The territory studied is situated in the upper reaches of the great Siberian rivers - on the Altai and Sajan mountainous watersheds and in the northern part of the Big Lakes Hollow (Outer Mongolia). A wide spectrum of landscapes is presented here: from glaciers to deserts. The modern geoecological situation was formed during the Pleistocene-Holocene fluctuations of climate and mountainous glaciation. There took place 5-6 splaches of opening mountainous regions. Main features of traditional types of using natural resources and their negative consequences are discussed. -English summary