A working group and team of experts are still assessing the environmental damage caused by the fire that burned 528,800 hectares in and around the Numrug Strictly Protected Area (SPA) in Khalkhgol soum, Dornod aimag, earlier this month. According to Japan’s KDDI Corporation, the fire broke out on October 8, when smoke was seen coming from beneath a vehicle belonging to its Mongolian subsidiary, Mobicom Corporation, whose staff were traveling through the protected area.

KDDI said the Mobicom team had visited the area from October 6 to 8 at the request of border authorities, to attend the opening of a telecommunications network built by the company and to test 4G coverage. The team was traveling under a border guard permit, in a convoy led and followed by authority vehicles. When smoke appeared, staff tried to put out the fire on the instructions of the border authorities, but it spread to the surrounding grassland. On October 23, KDDI apologized, saying it takes the incident “extremely seriously” and will fully cooperate with the investigation and support the environment’s recovery. Mongolian authorities are still investigating what caused the fire and why it spread.

The fire was fully extinguished on October 16. About 469,000 hectares of the burned area lie within the protected area.

Sandag-Ochir Tsend, Minister of Environment and Climate Change, and Batbayar Sh., State Secretary of the Ministry, received Masaru Igawahara, Ambassador of Japan to Mongolia, Yasuhiro Ochi, Chief Executive Officer of Mobicom Corporation, and other officials on October 26th.

At the start of the meeting, Ambassador Igawahara expressed his regret over the extensive damage the fire had caused to Mongolia’s environment and ecosystem. He said the Government of Japan is ready to work with Mongolia and provide full support to restore the area and protect its ecosystem. He added that Japan would like to send specialists in nature conservation and restoration to work in the burned area and exchange experience with Mongolian experts.

Ochi expressed his sincere regret for the damage to the environment and apologized to the people of Mongolia. He thanked all the personnel and officials who took part in fighting the fire and said Mobicom would cooperate in the ongoing investigation and in efforts to protect and restore the environment.

Sandag-Ochir noted that the Numrug SPA had preserved Mongolia’s pristine nature, with a unique ecosystem that is home to very rare plants and animals. He expressed regret that irresponsible human actions had caused extensive damage to this globally rare and ecologically valuable area. He said efforts to protect and restore the environment and to prevent such risks in the future must be stepped up with the involvement of all stakeholders. He also stressed that Japan’s experience and professional support would be important in accurately determining the damage and carrying out restoration that is scientifically grounded and effective.

In light of the incident, the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change and the Governor’s Office of Khalkhgol soum formed a working group to assess the damage to the area. The group is surveying burned areas near the birch forests of Khanchandmani Mountain, the pine forests of Khotol Lake and Ar Sumiin Khooloi, and the areas along the Numrug and Degee rivers. However, according to the Ministry, some forest areas in the eastern part of the SPA remain out of reach. Swamps, waterlogged hollows, numerous small streams and deep ravines make them impassable by vehicles or horses.

Driving across burned land also damages vehicle tires and burdens movement. Officials say this makes it difficult to fully determine the size of the burned area, the extent of forest damage, how the fire spread, its effect on wildlife movement and habitats, and the damage to soil and vegetation in the forests near the state border. The working group and expert team have therefore asked the State Emergency Commission and the General Authority for Border Protection to provide helicopters so the damage can be assessed completely and objectively. 

Helicopters would allow aerial monitoring and photo documentation of areas that cannot be reached on the ground, measurement of the burned area and the level of damage, and assessment of the impact on wildlife habitats and on soil and vegetation. This would help determine the damage more precisely and support restoration planning.

The Government aims to accurately determine the ecological and economic damage and restore the affected areas.

Published Date:2026-10-27