CLAIM: prognosis

threatened cashmere industry If current processes continue, the cashmere sector will not survive.

desertification Mongolia's grasslands are turning into deserts; this is (or is likely to be) an irreversible process. The proximate cause is #overgrazing, which may be linked to cashmere goat production.

threatened herders If current processes continue, herders (mobile pastoralists) will not be able to survive. They will not be able to feed their livestock. Herders may end up impoverished and pushed to urban slum areas.

threatened wildlife Degraded grasslands can endanger wildlife.

threatened rangelands If current processes continue, rangelands will be permanently destroyed.

ecological fragility The Earth and its ecosystems are fragile and subject to degradation. The Earth may go past the tipping point if humans do not engage in more sustainable production and consumption. Sustainability may be viewed as #global-concern due to globalization, although the effects of #ecological-degradation may be localized (and potentially invisible to those whose actions have the most impact).