Climate Change Threats and Solutions for Mongolian herders

The impacts of a significant warming climate are already being experienced in Mongolia.
The lifestyles of Mongolia’s herders have been dramatically affected by climate change in the
recent years. Their herds of livestock are the herder’s main source of income and sustenance.
The phenomenon called the “dzuds” in particular is harsh winters, followed by scorching
summers killing over 700,000 animals just last winter and over a million the year before.1
Although the phenomenon is not new to the herders, over the past years, it has become more
frequent and intense.
Several actions can be taken to improve the situation and recover the lifestyles of the
herders. The common adaptation strategies I will be presenting include improving rangeland
management by joining formal herder’s organizations, introducing more productive livestock
breeds, taking advantage of veterinary services to increase livestock productivity and keeping
more hay and other forages in reserve. In addition, introducing common coping methods for the
herders such as increasing winter shelters and building and repairing wells to protect natural
water sources.
Primarily, improving rangeland management by joining formal herder’s organizations.
Seasonal movement is a crucial herding activity in Mongolia, where shepherds set aside pasture
as a reserve for the non-growing harsh winter season. The grasslands are left untouched during
the growing summer and autumn season. Mongolian herders are entirely responsible for their
own herd management due to economic and political shifts in Mongolia in the early 90s to a
market economy, the state herding collectives were dismantled and their livestock was
privatized.2 My concept is that territorial herder organizations are a favorable way to turn open
access into traditional resource management that could significantly reduce the destruction of
rangelands and at the same time improve the herder community's livelihood. By joining a formal
herder’s organizations, communities can decrease grassland deprivation by keeping other herders
out, creating natural resource management plans focused on sustainable herd sizes, and working
together on alternative businesses to earn more income.
Secondly, within the agriculture sector, almost 83 percent of total production comes from
traditional pastoral livestock cultivation. In Mongolia there are five types of livestock currently
raised: sheep, cattle, goats, horses, and camels. Although Mongolia’s food self-sufficiency is
improving over the years the country remains entirely dependent on imports of rice, chicken,
fish, beans, fruits and vegetable oil. In Mongolia the difficulties associated with increasing
sustainable animal production are exacerbated by limited public-sector investment and weak,
ineffective support services. However, introducing more productive livestock breeds in Mongolia
could help the threat of the country not being able to feed itself.

1 Climate change has forced Mongolia’s herders to move to the city | https://www.france24.com/en/20190315-reporters-video-mongolia-climate-change-forces-

nomads-herders-move-city-capital-ulaanbaatar

2 Sustainable Rangeland Management in Mongolia: The Role of Herder Community Institutions | http://www.unulrt.is/static/fellows/document/jamsranjav_c.pdf
 Furthermore, taking advantage of veterinary services to increase livestock productivity.
The severe hot weather of the summer has played a critical role in spreading diseases among
Mongolia’s livestock. These diseases are sometimes associated with infected meat and animal
products, causing many countries to impose trade restrictions to minimize the risk of a disease
being imported. Consequently, decreasing the herder’s income rapidly. However, for an
elongated period of time, the IAEA and the FAO trained and equipped scientists and
veterinarians in Mongolia. Veterinarians have learned how to accurately take samples and treat
potentially infected animals through this aid, and scientists have gained the skills and tools to use
chemical and radiation methods to examine these samples quickly and accurately.3 Therefore, the
herders of the broad steppes could capitalize from the veterinarians to improve livestock
productivity with the support of the government.
Finally, the method of keeping more hay and other forages in reserve. In addition to the
herders collecting and saving hay in the warmer seasons, a supplementary method to keep more
feeds in stock for the harsh winters is to purchase from businesses that get sufficient amounts of
grass. Some leading companies in the agricultural sector in Mongolia have been planting
additional feeds for the herders to purchase. The government of Mongolia has implemented
various policy measures to support these efforts. Such as making it mandatory for the
agricultural sectors to plant a certain amount of supplementary hay and other forages. This way
herders wouldn’t have to worry about not supplying enough in the case of the cruel phenomenon
the “dzuds”.
I was inspired to write my paper after attending the “Global Shaper Climate Reality
Project” conference. As the panelists discussed about the local and global issues of climate
change, it was intriguing for me to write about the impact climate change had on our country.
The primary tool for my research was the United Nations online database on climate change as
well as research papers based on Mongolia’s economy in the recent years. Although I didn’t
reason that climate change would have as much effect on Mongolia compared to other nations
severely affected by global warming, during my research I was surprised to see numerous issues
it caused for Mongolia. Which made me realize climate change impacts each and every one
habiting the Earth.

3 Mongolia Keeps Animal Diseases at Bay with Help of Nuclear Technologies | https://www.iaea.org/newscenter/news/mongolia-keeps-animal-diseases-at-bay-with-

the-help-of-nuclear-technologies