Localising Environmental Rights

Abstract In this article, I draw upon ethnographic fieldwork conducted in Mongolia to explore the localisation of environmental rights in rural Mongolia. I focus primarily on herders’ environmental protection groups, which are based on the concept of environmental rights – a subject less studied compared to kin groups and herders’ cooperatives established through donor projects. Through this case study, I examine how the concept of environmental rights has influenced the formation of herders’ groups and their environmental protection activities, as well as how these groups are supported or challenged by others in the local context. I conclude by emphasising that the process of localising environmental rights reveals a hybrid of the legal concept of Baigali orchin (natural environment) and the cultural concept of nutag (homeland), alongside environmental law and customary rules.