Consultative Workshop on pasture use herder groups, their present status and future potential

[ 11-12 June 2009]

A consultative workshop Community-based natural resource and pastoral resource management, best practices and lessons learned was jointly organized by Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Light Industry (MoFALI) and UNDP ‘Sustainable Land Management for Combating Desertification’ project on June 11-12, 2009. The goal of the Workshop was to discuss best practices and lessons learned of community-based natural resource management (CBNRM) in Mongolia, reach common understanding of community-based organizations and develop recommendations on future development needs for pasture use herder groups.

 

 

 

 

 

Herders and local communities are not fully involved and cooperate in decision-making, planning, implementation and monitoring processes of  sustainable use of pasture and other natural resources.  This in turn, undermines their own living environment, leading to pasture degradation, loss of biodiversity, depletion of natural resources and thus has become the main reason for degradation of rural livelihoods.  The roots lie in poor coordination of  government organisations and collaboration among relevant stakeholders, and most importantly, lack of participation of local communities in natural resource management as well as lack of capacity to engage in co-management of natural resources equally with other stakehoolders. 

Community-based natural resource management is the major tool to overcome the abovementioned obstacles, and the concept needs to be further developed in Mongolia’s conditions.  UNDP has been promoting the concept of CBNRM for ten years through its environmental protection projects, and provides support to improve legal and policy environement for CBNRM.

At his opening speech, Dr. Gantulga, State Secretary of MoFALI, stated “We lack comprehensive pasture and other natural resource management system, which leads to increased land degradation.  Deregulated and common use of pasture contributes to degradation even more.  This seriously hinders development of livestock sector in our country.  Therefore, in order to improve pasture management and possession we need to support herders to join their efforts in cooperative management of pastureland.”

Ms. Shoko Noda, UNDP Deputy Resident Representative, said “The threat of land degradation, and consequently desertification, is becoming a serious obstacle to growth in Mongolia. The main reasons of land degradation in Mongolia include overgrazing, depletion of forest resources by legal and illegal logging, excessive use of water resources, and mining. The Government of Mongolia developed policies to regulate forest resource use and approved a regulation on forest user groups. Such a regulation is not yet in place for the use of pasture resources. It is evident that the current system of open pasture use does not lead to adequate regulation and investments in pasture land.”

During the two-day Workshop, participants shared their best practices and lessons learned of institutional structure and factors affecting sustainability of community-based organizations that are established to use and possess natural resources (pasture, water, medicinal plants, biodiversity etc.).  Topics of discussion included:

1. legal framework and criteria for herder groups,
2. internal management of herder groups,
3. ways to improve pasture management,
4. mechanism for cooperation of national and local government, and other stakeholders, and
5. resolution of disputes over use of natural resources.

Participants of the workshop, comprising more than 60 stakeholders representing Parliament Standing Committee on Environment and Food and Agriculture, ministries, aimag and soum representatives, herders, academia, and international organizations have extensively contributed to the Recommendations that shall be delivered to policy-makers and would contribute towards improvement of legal environment for community based pastoral resource management in Mongolia.