Astronomy for Environmental protection and Education

This talk will share about our Astro-homestay network for nomadic herders in Mongolian Remote provinces which have a lots of mining industries and dust storm. This project allowed nomadic herders and local authorities to improve their knowledge about the beauty of astronomy and Astro-tourism activities. Through activities they understood the importance of having clear beautiful dark skies in nomadic remote areas. Nomads obtained knowledge on protecting environment and attract many visitors. They learnt how to operate telescopes and run outreach activities. The project provided training on Astro-tourism using astronomical outreach tools, talks and lectures, and freely- downloadable astronomical software. This project made people in the remote nomads areas understood that mining can lead to environmental degradation, loss of biodiversity, increased prominence of diseases, and dust storms if it is managed poorly. If mining is managed responsibly, mining can create jobs, facilitate income, economic development, and lead to improved quality of lifestyle in Gobi. International communities such as EA-ROAD/EA-LOAD and Galileo Teacher Training, NAOJ, NASE and international astronomers were involved in this project to achieve our goals. Dust storms are the biggest environmental issue in our region. In the future our EA-ROAD will have activity on Astronomy for environmental issues such as dust storm in the region.