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Editor: When did you first become interested in saigas?
B.Ch.:I was born and spent my childhood in Uvs province, Western Mongolia, where we have the most pristine zones with rich biodiversity. At that time, my curiosity and fascination with nature started. After that, my interest grew so much I decided to pursue biology at the National University of Mongolia and become interested in Mongolia's rare and endangered animals, including the Mongolian saiga antelope.
Editor: When did you start to work on saiga research and conservation?
Saiga Day was discussed and planned in 2010 at a meeting for the exchange of ideas and best practice held in Uralsk, part of the SOS Saiga! project funded by the People's Trust for Endangered Species and the SOS Fund (see article in Saiga News, Issue 12).
Aimed at raising awareness of saiga conservation among the upcoming generation, Saiga Day has been co-organized with local schools in Uzbekistan since 2008, and features art, drama, sports and more.
In 2011 Saiga Day crossed international borders and was celebrated simultaneously in villages in the saiga antelope's range in Russia, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.
Введение
Проведение праздника «День Сайгака» обсуждалось и планировалось в 2010 году на встрече по обмену идеями и лучшими практиками, которая состоялась в Уральске, как часть проекта SOS Сайгаки!. Данный проект был спонсирован Народным фондом по охране видов, находящихся под угрозой, а также Фондом SOS (смотри «Сайга Ньюз» - выпуск 12).
Introduction
Elena Bykova asked Elena Inametdinova and Alina Zelenskaya, (both artists and teachers), to organise and oversee this activity for 10 - 11 year old children in the Music and Art School in Tashkent.
The children produced five complete stories about biodiversity lost, pollution and desertification in order to explore the impacts of human behaviour on the environment.
Activity
The activity involved discussing environmental issues and their solutions with the children before illustrating concepts that had been examined.