High prices for cashmere made from the wool of goats is leading in part to overgrazing of the Gobi Desert in Mongolia. In the last decade, the number of livestock in Mongolia jumped more than 30 percent, and the number of herders rose by 300 percent, to about 440,000. Many of the newcomers to the field have no experience and leave their herds too long in one place, increasing the stress on pastures.
