Ensuring their herds live in the right climate is not enough, however, because a traditional nomadic herder’s cashmere goats must have access to year-round forage. This has proved to be difficult at times, as the cashmere boom of the late 1990s and early 2000s saw an increase in desertification in traditional herding regions due to a dramatic rise in the Mongolian cashmere goat population. Because of the high demand for Mongolian cashmere and the liberalization of the country’s economy, nomadic herders drastically increased their breeding efforts. While the goat population leveled off to a more environmentally sustainable level by 2012, traditional nomadic herders must possess the knowledge of areas that are suitable for foraging, and know exactly where and when to move their herd to the next location.