Sustaining Livelihoods on Mongolia's Pastoral Commons: Insights from a Participatory Poverty Assessment

Abstract

Under the socialist regime that prevailed until the start of the 1990s, Mongolia made great progress in improving human development indicators, and poverty was virtually unknown. Political and economic transition in the 1990s ushered in a rapid rise in asset and income inequality, and at least a third of the population has been living in poverty since 1995. Many workers made redundant from uneconomic state‐owned enterprises were absorbed into the extensive livestock sector in rural areas and by the growing informal economy in urban areas. The livestock sector grew dramatically, with herders accounting for over a third of the total population and half of the active labour force by the late 1990s. Three consecutive years of drought and harsh winters in 1999–2002 then drastically reduced the national herd. These trends are viewed against a backdrop of relative neglect of the livestock sector in development priorities and a concomitant decline in agricultural productivity. Pressures on common pasture have mounted, and conflict over grazing is becoming endemic. In such a context, sustainable management of Mongolia's pastoral commons should be central to the country's economic development agenda in general, and to its poverty reduction strategy in particular. This article draws on the findings of a country‐wide participatory poverty assessment conducted in 2000. Blending quantitative and qualitative data, these findings help to bring into sharper relief the broad outlines of an integrated approach to building secure and sustainable livelihoods both on and off the pastoral commons.

Vulnerability of Worldwide Pastoralism to Global Changes and Interdisciplinary Strategies for Sustainable Pastoralism

“…Pastoral production has always been the mainstay of the Mongolian economy (Mearns 2004), with 83% of the nation's territory covered by rangeland and where 84% of agricultural populations are pastoralists (Table 2). During the socialist period, herders became dependent on the central government for salaries and for providing means of transporting livestock.…”

Carrying Capacity Dynamics, Livestock Commercialisation and Land Degradation in Mongolia's Free Market Era

“…But the vast majority of herders simply do not have enough animals to sustain themselves in the old ways. This partly explains the dramatic increase in poverty among Mongolian pastoralists (see Mearns, 2004). They are either forced to combine subsistence livestock-keeping with other jobs, or they can choose to become more market-oriented herders.…”

“…Between 1991 and 1998, the livestock enterprise rapidly expanded, partly assisted by relatively good weather conditions, and partly by the many new entrants in the livestock economy. The latter was a result of the de-industrialisation of the urban economy (for more details see Mearns, 2004). In 1990, Mongolia had 25.9 million domesticated animals.…”

Fly family diversity shows evidence of livestock grazing pressure in Mongolia (Insecta: Diptera)

“…Nomadic grazing has been prominent in Mongolia for centuries, including ruminants such as yaks, sheep, goats and cattle, and nonruminating horses and camels (Johnson et al 2006). The recent increase in the price of cashmere and privatization of land has led to domestic grazing becoming commercialized with heavier grazing in more areas (Mearns 2004;Maasri and Gelhaus 2011). This recent transition lends an opportunity to observe the short-term effects of grazing in Mongolia (Maasri and Gelhaus 2011).…”