« Back Copyright ©2025. All Rights Reserved. Design, CMS, Hosting & Web Development :: ePublishingCookie Settings 2024 /MONTSAME/. A State Worship Ceremony for Аltai Tavan Bogd Mountain of the Altai Mountains was held on July 22 President Khurelsukh Ukhnaa was welcomed to the specially prepared place Guards of Honor raised the Mongolian State flag the Southern Banner of the Army Black Banners They placed the portrait of the Great Emperor Chinggis Khaan and the Seven State Treasures President Khurelsukh Ukhnaa noted that the Worship Ceremony for Sacred Mountains is a venerable practice rich in history Recognizing its significance for fostering relations between humanity and nature and preserving nature's pristine state UNESCO inscribed this cultural heritage on the List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding in 2017.  Mongolia is working to register the towering mountains of Altai as a UNESCO World Heritage site spearheaded by Altai Tavan Bogd Mountain. The President expressed confidence that this initiative would significantly contribute to the global recognition of Mongolia's Altai Mountains as a vital site of natural and cultural heritage while preserving the Mongolian tradition of environment protection for future generations and stimulating the region's development Following the remarks of the President of Mongolia the Epic Singer performed the Tuuli "Altain Magtaal" [Praise to the Altai Mountains] Member of the State Great Khural of Mongolia Bum-Ochir Dulma read an address to the Spirit of the Mountain and handed over the address to be kept in the Bayan-Ulgii Aimag Museum The snowcapped Khuiten Peak of Altai Tavan Bogd Mountain Khuiten Peak rises 4,374 m above sea level The Altai Tavan Bogd Mountain has several peaks Just one month after oil major Chevron acquired independent producer Noble Energy Israeli officials have slapped the company's Leviathan platform with a $1.1 million fine for "blatant violations" of water pollution regulations.  According to Israel's Ministry of Environmental Protection Noble's Leviathan gas platform obtained a permit to discharge process water into the sea when it began operating in December 2019 tests conducted by the agency's marine unit found that Noble Energy violated some of the conditions in the discharge permit in the first five months after startup The violations included breaches of a requirement to report deviations to the ministry's inspectors.  The ministry's top supervision official pursued financial sanctions against Noble under Israel's Prevention of Sea Pollution from Land-Based Sources Law "Chevron must learn the lessons from Noble Energy's blatant violation We will not allow giant companies to endanger the public The national unit for marine environmental protection in my office closely monitors all facilities and activities at sea in Israel The policy is clear - the polluter pays," said Minister of Environmental Protection Gila Gamliel in a statement.  Leviathan has run afoul of Israeli regulators several times in its first year of operation an independent investigator commissioned by the ministry found that the rig's operators were unaware of the serious danger posed by a large gas leak that occurred on May 2 Platform staff appeared unaware of industry-standard accident investigation procedures and had difficulty finding the firm's own hazard assessment materials the ministry faulted Leviathan for failing to keep track of its flare stack emissions and residents had complained about the frequency of the platform's flaring Noble asserted that since the start of the platform's operations "there has not been a single occurrence in which the environment has been harmed." Noble's stakes in the giant Tamar and Leviathan gas fields are a key part of its development portfolio and were among the primary motivating factors for Chevron in its acquisition.  Our slow travel expert rides a train through a region of lakes and forests which deserves to be far better known The elegant main railway station in the Hanseatic city of Lübeck is well suited to grand departures but these are few and far between these days The only international destination served from Lübeck is Szczecin Half a dozen daily trains ply a meandering route through sparsely populated terrain on a 185-mile journey that starts in Holstein and then crosses Mecklenburg to reach Pomerania Today it’s a chance to see off-the-beaten-track communities in a remote part of eastern Germany I start my journey by Lübeck’s celebrated Holstentor: it’s an extraordinary mid-15th-century city gate and sets the scene for the journey east towards Poland The rail route from Lübeck to Szczecin is known as the Stadttore-Linie (the Town Gates Route) Several places along it boast fine examples of defensive gates most of them in an architectural style found across the Baltic region It’s called by the German name Backsteingotik (brick gothic) View image in fullscreenJourney’s start: Lübeck’s Holstentor Photograph: mauritius images/AlamyLübeck’s Holstentor is a good place to reflect on the remarkable wealth and influence Lübeck enjoyed in the Hanseatic era Travellers who stop off along the Stadttore-Linie will find fine small towns that thrived on Hanseatic connections though none is as elaborate as the Lübeck example buck the brick-gothic trend in favour of neo-baroque style empty storks’ nests and nervous deerHearing that the train to Szczecin is a no-frills affair it is just a five-minute walk to Platform 1 at Lübeck station where a modest two-carriage diesel train is ready to depart on its journey of