https://phaidra.vetmeduni.ac.at/o:3871 What Will the Future Bring - Socio-Economic Challenges to Herder Households in the Great Gobi B Strictly Protected Area in Mongolia Michler, Lena M. Lena M. Michler 0000-0002-8031-7491 Kaczensky, Petra Petra Kaczensky 0000-0001-5428-1176 University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna Batsukh, Daginnas Daginnas Batsukh 0000-0002-8952-3945 Treydte, Anna C. Anna C. Treydte 0000-0003-0605-3069 Springer journal article open access eng Nomadic pastoralism is still practiced by around one-third of the Mongolian population. Recent socio-economic constraints have challenged pastoral livelihoods and rising livestock numbers threaten overall rangeland health and biodiversity conservation. In the Mongolian Gobi, herder households fully depend on livestock production but little is known about their livelihood trends and potential compatibility with protected area goals. We combined interview data in the Great Gobi B strictly protected area (SPA) with secondary data on regional and national herder households to determine the importance of social networks, willingness to continue a herding lifestyle, and degree of involvement in protected area (PA) management. Our descriptive data confirm that herding is no longer centred on a subsistence lifestyle but rather around cashmere production. Contrary to sustainability goals, especially in protected areas, herder households continue to increase livestock numbers in response to high expenditures in the economic reality of a market economy. We conclude that herders in the Great Gobi B SPA are reaching neither socio-economically nor ecologically sustainable livestock numbers which challenge herders' livelihoods and PA management alike. We recommend enhancing communication between the PA management and the herding community and increasing participatory conservation activities. National strategies are needed to resolve the current dilemma of increasing livestock numbers to meet livelihood demands and the growing threat to rangeland health. Global Assessment Management Market Communities Dynamics Impacts Peoples Needs http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ https://phaidra.vetmeduni.ac.at/api/object/o:3871/download 10.1007/s10745-024-00551-z https://phaidra.vetmeduni.ac.at/o:605 application/pdf Human Ecology issn:1572-9915 VoR Human Ecology 52 2.13 MB 2024