The “National Rangeland Health Assessment Report”, presented to the Mongolian government at a workshop held on May 28, summarises the results of a six-year research project carried out by the National Agency of Meteorology and Environmental Monitoring, the National University of Life Sciences, the Academy of Sciences, the Agency of Land Affairs, the Geodesy and Cadastre and SDC’s Green Gold Project.

“Addressing rangeland health is an important issue given that it is the backbone of one of Mongolia’s strategic sectors and will ensure national food security and employment creation in rural areas,” said Minister of Food and Agriculture R. Burmaa in her opening address at the workshop.

According to the report, the primary challenge to sustainable livestock production in Mongolia is the decline in rangeland health in many parts of the country.

Causes and Solutions 

The trends of significant climatic warming, declining levels of precipitation and increasing livestock numbers pose a risk of further rangeland degradation, particularly in the central and northern parts of Mongolia.

The report suggests that grazing management practices associated with healthy pastures should be maintained in some areas, whereas in other areas management practices should be altered to promote perennial grass recovery, a reduction in the dominance of degradation indicator plants, and control soil erosion.

A new, comprehensive approach focused on the sustainable production of meat, fibre and other environmental goods and services was required. However, livestock numbers in excess of pasture carrying capacity remains the primary barrier to sustainable livestock production.

According to the report, increases in livestock numbers are likely to intensify and further exacerbate rangeland degradation. However, there were ample opportunities for changes in management practice and policy that improved rangeland health, that enabled adaptation to climate and land-use change in the long term, and that secured the future of pastoral production and food security in Mongolia. However, it was vital to act decisively and promptly before those opportunities were lost.

According to the report: “A vast majority of monitoring sites, representing more than half of Mongolia’s rangelands, suggest that changes to grazing management could result in recovery or progress toward recovery within 10 years.”

Download the full report (PDF, 66 Pages, 2.2 MB) in English

To find more about the project, please visist:

www.greenmongolia.mn

For the past eight years, One-Stop Shop (OSS) centres throughout Mongolia have been making public service delivery more efficient, cost-effective and accessible for all citizens.

The OSS is an innovative model which provides a range of public administrative services under one roof, making it easier and more time-efficient for people to access the services they need, including social insurance and welfare, civil registration, land and property administration, tax offices, notaries and banking. This approach also reduces bureaucracy and corruption.

The establishment of the OSS centres nationwide was the culmination of a tireless effort by the Government of Mongolia, with financial and technical support from the Government of Switzerland.

Hand-over to Mongolian Government 

April marked the handover of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation’s OSS Project to the government, which is committed to sustaining and strengthening the OSS centres.

Pursuant to that commitment, the government issued a resolution covering the operational and maintenance costs of the OSS centres under local government budgets.

District and aimag governments are also replicating the OSS centres with the aim of providing more efficient service delivery for their citizens.

There are now more than 150 OSS centres operating in khoroos and soums funded with their own resources.

Prior to the establishment of OSSs, people had to travel to numerous locations to access different public services. In addition, those services were not coordinated or linked, reducing overall efficiency.

Moreover, besides saving time and money, the OSSs have also reduced red tape for citizens wanting to access those services.  

The OSS model has earned a significant level of support among the Mongolian public, with independent surveys showing an overall satisfaction rate of more than 75 percent.

“I choose to go to the OSS because there is less bureaucracy there,” said a customer at the OSS in Uliastai, Zavkhan aimag.

“It was convenient to have both the social welfare officer and the bank teller there at the OSS, so I could get everything processed in one place without going back and forth between places,” said another OSS customer in Uliastai.

To commemorate the handover, the OSS Project produced a documentary that highlights the results of eight years of work.

Watch the documentary