Sundev Gombobaatar – Bird Research, Conservation and Birding in Mongolia

Dr. Gombobaatar’s presentation covers a brief introduction to Mongolia and bird distribution in different natural habitats, species status and richness, bird research and conservation works, including Regional bird red list and conservation action plans, migration pattern, population threats, birds in wind farms, raptor breeding ecology survey, birding activities, and future actions for Mongolian bird research and conservation.

Dr. Gombobaatar, with MSc (1996) and PhD (2006) degrees, completed his post-doctorate program at Ben Gurion University, Israel, in 2007 – 2008 and Vienna Natural History Museum, Austria, in 2013 – 2014. He is presently a professor at the National University of Mongolia (NUM), where he has won several teaching awards.

Dr Gombobaatar has been involved in more than 30 research and conservation projects on a diverse range of birds of Mongolia. He is a professional bander and has visited German, British, Israeli and Japanese institutions. He has been lecturing and mentoring generations of young ornithologists in Mongolia for the last 20 years and is a well-known university teacher and bird conservationist.

Dr. Gombobaatar is also a well-known bird expert abroad and has served as biologist and ornithologist in multiple projects:

• National Coordinator of Asian Water Bird Census of the Wetland International (2012 – present).
• National focal point for Mongolia for the Scientific and Technical Review Panel (STRP) of the Ramsar Convention, Mongolia (2010 – present).
• Regional expert of Palearctic region, Raptor Research Foundation Conservation Committee, USA (2010 – present).
• National representative of the ARRCN, Japan (2008 – present).
• Honorary member of the Oriental Bird Club, UK (2004 – present).

He is a founder and general director of the Mongolian Ornithological Society since 1999, a chief editor of the Ornis Mongolica journal and international coordinator and initiator of the Mongolian Bird Rarities Committee. He has conducted research on the Saker Falcon in Mongolia for a decade and completed his book, Saker Falcon in Mongolia in 2013. Recently, his challenge is to complete two large scale books, Birds of Mongolia and Birding Mongolia.