Legal Analysis of the Current Status of the Bogdkhan Mountain Strictly Protected Area: Challenges and Policy Recommendations

Bogdkhan Mountain, one of the world's oldest legally protected areas and a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, has experienced increasing urban development despite its status as a Strictly Protected Area under Mongolian law. This study examines the legal framework governing the Bogdkhan Mountain Strictly Protected Area (BMSPA), evaluates the current implementation of conservation legislation, identifies institutional and regulatory deficiencies, and proposes legal and policy reforms to reconcile biodiversity conservation with urban development. The research employs doctrinal legal analysis combined with comparative legal research and policy analysis. More than forty national legal instruments, international treaties, policy documents, administrative regulations, and foreign best practices concerning protected-area governance were examined. In addition, a questionnaire survey was conducted among residents living within the restricted-use zone of the BMSPA.
The findings reveal significant inconsistencies within Mongolia's legal framework. Although the Law on Special Protected Areas prohibits permanent construction within Strictly Protected Areas, other statutory provisions and subordinate regulations have facilitated the allocation of land-use rights within the restricted-use zone. As a consequence, approximately 35.4% of the restricted-use zone has been allocated for land use, resulting in extensive residential development and increasing ecological pressure. The study further demonstrates inconsistencies between national environmental policies, Mongolia's obligations under the Convention on Biological Diversity, and urban planning policies adopted for Ulaanbaatar.
Drawing upon international experience relating to Urban Protected Areas and contemporary principles of environmental governance, the study proposes comprehensive legal reforms, including harmonization of conflicting legislation, repeal of inconsistent subordinate regulations, revision of land-use policies, adoption of an updated management plan based on ecological carrying capacity, and the establishment of a specialized legal regime for urban protected areas. It further argues that Bogdkhan Mountain should be developed as a model Urban Protected Area that balances biodiversity conservation, sustainable tourism, public recreation, and constitutional protection of private property rights. The proposed reforms aim to strengthen environmental governance while ensuring the long-term conservation of one of the world's most historically significant protected landscapes.

Bogdkhan Mountain; Strictly Protected Area; Urban Protected Area; biodiversity conservation

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