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In This Issue:TCVC Opens Its Doors to Two Incredible Visitors Stakeholders Gather for Meeting on Taiga Issues Field Notes from Itgel Volunteer Katrina Shum (Canada) This Month’s Featured Partners ContactThe Itgel Foundation In Mongolia:
The Itgel Foundation In the US:The Itgel Foundation Telephone: |
Greetings from Mongolia!TCVC Opens Its Doors to Two Incredible VisitorsJuly 18th marked an exciting occasion for Itgel and the Tsaatan community: It was the date of the arrival of the first official visitors through the TCVC. In conjunction with tour operator partner Boojum Expeditions, two American travelers, Larry Pixley and Robin Ratcliffe, arranged their visit to the remote Tsaatan community through this newly-established facility, allowing Tsaatan community members to be directly involved in all stages of the tourism chain. This not only brought direct income to the community, but allowed herders to set standards and guidelines for this and future visits, ensuring the interests of their community in the face of increasing tourism.  The TCVC could not have had better luck with the first official visitors. Witnessing first hand the potential of the TCVC to bring profound benefits to the Tsaatan people through economic and social improvements, and recognizing the current need for remote communications systems to link the TCVC with remote herders, Larry and Robin went home from their visit on a mission: Help the TCVC acquire two long-distance two-way radio sets. The couple provided funds for the first set, and mobilized friends and colleagues in Maine to contribute money towards a second set. Within a month of their return from Mongolia, funds were provided to acquire two complete sets, to be placed at the TCVC and in the West Taiga respectively within the next 1-2 months. The generosity and continued support of the two TCVC visitors will have far-reaching benefits for the Tsaatan community. Thank you Larry and Robin! Itgel in SiberiaOn August 8-13, Itgel executive director, Morgan Keay attended the 12th Arctic Ungulate Conference (AUC) in Yakutia, Russia to present abstracts on Itgel’s research. The AUC is an event which brings leading experts on reindeer and other arctic wildlife together to discuss and share research and topics on issuing affecting ungulates of the north. Itgel presented research conducted over the previous four years on topics of reindeer husbandry in the Tsaatan community. In attendance were representatives from more than six countries, including a delegation of Saami reindeer herders from Scandinavia.  Stakeholders Gather for Meeting on Taiga IssuesFollowing a 2-day workshop in the Tsaatan community focusing on natural resource conservation through community-based initiatives, Itgel partner organizations Wildlife Conservation Society and UNDP’s Altai-Sayan Project, hosted a meeting in Ulaanbaatar for NGOs and other stakeholders involved in Tsaatan and taiga issues. As a leader in the network of attendees, which included more than 10 NGOs, Mongolian ministry officials, and news media representatives, Itgel actively participated to forge strategies for conserving natural resources in the Tsaatan’s taiga home region, while empowering the community through initiatives such as community-based tourism. The occasion was an excellent opportunity to reaffirm the importance of cooperative partnerships amongst all parties working for the benefit of the Tsaatan community. Partnerships Itgel has been dedicated to building over the last half decade. 
The past few months have been challenging and rewarding to work with the Tsaatan community and the Itgel Foundation to develop sustainable tourism in the taiga. The Tsaatan Community and Visitor's Center (TCVC) is a newly constructed, two-story facility that overlooks Tsaagan Nuur (White Lake). More than just a building, the TCVC is a community operated initiative that will provide economic opportunities for the Tsaatan and serve as a hub for all visitors to the taiga. The past few months have been challenging and rewarding to work with the Tsaatan community and the Itgel Foundation to develop sustainable tourism in the taiga. The Tsaatan Community and Visitor's Center (TCVC) is a newly constructed, two-story facility that overlooks Tsaagan Nuur (White Lake). More than just a building, the TCVC is a community operated initiative that will provide economic opportunities for the Tsaatan and serve as a hub for all visitors to the taiga. The past few months have been challenging and rewarding to work with the Tsaatan community and the Itgel Foundation to develop sustainable tourism in the taiga. The Tsaatan Community and Visitor's Center (TCVC) is a newly constructed, two-story facility that overlooks Tsaagan Nuur (White Lake). More than just a building, the TCVC is a community operated initiative that will provide economic opportunities for the Tsaatan and serve as a hub for all visitors to the taiga.
When I first began working with the Tsaatan community, I was saddened to hear of families who were beginning to move camps for the sake of tourism and disappointed to learn of how little money from existing tourism has been directed to the community. To address these matters, I have been working for the last three months to develop the TCVC, focusing primarily on developing operational, communications, and financial systems at the TCVC. While I have a background in community-based ecotourism, the nomadic lifestyle of the Tsaatan was a curve ball in coordinating the logistics of sustainable tourism in the taiga. It requires creative solutions allowing for herders living far in the taiga to experience benefits of the TCVC. Through lengthy discussions with the community and with sustainable tourism experts in Ulaanbaatar, we are in the process of developing three basic frameworks at the TCVC:
This month’s featured partners
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