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Nomadic Expeditions, a Mongolia tour operator and expedition outfitter, will join forces with Massachusetts Audubon to create new conservation programs aimed at protecting Mongolia’s vast and fragile ecosystems.

By establishing this alliance, Nomadic Expeditions President Jalsa Urubshurow hopes to pioneer a new concept in environmental conservation — a for-profit company and a non-profit organization working together towards the goal of promoting environmentally sustainable tourism.

This multifaceted program, the brainchild of Urubshurow and Mass Audubon’s Christopher Leahy, will focus on eco-tourism, environmental education, interpretive publications, green building design and earth-friendly operations.

The partnership will combine Nomadic Expeditions’ knowledge of Mongolia with Mass Audubon’s extensive experience creating conservation strategies and programs.

Urubshurow, the founder and CEO of Nomadic Expeditions, is a proponent and leader in the development of sustainable tourism in Mongolia since 1990.

Urubshurow was enlisted by the first prime minister of the newly democratic Mongolia to advise the government in expanding accessibility to Western travelers and to actively promote travel to Mongolia from North America.

In the post-communist period since 1990, Urubshurow has advised Mongolia’s prime ministers and presidents on sustainable eco-tourism, environmental protection issues and business development.

He has twice been named the world’s Top Travel Specialist for Mongolia by Condé Nast Traveler magazine, and was the co-founder and former chairman of the North America Mongolia Business Council, a non-profit organization dedicated to expanding bilateral economic, investment, and trade relations between Mongolia and North America.

As designer and founder of the Three Camel Lodge, an award-winning eco-lodge in the Gobi Desert, Urubshurow has made environmental sustainability a priority of his business operations in Mongolia.

Named one of the world’s Top 50 Ecolodges by National Geographic Adventure and Best Lodge of the Year by the Mongolian Tourism Association, the lodge was built in accordance with environmentally and culturally sustainable development guidelines, and is powered by renewable energy resources, including solar and wind power.

The Three Camel Lodge also forged a first-of-its-kind cooperative agreement with local Mongolian authorities for sustainable development and conservation, and is an active contributor to the local community’s conservation efforts, including planting native trees, sponsoring anti-litter clean-up programs and anti-poaching initiatives, as well as school conservation and cultural programs.

Urubshurow intends the partnership with Mass Audubon to lead the way in solidifying and strengthening an environmental ethic within Mongolia’s for-profit travel operators. “Nomadic Expeditions and Mass Audubon share the same interests and have parallel goals,” said Urubshurow.

“Our aim is to reach beyond tourism to form partnerships with local schools and communities, as well as with other conservation organizations and agencies that work in Mongolia.”

Through Nomadic Expeditions’ new conservation unit, Urubshurow also hopes to magnify awareness of the region’s extraordinary natural beauty and biodiversity, as well as the threats faced by Mongolia’s largely unspoiled ecosystems. By enlisting Mass Audubon to enhance and further define Nomadic Expeditions’ conservation efforts, he wants to expand the Three Camel Lodge’s role as a center for environmental education in the Gobi and throughout Mongolia.

Directing the new conservation unit will be Leahy, the first holder of the Gerard A. Bertrand Chair of Natural History and Field Ornithology at Mass Audubon. Leahy was the organization’s director of conservation for 18 years, and has continued to explore Mongolia’s natural wonders since his first visit there in 1982.

He has led education programs in over 70 countries and was instrumental in developing the organization’s international natural history travel program.

He is the author of “The Birdwatchers Companion to North American Birdlife” and many other works on natural history subjects.

Massachusetts Audubon, which successfully founded a program to protect more than 250,000 acres of bird habitat in Belize, is the largest conservation organization in New England and one of the oldest in the United States.

Leahy will lead a Natural History Exploration in Mongolia with Massachusetts Audubon, operated by Nomadic Expeditions, May 22 to June 7.

The trip will visit Lake Hovsgol, the Mongolian steppe, and the Three Camel Lodge in the Gobi Desert. Nomadic Expeditions, the pioneer of adventures in Mongolia and beyond, offers more than two dozen authentic active adventures and cultural journeys, as well as customized adventures throughout Mongolia, Tibet, Bhutan, Siberia and China, and operates the Three Camel Lodge luxury ger camp in the heart of the Gobi Desert.

For more information on Nomadic Expeditions, call 800-998-6634or visit www.nomadicexpeditions.com

For more information on Massachusetts Audubon, visit www.massaudubon.org