To this day, at least 25% of Mongolia’s population lives a nomadic life, and in doing so, they remain fiercely dependent on open land for survival. However, due to the fluctuation in climate in recent years, changes to the landscape have rendered this lifestyle difficult, if not impossible, to maintain. Over the course of the past 30 years, approximately a quarter of the country has turned to desert, with around 850 lakes and 2,000 rivers having dried out. If this pattern persists, the Mongolian tradition that’s existed for thousands of years will become extinct.
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For another one of Lee’s haunting meditations on climate change’s global effects, check out “On The Shore of a Vanishing Island, Ghoramara,” in which Ghoramara’s remaining citizens pose alongside what’s left of their island home.
