum in Sainshand, 400km (450 miles) south of the Mongolian capital, Ulan Bator.
About 20 boxes remain hidden in the desert. </p
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Ban discusses climate in Mongolia
July 28th, 2009 |
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By Michael Kohn
BBC News, Ulan Bator
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon spent his second full day in Mongolia talking tough on climate change, meeting with Mongolia’s leaders and the public.
Mr Ban emphasised how landlocked, developing countries like Mongolia are suffering the consequences of pollution created elsewhere in the world.
During his stay, Mr Ban has camped out in a yurt on the grassy steppes.
He has also observed and thanked Mongolian peacekeepers that have served overseas.
A military band struck up a lively tune when Mr Ban arrived at the Tavan Tolgoi training camp.
Blue-helmeted Mongolian peacekeepers stood at attention as Mr Ban reviewed the troops.
He then thanked the soldiers deployed under the UN flag to far-flung places like Sierra Leone and Afghanistan.
By visiting Tavan Tolgoi, Mr Ban hopes to throw the spotlight on Mongolia as a model for other developing countries.
Mongolia has fewer than three million people and a small economy, but it also has a functioning democracy with a robust civil society.
Mongolia’s peacekeepers are helping to put the country on the international stage.
But as Mr Ban pointed out, Mongolia also remains vulnerable to climate change, with possible water shortages and desertification threatening the traditional nomadic lifestyle.
Mr Ban said he came here to listen to ordinary people faced with mounting climate problems, issues that he hopes to address in December at the UN Climate Change conference in Copenhagen. </p
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Maria Rodale: Top 10 Places I Want to Travel to Before I Die
July 27th, 2009 |
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I am going to share my list of the top 10 places I want to go to before I die (in no particular order, although I hope dying comes last).
Mongolian wilds inspire UN’s Ban
July 27th, 2009 |
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By Michael Kohn
BBC News, Ulan Bator
United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has been in the wilds of Mongolia, travelling over rough roads to meet a nomad family.
He has attended a traditional sports festival and visited a nature reserve.
Mr Ban’s primary reason for visiting the north Asian country is to learn how climate change affects the far-flung corners of the globe.
Desertification and deforestation are major threats to Mongolia’s nomads, despite recent flooding in the capital.
Child jockeys serenaded their horses before a 10km (six-mile) horse race across the vast plains of central Mongolia.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon watched with delight as the horses galloped across the plains.
Traditional Mongolian wrestling followed and then Mr Ban tried his hand at archery, launching an arrow into the blue sky.
He finished off the day spotting wild horses at a nature reserve before bunking down in a traditional felt ger, the portable home of the nomads.
But the countryside tour was not all fun and games.
The visit is Mr Ban’s latest effort in his goal to learn about how climate change affects remote countries like Mongolia.
Mr Ban discussed desertification and deforestation with local herders who breed sheep, cows and horses on diminishing pastures.
Democracy and privatisation were enshrined in a new constitution, but the collapse of the economy after the withdrawal of Soviet support triggered widespread poverty and unemployment in the sparsely-populated, landlocked country.
Mr Ban has previously visited environmental hotspots such as the melting icecaps of the Antarctic and the rainforests of Brazil, hoping to keep the spotlight focused on global warming.</p
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
So long, and thanks for all the fish
July 20th, 2009 |
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Efforts to ban the international trade in bluefin tuna
EXTINCTION comes in various ways. The dodo was done in by sailors who not only killed the birds themselves but also brought to Mauritius animals such as dogs and pigs that plundered their nests. Przewalski’s horse, which once roamed the steppes of Mongolia, is thought to have become too dispersed in the wild to breed. It was saved from extinction only because there happened to be some specimens in European zoos that were reintroduced to Mongolia in the 1980s. As efforts to prevent the bluefin tuna suffering a similar fate are increased, some conservationists wonder whether there will still be a breeding population left to save.
Bluefin tuna are a pelagic species: they live in the open waters, far beyond the reach (and governance) of individual nations. They are also one of those predators at the top of the ocean’s food chain, preyed upon mostly by man. They grow up to four metres (12 feet) in length, weigh as much as 250kg (550lb) and, when chasing prey—mostly sardines—can swim at a speed of 70kph (45mph). They also range widely, traversing the Atlantic Ocean to reach breeding grounds in the Mediterranean Sea. But what was once known as the common tunny has, over the past few decades, come to be at serious risk of extinction, thanks to overfishing driven by demand from Japan, where bluefin tuna are considered a delicacy and are used in sushi and sashimi. …