Wade Davis considers endangered cultures to be cultures that are down to just a handful o individuals whose lifestyle and language are getting displaced by the worldwide growth of more modern technologies and dominant languages such as English forcing indigenous peoples to learn a different language than their own so that they can participate in the increasingly global economy and general way of living. Living as a member of an indigenous endangered culture is difficult, as it excludes you from being a member of the current “society”. I do agree with Wade Davis that these cultures contribute knowledge and traditions and languages that should be preserved. I do however think that it can be hard to balance this with the increasing needs of the majority population of the earth who live within the sphere of a global society. These indigenous groups are far outnumbered by the people living in metropolis cities and the world only seems headed for more and more urbanization. I’m not sure at this point that the governments of the world can prioritize protecting endangered cultures, but I think that they certainly can and that at least ensuring the newer generations of these groups have an understanding of their cultures and their languages, as these cultures should not be lost to history. Cultural diversity is surely important, I think that at a certain point you must consider what benefits the most people and I don’t know if preserving a language that perhaps ten people speak is impacting the millions who are living homeless all over the world. It is simply hard to factor people who are living a lifestyle that intentionally isolates them from society at large into the bigger picture. Perhaps they could offer these people special representatives in government.
Mongolia is a very unique place from a biodiversity and cultural diversity perspective. Culturally Mongolia has many different indigenous cultures all living together, mostly different tribes of herders. The most endangered are the reindeer herders or “Dukha”(Smithsonian 2016). They are some of the last remaining reindeer herders and only a handful of families remain. Most known for their deer stones monoliths, they seem destined to disappear. Currently, the Mongolian government and the Smithsonian are working together to preserve the unique culture of reindeer herders in Mongolia, or at least remnants of their culture.
Mongolia interestingly because of its high altitude plainlike conditions and harsh weather seems to have a very low level of biodiversity(CBD 2020). However, due to a relatively low population density anywhere outside of the major cities, Mongolia’s minimal biodiversity is relatively safe compared to much of the world. The cities themselves are dominated by coal plants and mining which is a big part of the Mongolian economy, so perhaps continued urbanization will change this.
Sources:
“Preserving Mongolian Culture at the Edge of the Arctic.” Smithsonian Office of International Relations and Global Programs, https://global.si.edu/success-stories/preserving-mongolian-culture-edge-arctic.
Unit, Biosafety. “Report On Biological Diversity Mongolia.” Convention on Biological Diversity, Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity, https://www.cbd.int/countries/profile/?country=mn.