almost five hours to Szczecin I suspect that no one on board is really travelling right through to Poland “I’ve never travelled that far,” says the train’s guard “In fact I’ve never been to Poland,” he adds as our train pirouettes around the west and south sides of Lübeck slipping through the suburb of St Jürgen with fine views of Lübeck’s famous skyline away to the left The medley of churches and distinctive redbrick warehouses has earned Lübeck a place on Unesco’s world heritage list as a showpieceof Hanseatic style Our route east shuns the coast, resolutely staying well inland. I stop off here and there, revisiting communities I knew from the early days after German reunification. We glide past lakes and forests, frequently catching glimpses of weathered farmsteads, empty storks’ nests and nervous deer. Read moreI stay overnight in Güstrow, which is spick and span compared with 30 years ago, but this small town has lost 20% of its population since then (Hotel am Schlosspark has doubles from €99 with breakfast) The attraction here is something different: a mysteriously beautiful sculpture by Ernst Barlach which floats just above head height in Güstrow’s imposing brick-gothic church Barlach lived in Güstrow and the piece was created in 1927 as a memorial to those who perished in the first world war and features clearly resembling artist Käthe Kollwitz the suspended angel speaks of a need for peace in a troubled world and I am now keen to see the near-identical Barlach sculpture in Cologne View image in fullscreenErnst Barlach’s floating angel sculpture in the church at Güstrow Photograph: Dpa Picture Alliance/AlamyThe night in Güstrow is blissfully peaceful and early next morning I am back on the slow train heading east towards Poland whose brick-gothic town gate is even older than Lübeck’s Teterow is the western gateway to a mildly hilly area which styles itself as Mecklenburg’s answer to Switzerland there is nothing Swiss about the Mecklenburgische Schweiz As with so many rural regions of eastern Germany this is an area with few visitors from afar being only an hour or two from the German capital it is much feted by Berliners for its rural charm and varied landscapes and tell me I have missed a trick by not stopping off there featured trips and local tips for your next break as well as the latest deals from Guardian Holidays View image in fullscreenSzczecin in Poland is very close to the border with Germany Photograph: Alamy“One for the future,” I note adding Malchin to my growing list of small towns in eastern Germany which would surely repay a night or two Now we are leaving the forests and entering agricultural country with far horizons and then bridge the Randow just before Löcknitz where the spire of the village’s brick church points tall and proud into the Pomeranian sky The gates are merely the milestones on a rail journey which is a marvellous slow-travel diversionGrambow is the last station in Germany The German-Polish border is by and large defined by rivers (the Oder and the Neisse) but as we approach Szczecin there is an area of land on the west bank of the Oder which belongs to Poland Within five minutes of crossing the frontier our train is running through the suburbs of Szczecin passing apartment blocks and retail parks on the final run into the city’s main station It is an easy walk to Szczecin’s two surviving gates both strangely isolated amid swirls of traffic But the gates are merely the milestones on a rail journey which is a marvellous slow-travel diversion one that reminded me of the exquisite beauty of a flatland region which deserves to be far better known The train that runs from Lübeck to Szczecin is a local service and offers few creature comforts The Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Ticket (MVT) is great value at €22 for the entire route (and even back again) The ticket is valid for one day and stops are allowed but with an overnight stop you need to buy a new MVT for the second day Global Interrail passes are valid on the entire route German scientist Meline Brendel stands amid reed in a rewetted mire area in Neukalen near Malchin Germany: Amid the fields of northern Germany a vast expanse of bulrushes has been planted to form one of Europe's largest reclaimed marshes the 10-hectare (25-acre) plot close to the town of Malchin was a simple field Like 98 percent of Germany's historic wetlands the area slowly dried up over centuries as its peat was harvested and the soil cultivated for grain or keeping livestock the land has been rewetted and planted with rushes that rise up to two metres (seven feet) high With rubber boots that go up to her knees and a GPS navigation device in hand biologist Meline Brendel wades through the marshes' stagnant waters "Marshes cover three percent of the Earth's surface and trap twice as much CO2 as all forests," says Brendel such bogs are massive sinks for carbon locked into the peat and prevented from escaping as gas by the water that covers the ground the earth releases the stored carbon when it comes into contact with oxygen marshes therefore emit more CO2 than all forms of transport put together," says the scientist one hectare of drained marshland produces as much CO2 as a car travelling 145,000 kilometres (90,000 miles) current and former wetlands cover some five percent of the country's land area -- although the overwhelming majority has been drained the government-financed Paludi-PROGRESS project funded the rewetting of the former marshland the area is habitat to a multitude of birds The bulrushes are cut each year