Khustai Nuruu National Park

Khustai National Park has an area of 50,620 hectares, lies in the foothills of the southern Khentii Mountain Range and situated about 90 km south west of Ulaanbaatar. While nomads have also used the park as a pasture reserve for their stock, the park has never had a permanent settlement or been used for agriculture. This limited use has allowed the preservation of one of the world's most threatened ecosystems: steppe. Steppe and forest steppe are being destroyed throughout Central Asia, along with their endemic genetic resources, overgrazing, excessive burning or wood collection.

This National Park is a fine example of the wide river valleys separated by hilly terrain that characterize forest steppe. There are dozens of wild animals such as wolves, deer, and Przewalski horse which was reintroduced in 1990 with a cooperation of the Foundation Reserves for the Przewalski Horse and the support of Dutch Government.

In 1993, Khustain Nuruu was upgraded from protected area status to reserve status and conservation measures were strengthened. In 1998, the area's status was upgraded once more and Khustain Nuruu Reserve became Khustai National Park. As a national park, regulations on land use were tightened and all grazing and hunting was forbidden.