Sustaining Interdisciplinary Collaboration Across Continents and Cultures: Lessons from the Mongolian Rangelands and Resilience Project

The Mongolian Rangelands and Resilience (MOR2) Project sought to understand how climate and socio-economic changes affect social-ecological systems in rural Mongolia, and how herder responses feedback to influence ecological-social conditions. Led by Colorado State University, the interdisciplinary team included collaborating scientists from one US and nine Mongolian research institutions and NGOs. As such, MOR2 spanned boundaries among disciplines, cultures, and sectors of society. Conceptual and analytical integration across disciplines proved challenging. However, unforeseen and novel interdisciplinary and cross-sectoral collaborations emerged focused on herder observations of environmental changes, participatory scenario building, science capacity building, and community and policymaker engagement. The MOR2 team’s commitment to continual reflection and adaptation built trust and sustained collaborative relationships that led to important scientific results and a wide variety of broader impacts.