and used for household insulation Brendel navigates her way through the wet maze sinking a spike into the peat as she goes to measure the level of the water "The problem is that projects like ours are still just pilots The plants cannot yet be used on an industrial scale" as material for roofing or insulation which aims to make Europe's top economy carbon neutral by 2045 last year launched a four-billion-euro ($4.5 billion) four-year plan of action to "improve the general state of ecosystems" in the country Half of the programme's funds will go toward protecting marshes A new law encouraging such efforts within the EU was recently adopted by the European Parliament the programmes have run into opposition from farmers the point is not to "force the rewetting of fields on farmers" but to convince them of its importance for the climate and the possibility to make a living from cultivating wetland The 28-year-old scientist concedes that farming marshes is currently "not recognised as agriculture and farmers therefore don't have access to organic farming subsidies" "We need to make it more accessible and less bureaucratic to turn drained land back into marshes and to share what we have learned." Bavarian farmer Lorenz Kratzer opted for an intermediate solution: keeping livestock on marshland that is slightly less wet than normal and giving his animals plenty of land to roam On a hot summer's day in Freising in southern Germany 20 or so of his cows seek the shade of the trees and bushes growing on his marshland used for grazing As the soil dries out due to climate change the 64-year-old says it "would be a very good thing.. "The creation of pastures goes along well with this You can see that the grass is growing better," he said showing that it's possible to combine agriculture and marshland protection a herd of cows grazes peacefully in a field "You can't see it but carbon is escaping from the ground" dried to make pastures for livestock who dreams of a world where "there are no more dry marshes" This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks The action you just performed triggered the security solution There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page “Annual profitability from sheep flock in Mongolia could reach USD 1 billion which equals to ¼ of the government budget and will definitely help promote the economic growth of the country Each herder household will become able to directly earn MNT 300 million in a year only with less than 1,000 livestock animals helping the country’s economy to flourish and triggering market benefits Mongolians have ample opportunities to become billionaires with its great wealth of growing population of livestock,” noted the team of the Chineeleg Malchin Boijuulakh Tuv NGO intending to address challenges in the animal husbandry and herders The non-government organization is willing to divert public attention to this area.  Mongolia has been seeking to export meat abroad in the past three decades The only obstacle is diseases in grazing animals foreign quarantine services usually became hesitant to buy meat from Mongolia The problem is often aggravated by Mongolians’ traditional practice in animal husbandry herders spend 4-5 years of hard work and labor to raise their animals which causes overgrazing and wasting their precious time herders have the opportunity of meat processing of young livestock animals to sell on the market.  Foreigners arriving in Mongolia prefer to eat meat from pasture-raised animals which perhaps can be found in Mongolia only we do not pay much attention or understand this valuable healthy and organic food we have Some countries misjudge that Mongolian livestock animals are ‘ill’ and it is worth mentioning that there is excessive use of Ivomec injection Young livestock animals under the age of one are less prone to diseases and their meat is properly considered a healthy and clean product.  The Chineeleg Malchin Boijuulakh Tuv NGO has very well understood the situation and has introduced the ‘Mongolian Lamb’ lamb brand naming it as one of the solutions to problems in the industry The brand project – ‘Mongolian Lamb’ has been launched by the Chineeleg Malchin Boijuulakh Tuv NGO within the framework of its ‘Wealthy Herder’ program in cooperation with Mon Ecolamb LLC.  head of Chineeleg Malchin Boijuulakh Tuv NGO told “We have started to make improvements in the livestock flock structures and ensure supply of animal meat to the market within a short period to make herders businesspeople and producers.”  The ‘Wealthy Herder’ project was carried out to make Gobisumber aimag a model region with tasks to change herders’ mindset and approach and to breed livestock population with animals with extra vertebrae and with breeds of Barga and Uzemchin for meat production the breed quality in Gobisumber’s livestock population has been improved and the live weight of six to seven-month-old lambs averaged more than 35 kilograms The same works are in full swing in other aimags Herders in the regions started selling lamb meat through the Chineeleg Malchin Boijuulakh Tuv NGO and Khovd aimags which implemented the program to provide their lamb meat.  