The fragile steppe-forest and taiga ecosystems in Mongolia need special care and protection. The major current threats to these high-conservation value forests are illegal logging, poaching, and fires caused during these illegal activities. The wood supply in Mongolia is mostly from illegal sources. Increased demands for wood and other forests products, as well as neglect, intensify threats to Mongolia’s remaining forests and the biodiversity it maintains.

The Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) implements the “Climate Change and Biodiversity - Conservation and Sustainable Management of Natural Resources" Programme in Mongolia through Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) GmbH.

The Programme intends to assist Mongolia to initiate a “Coalition of Change” by the identification of political partners charged to run the formulation process of a Forest Law Enforcement and Governance (FLEG) National Action Plan based on societal entitlement, economic viable management, and ecological principles. The National Action Plan, developed with stakeholder consultation, will directly involve forest user groups in community-based conservation. Forest management plans will involve FSC standards of certification and chain-of-custody measures to ensure the legality and transparency of natural resource use.

The FLEG process coincides with the Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD) effort to create a financial value for the carbon stored in forests, offering incentives for developing countries to reduce emissions from forested lands and invest in low-carbon paths to sustainable development.

The "Climate Change and Biodiversity - Conservation and Sustainable Management of Natural Resources" programme firmly believes that Mongolia will lead in sustainable forest management with the environmentally stable, socially beneficial, and economically viable approaches for present and future generations.