Grasslands of the World.pdf - Disasters and Conflicts - UNEP

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Grasslands of the world
systems were probably better equipped as well. It is not clear, therefore, to
what extent the recent losses are a reflection of severe weather events and how
much is due to lack of preparedness by herders and authorities. Stock numbers
have risen very steeply since 1990, and this may have been a contributing factor
to the severe losses.
Relief, once zud has struck and local reserves are inadequate, is not only
costly, it is often ineffective, since the time taken to procure, mobilize and
deliver feed is such that the relief fodder arrives once many stock have died and
often spring has come and the grass is greening up. This was strikingly demonstrated
in 2001. The quality of fodder used in relief work is another problem:
local hay is of low feeding value and the economics of transporting such a poor
feed over long distances is dubious. Unfortunately, since Mongolia produces
little in the way of crops , cereals, which would be a far better emergency fodder
and cheaper to transport, are not available.
Following the 1993 zud , “restocking” of herders was undertaken on a fairly
large scale in the hope that it would be an effective means of poverty alleviation,
notably with IFAD financing in Arkhangai. Restocking is the redistribution
of stock to herding families that have herds below the economic minimum.
The recent zuds, however, have indicated that such restocking on its own is
not really sustainable – restocked herders are just as prone to losses during
zud as they were before. Unless the other faults are dealt with – preparedness
of herders, maintenance of shelters, reconstitution of emergency services and
resolution of the grazing rights problem – restocking is likely to be expensive
and of transient benefit.
SUSTAINABILITY
Herding has been almost the sole land use of Mongolia for millennia and its
pastures, although hard grazed, are still in reasonably good order. Extensive,
mobile grazing systems are therefore sustainable and will continue to be the
main economic activity of the country. During the collective period, Mongolia
maintained a modified system of mobile grazing, using hardy local breeds of
livestock and without external sources of feed; its pastures have remained in
good order in contrast to most of the neighbouring countries that collectivized
their livestock industry.
Most of the neighbouring countries (Kyrgyzstan , Buryatya, parts of
Northern China ) that collectivized livestock modified their grazing systems ,
often restricting movement or sedentarizing the herders. In some cases, exotic
stock was introduced and imported feed brought in, permitting better overwintering
but also leading to severe overstocking. Pasture condition in these countries
is much worse than in Mongolia ; for example, the degradation of pasture
in the Ningxia Autonomous Region of China is described by Ho (1996). In the
case of Kyrgyzstan, the sheep industry, based on exotic fine-wool breeds and
imported feed, collapsed after decollectivization, with stock numbers falling