Under a tripartite agreement of Chineeleg Malchin Boijuulakh Tuv NGO Mon Ecolamb LLC and Tsaluut Impex LLC – meat factory pasture-grazed lamb meat branded as ‘Mongolian lamb’ which are produced to satisfy international quality and health standards with proper packaging are offered on the market These measures are designed for preventing pastureland degradation that is associated with overgrazing and are aimed at providing residents with organic lamb meat and allow them to build healthy eating habits with domestic food products herders are given chances to reduce their burden by tending to fewer animals with increased benefits and to enjoy regular income from their livestock flocks it is undisputed that the Mongolian Lamb brand is a comprehensive project to bring reform to Mongolia’s agricultural system.  a livestock census for 2020 by the National Statistics Office of Mongolia shows that Mongolia had 67 million livestock animals in 2020 after reaching an all-time high of 70.9 million in 2019 there are 14-15 million dams and the remaining 15 million sheep are grazing through pasturelands without yielding any significant benefits and adding work burden on around 230,000 herder households.  “I do not understand why people object to consuming lamb They never think about millions of livestock animals dying every year,” said Mr.Odser it has been thousands of years since the world first introduced into their diet meat from young sheep in their young or adolescents ages when the meat is the richest in nutrition and minerals I believe that Mongolia has the potential to make the lamb a global brand and supply to the world countries by way of keeping its basic and traditional animal husbandry production knowledge and making management reforms since the type of pasture-grazed lamb is found only in Mongolia The world knows that this is a valuable product.”  Mongolian people imagine a baby animal feeding from her mother when they hear this word meat from lambs who reached 8-12 months already has the highest nutritional value and contains many vitamins and minerals and becomes an excellent component of a healthy diet Odser said “Each whole meat of sheep provided to us by our partner - meat producers within the program weights up to 17-23 kilograms This shows our project’s economic viability and capability to provide healthy foods to the population With around 20 million heads of good quality lambs we could use 5-6 million of them for domestic meat consumption and export the remaining 14-15 million to foreign countries at an average retail price of USD 10-15 That way 230,000 herder households in Mongolia could earn an annual income of USD 1.5-2 billion per annum and businesses will grow thanks to the value chain created by the lamb exports Five to ten times of increase in income of Ulaanbaatar city and other larger residential regions will lead to the promotion of small and medium-sized businesses and manufacturers helping the country to achieve economic growth.”  “Why ‘Mongolian Lamb’ brand cannot be like a global franchise such as KFC and McDonalds with presence in New York That is our motive – to become a chain that covers the whole world we are aiming to create brand products that meet every customer's need for pasture-grown eco and clean products Eco and Premium that are available in every corner of the world We are ready to overcome all challenges to arise on our way ahead.”  “Arab countries are buying lamb meat from us in recent years need to learn to adopt habits of eating clean and healthy foods and give the cleanest food to our loved ones We need to produce and eat the tender and healthy lamb meats and sell them abroad A brand for lamb meat is being introduced for the first time in Mongolia The launch for the ‘Mongolian Lamb’ project took place at Saruul Market in Ulaanbaatar city on November 1 The project is being launched within the framework of the ‘Wealthy Herder’ programme by ‘Chineeleg Malchin Boijuulakh Tuv’ NGO in partnership with ‘Mon Ecolamb’ LLC We asked a few questions about the project from Head of Chineeleg Malchin Boijuulakh Tuv NGO L.Odser -The main goal of the project was initially thought to be a meat processing of small livestock in compliance with foreign market requirements and its export it seems that the project means much more than that the project’s main focus is to have herders put their livestock into domestic economic circulation alongside export Organic lamb meat is commonly consumed for its tenderness throughout the world So why can’t we prepare them domestically and create a brand alongside consuming our own healthy Organic refers to lamb meat being prepared by having the livestock solely graze on pastures Herders spend 3-4 years on their livestock to have them grow bigger losing their time and worsening the current state of over-pasturing we have the opportunity to process the meat of smaller livestock and put them on the market during this timeframe our project aims to show that lamb meat is possible to provide for both domestic and foreign markets this will also serve as a solution to effectively solving the pressing issue of growth in livestock population by putting them into economic circulation We are working with our end goal to protect our pasture -How many herders are participating in the project -There are many herders that are voluntarily being involved after being informed in the framework of our programme Herders are participating from all 21 aimags of the country Our goal is to introduce the mindset in herders that they have the option to put the meat of smaller livestock on the market without being limited to full grown livestock and introduce a preparatory model in Mongolia We are currently implementing our activities as an incubator project -Could you elaborate on the partnership with ‘Mon Ecolamb’ LLC?  -The private-owned company accepted our partnership offer as a newly established business companies seem to be rather hesitant to make big steps in the area I believe this is due to the Mongolian tradition to not consume the meat of smaller livestock it is only by changing the way we think that we will be able to solve various issues and get behind the challenge I am grateful for the brave decision of ‘Mon Ecolamb’ company to be involved in the activities -How will the activities of the ‘Wealthy Herder’ programme expand in the future -We plan to open a leather and hide processing center Training sessions will also be organized for herders in preparing lamb meat we plan to cooperate with herders in creating additional pastureland The Wealthy Herder programme aims to solve various pressing issues in the animal husbandry sector domestic migration from rural areas to urban settlements “All of the 230 thousand herder households in Mongolia are producers By improving the quality of livestock and commercializing our goal is to boost their income to the upper-middle class.” In his remarks at the project launch ceremony Head of the Mongolian Meat Association B.Purevdorj said “I perceive the introduction of lamb meat in Mongolia through the joint work of herders and animal husbandry experts at the initiative of a private entity is a way of protecting the pasture The project activities are expected to bring various improvements a herder of Gobisumber aimag M.Munkhzaya said “Us herders have been waiting for a moment like this We are very happy to put our lamb meat on sale and learn that Mongolian meat will also soon be available on the global market I believe that this is an opportunity to improve the quality of our livestock and reduce their numbers.” “The Wealthy Herder programme first launched in Gobi-Sumber aimag they are implementing the activities in western and central aimags Someone from Dornod aimag has also recently contacted me to learn from my experience The programme is beneficial for herders as we will be able to reduce our load on pasture When the programme initially launched in our aimag in 2019 we are currently using pelleted feeds that were specially made by scholars and specialists in the animal husbandry sector We have also begun to take care of our lambs from early on We were aware of the programme’s goal from the very start While we had to herd our livestock for 2-3 years until they were fully grown now we receive benefits from well-herded lambs just the same as we do from full grown livestock one of my lambs was sold for MNT 100 thousand,” he continued The project launch ceremony was attended by representatives of restaurants and cafes and herders of Gobisumber and Dundgobi aimags.  document.getElementById("comment").setAttribute("id","a829be8e0e2d9fd898af66f6d4af6db3");document.getElementById("a31dd1c797").setAttribute("id","comment"); 2001) an MI-8 helicopter carrying Mongolian government officials journalists and the flight crew crashed in Uvs province The people on board were flying by Mongolian Airlines (MIAT) flight JU1025  to assess damages and disaster due to winter drought in Uvs Province crashed tragically They had planned to fly back to Ulaanbaatar the next day They were on an official humanitarian mission to determine how the world could help the many Mongolians affected by the ‘dzud’ of 2001 The crew departed from Ulaangom on the morning of 14 January and tried to land on the winter grazing land of herder Zandan which was located at the foot of Mount Bayankhairkhan and 15 kilometers southeast of Malchin soum in Uvs Province the Russian-made MI-8 helicopter spun out of control about 50 meters (165 feet) off the ground Member of Parliament of Mongolia; Sabine Metzner-Strack from Germany United Nations Disaster Assessment and Coordination (UNDAC) team leader and head of the Asia & Pacific Desk Disaster Response Branch in OCHA; Gerard Le Claire from Jersey UNDAC team member and Director of Environmental Services of the Jersey Planning & Environmental Department; Matthew Girvin from the United States of America Programme Officer of the UNICEF office in Mongolia; Batchuluun Bayarmaa from Mongolia Programme Officer of the UNFPA office in Mongolia; Tsevegmid Batzorig photographer from Mongolia’s Gamma Agency; Takahiro Kato a 2.5 meter marble sculpture was built close to the accident site The sculpture is carved with the words “On January 14 2001 people on a humanitarian mission were lost They will never be forgotten.” The names of deceased are also on the sculpture was established and a monument dedicated to Sh.Otgonbileg was unveiled in the city of Erdenet document.getElementById("comment").setAttribute("id","a5358732178cf444db8e5d0a1ec48580");document.getElementById("a31dd1c797").setAttribute("id","comment"); State Merit Athlete Ch.Boldbaatar climbed Altai Tavan Bogd accompanied by his daughter however went missing during the descent from the 4051 meter high Malchin peak His daughter contacted local police and the emergency office asking for support The missing mountaineer is suspected to have fallen into a crevice by his daughter The rescue team resumed the search for the missing mountaineer in Altai Tavan Bogd Local mountaineers from Bayan-Ulgii aimag have also joined the search team to help non-professional mountaineers may find it difficult to conduct a search in the mountain so a mountaineer team from Ulaanbaatar may head to Bayan-Ulgii If the search team does not find the missing man today professional mountaineers will be sent to conduct a search around the Malchin peak document.getElementById("comment").setAttribute("id","a86eb0788346f482795925d7b86e24da");document.getElementById("a31dd1c797").setAttribute("id","comment");