Mongolia Brief August 18, 2014 Part III

Mongolia receives telegram from Pope Francis

By B. Khuder

Ulaanbaatar, August 18 (MONTSAME) Bishop of Rome, Pope Francis has delivered a telegram to the President of Mongolia Ts.Elbegdorj.

He sent it during a flight over our country to the Republic of Korea on August 13, reported the President's website on Friday.

In the telegram Pope Francis said:"As I fly over Mongolia, I extend to Your Excellency and Your fellow citizens the assurance of my best wishes. Invoking divine blessings upon you all, I pray that peace and well-being may flourish in the nation."

It is the Pope's first visit to Asia. During this flight, the Pontiff delivered a series of telegrams to the world leaders over whose countries he flew.

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Stock exchange news for August 18

By B. Khuder

Ulaanbaatar, August 18 (MONTSAME) At the Stock Exchange trades held Monday, a total of 1,343 shares of nine JSCs were traded costing MNT four million 172 thousand and 590.00.

"APU” /453 units/, "Mongolia Telecom” /382 units/, "Avto impex” /245 units/, "Arig gal” /180 units/ and "Ereentsav” /35 units/ were the most actively traded in terms of trading volume, in terms of trading value--"APU” (MNT one million 780 thousand and 290), "Avto impex” (MNT 759 thousand and 500), "Mongolia Telecom” (MNT 592 thousand and 100), "Gazar suljmel” (MNT 450 thousand) and "Arig gal” (MNT 414 thousand).

The total market capitalization was set at MNT one trillion 612 billion 616 million 109 thousand and 760. The Index of Top-20 JSCs was 16,050.33, increasing by MNT 21.78 or 0.14% against the previous day.

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Grant Funds first preservation of archaeological region in East Gobi

Ulaanbaatar, August 18 (MONTSAME) The Fund for Cultural Preservation at the US Embassy in Ulaanbaatar has funded a project for the Ikh Nart Reserve that is significant because is the first systematic effort at recognizing, recording, and making plans to preserve and protect cultural heritage landscapes of Dornogobi aimag.

The project team, headed by grant recipient Denver Zoological Foundation (DZF), discovered that Ikh Nart is extremely rich that sites range from Neolithic Period about 6,000 years ago through the Mongol Empire Period.

The Ikh Nart Reserve is located in East Gobi and was established as a natural reserve in 1996. The Reserve covers approximately 66,000 hectares of grassland and semi-desert steppe environment and harbors a wide diversity of plant and animal species. Most archaeological research in Mongolia has been carried out in the north and northwestern portions of the country. There is literally no archaeological information or literature available for the Ikh Nart region; before this project, there had been no recognition of need for cultural heritage management strategies.

During this summer’s field season the DZF, the Institute of Archeology - Mongolian Academy of Sciences (IA-MAS), and Earthwatch Institute volunteers, along with assistance from Mongolian Conservation Coalition, Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, and the Anza-Borrego Foundation (California), completed the random sample survey of Ikh Nart Nature Reserve. Fifteen new cultural heritage sites were identified and are being registered with IA-MAS. The Cultural Heritage Ranger was hired, equipped, trained, and installed in his new position.  In-depth investigation of one cultural heritage site dating back to the Hunnu Period was carried out.  Lastly, an interpretive sign was developed for installation at the Ikh Nart Research Camp. 

DZF has had a long-term partnership and cooperation with the Mongolian Academy of Sciences, and the two organizations work together to understand pressing issues in conservation and preservation.  For this project, the Foundation also worked with Mongolian biologists, California State Parks, and the Institute of Archaeology.

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