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ABOUT EG-UUR WATERSHED AREA Geographical location The Eg-Uur watershed area (EUWA) is located in a remote region of Northern Mongolia where the Eg and Uur rivers meet. The Eg River, 474km in length with 40,454 km2 of catchments area, originates from Lake Hovsgol and flows south where it meets with the Uur River. The Uur River, 331 km in length with 12,300km2 of catchments area, originates from the Kheven- Saluu Mountains in NE Hovsgol Province and flows south until it meets the Eg River. The merged Eg-Uur, recognized from this point on as the Eg River, flows for another 200 km's until it reaches the Selenge River, a tributary of Lake Baikal. The triangular shaped watershed area, consisting of the Eg and the Uur rivers until the point of confluence with the Selenge River is recognized as the Eg Uur Watershed Area (EUWA), a total area of approximately 3.48 million hectare, which constitutes about 16.3 per cent of the total catchments of the Arctic Basin in Mongolia.

The EUWA is a mosaic of forest and grassland including characteristic species of Siberian and Mongolian taiga. The region is characterized by dark chestnut, chestnut and podzol soils. The forest ecosystem of the area comprises the forested areas of the eastern part of Lake Hovsgol, between 49°30'N-51°N and 100°E-106°E.

Located in the South Baikal forest zone, the EUWA contains about 10 percent of forest reserves of Mongolia. It includes taiga and sub-taiga forest zones, with such dominant species as cedar, taiga cedar, taiga larch, sub-taiga larch and birch. The forest and grassland that covers the entire region contributes not only to the overall health of the Eg-Uur watershed region, but also to a protected area across the border in Russia. The region has great potential to develop and promote trans-boundary conservation initiatives. It is a major water catchments area for Mongolia and Russia.

EUWA supports many Mongolian Red Book species of plants (including those of medicinal value), birds, fish and mammals, notably wild reindeer, musk deer, Hucho taimen, great bustard, swan goose, black stork, and white tailed and imperial eagles. Because the EUWA has two sources of water originating from extremely distinct and unique ecosystems, the Eg River is fed by Lake Hovsgol (UNESCO World Heritage site candidate) and the Uur River is fed by mountain run-off and spring creeks, the confluence area contains taiga riparian and wetland biodiversity unparalleled in the world.

Climate The region's climate is continental, dry and cold. The mean temperature in winter is -20°C and in summer it is 15-20°C. In this area, winter starts in the last 10 days of October and lasts for 140-170 days. Snow starts to fall very early in the autumn season, averaging 5-10 cm, and in some areas reaching as much as 36 cm. The mean precipitation in the area ranges from 250 to 350 mm.

Population The EUWA has a population of 20,800, with 5,334 households. More than half of the population is engaged in semi-nomadic livestock herding, while the rest live in settlements, mostly in district centers and villages.

Fish The EUWA is internationally known to support the richest and most diverse collection of taiga riparian fish species, and is one of the last remaining natural habitats for the taimen (Hucho Taimen "Siberian") (length of up to 2.0 m, weight 50 kg), the world's largest salmon and one of its least studied freshwater game species. The region provides a natural habitat for over 12 fish species, such as the taimen, and including the: Siberian Sturgeon (Acipenser baeri), Arctic Cisco (Coregonus autumnalis), Grayling (Thymallus arcticus), Asian trout (Brachymystax lenok), Minnow (Phoxinus phoxinus), Lagowskii's Minnow (Phoxinus Lagowskii), White fish (Coregonus lavaretus), Stone loach (Nemachilus barbatulus), Siberian spiny loach (Cobitus taenia sibirica), Burbot (Lota lota), Common carp (Cyprinus carpio) and Pike (Esox lucius).Based on the frequency of occurrence, the fish species are classified in three groups in Mongolia: very rare (Siberian sturgeon and common carp), rare (taimen, Lagowskii's minnow, white fish, stone loach, Siberian spiny loach, burbot and pike), common (Asian trout "lenok"{the long nose species}, grayling and minnow).

Taimen The taimen is one of three species in the Hucho genus: Hucho Perryi (Para Hucho Perryi, "Sakhalin"), Hucho Taimen ("Siberian"), Hucho Hucho (Huchen, Danube Salmon). The Hucho Taimen habitat traditionally extended from east of the Urals to the Siberian Far East, with highest concentrations residing in tributaries and littoral areas of Lake Baikal, including on its southern reaches: Mongolia and SE Russia. The Highly endangered Hucho Hucho lives in small pockets throughout the Danube river watershed in Central and Eastern Europe. The Hucho Perryi, the anadromous cousin of the Hucho Taimen, has a range that is limited to the rivers that connect to the Sea of Japan. Today, the stocks of all Hucho species are drastically decreasing around the world due to water pollution, intensive poaching/hunting and over-fishing. The EUWA is one of the last remaining habitats that hold a robust Hucho population. Of the three taimen species in the Hucho genus the IUCN lists the Hucho Hucho as "Endangered". Whereas, the Hucho Taimen has been listed under Mongolia and Russia's version of the IUCN Red Book as threatened. However; the IUCN hasn't recognized either country's classifications yet, as a conclusive study to determine an internationally accepted threatened species classification has not been produced. An important output of this project is to establish an IUCN threatened species classification for the Hucho Taimen.

Animal In addition to fish species, the region is a habitat to 51 mammals and 21 species of rodents, many of which are endemic and, or, endangered. The EUWA contains the last remaining wild reindeer (Rangifer tarandus) habitat in Mongolia, which is an important gene pool source for cross-border breeding with the Russian herds. The reindeer herd with about 30 animals, inhabits the taiga forest at the Uur river basin. Other mammals that are found in the areas are musk deer (Moschus moschiferus), tyo species of moose (Alces alces pfizenmayeri and Alces alces cameloides), Maral Stag (Cervus candensis), Siberian elk and wild boar (Sus scrofa). Among those, musk-deer, reindeer and moose are listed in the Red Book of Mongolia, while red deer and boar are classified as rare. The carnivores are also well represented in the region, such as Pallas' cat (Felis manul), brown bear (Ursus arctos), gray wolf (Canis lupus), red fox (Vulpes vulpes), corsac fox (Vulpes corsac), stoat (Mustela erminae) steppe polecat (Mustela eversmanni), Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx), Eurasian badger (Meles meles) and lesser weasel (Mustela nivalis). Among the rodents, the red squirrel (Sciurus vulgaris) and marmot (Siberian marmot) have become very rare in recent years.

Bird The EUWA is also known for its rich bird species, 189 in total, of which 123 are migratory. Among them, 9 species are listed in the Mongolian version of the Red Book, including the black stork (Ciconia nigra), whooper swan (Cygnus Cygnus), swan goose (Anser cygnoides), osprey (Pandion haliaetus), white tailed eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla), hooded crane (Grus monacha), white-napped crane (Grus vipio), great bustard (Otis tarda), and Eurasian penduline tit (Remiz pendulinus). In recent years, the region has also become habitat for the Imperial eagles (Aquila heliaca), whose population has drastically decreased in the south Siberia and Lake Baikal areas over the last few years. A total of 18 species of waterfowl have been identified during spring and autumn, many of whom spend the summer in the region.

In addition, there are many species of insects, mollusks, amphibians and reptiles that are critical to maintain an ecological balance in the region. The papilio muchaon (Papilio machaon) and privet hawk-moth (Sphinx ligustru) that are found in the region, for example, are also listed in the Mongolian Red Book.