Global natural history infrastructure requires international solidarity, support, and investment in local capacity.

Amid global challenges like climate change, extinctions, and disease epidemics, science and society require nuanced, international solutions that are grounded in robust, interdisciplinary perspectives and datasets that span deep time. Natural history collections, from modern biological specimens to the archaeological and fossil records, are crucial tools for understanding cultural and biological processes that shape our modern world. At the same time, natural history collections in low and middle-income countries are at-risk and underresourced, imperiling efforts to build the infrastructure and scientific capacity necessary to tackle critical challenges.

Heavy Metal Pollution Near a Tannery in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.

Background: Due to an increase in population density and industrialization, the capital city of Mongolia, Ulaanbaatar, has been experiencing an increase in environmental pollution; especially soil contamination. Environmental pollutants include solid waste, silt and wastewater coming out of tanneries in three micro districts of the Khan-Uul district of Ulaanbaatar. Among the many types of chemicals these tanneries use, chromium (III) sulfate (Cr(SO)) poses the most serious environmental health risk.