Certifying the sustainability of herding practices in Mongolia

Steve J. Sinclair (), Khorloo Batpurev, Canran Liu, Otgonsuren Avirmed, Batbold Avirmed, Bertrand Ricard, Matt D. White, Ariunbold Erdengerel, Daniel J. Miller and Kirk Olson
Additional contact information
Steve J. Sinclair: Environment and Climate Action
Khorloo Batpurev: Environment and Climate Action
Canran Liu: Environment and Climate Action
Otgonsuren Avirmed: Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS)
Batbold Avirmed: Agronomes et Vétérinaires Sans Frontières (AVSF)
Bertrand Ricard: Agronomes et Vétérinaires Sans Frontières (AVSF)
Matt D. White: Environment and Climate Action
Ariunbold Erdengerel: Mongolian Academy of Sciences
Daniel J. Miller: Independent researcher
Kirk Olson: Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS)

Nature Sustainability, 2025, vol. 8, issue 3, 245-255

Abstract: Abstract Certification schemes for agriculture aim to incentivize sustainable land management. To be credible, they need robust metrics to assess the practices of producers. We demonstrate an approach for evaluating practice, which is repeatable and explicitly representative of stakeholders. We apply it to nomadic pastoralism in Mongolia, where livestock overgrazing is of concern. Our approach uses judgements from stakeholders about the sustainability of hypothetical but realistic herding scenarios. From these, we create models to predict sustainability scores. These can be applied as tools to assess the actual practices of herders. We use two judgement datasets: one representing producers’ judgements, another a subset that also conforms to the environmental expectations of the certifier. The differences must be negotiated when we choose evaluation methods. The approach could be used for any production system, provided variables are devised that summarize practice and appropriate stakeholders are available to judge the sustainability of different practices.

Date: 2025
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DOI: 10.1038/s41893-025-01511-1

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