Struggling to Survive is a BBC News page, with links to other articles describing .in stories and pictures the disaster that befell Mongolia's herding communities during the first few months of 2010.
"Mongolians 'broken' by harvest of carcases" - a New York Times article puts the disaster in focus.
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How to face the future - the question thousands of nomads are now having to to face up to
In the first 5 months of 2010, more than 8.8 million herd animals, equal to 20 percent of total livestock at beginning of the year - were lost to the dzud. Of these were 7,600 camels, 298.000 horses, 501,800 cows, 3,636,600 sheep and 4,377,700 goats. (Montsame News Agency)
As of mid-May, over 32,700 families had lost at least half of their animals, including 8,711 households left without any livestock at all, the UN said in an inter-agency appeal (UB Post article)
The UN estimates that as many as 20,000 pastoralists may relocate to urban areas in the aftermath of the dzud. And in the same gradual way that the dzud developed - so, say the UN will the process of relocating. Most likely, they’ll go to where they have family, where they can find land, according to a UN Habitat representative in Mongolia. The challenge now is for the UN to track these movements, but so far without the tracking mechanism in place.
For the migrants, there are no easy answers. Some have had to use dzud relief money given them from the Human Development Fund earlier in the year, to end up on the outskirts of an ever expanding Ulaanbaatar, first to find a piece of land on which to pitch their ger. But before being able to register the plot in their name, it will have to be fenced. Until then, they must return to their original habitat to receive any social services or payment entitlements.
For other herders, those who have lived all their lives in more remote areas and lack job skills, migrating to the capital is both daunting and risky. Many herders say they are not ready to give up. Some, even though they lost nearly all their animals, still want to maintain their old pastoral lifestyle, or at least try it again for another year or so, but only if government aid helps them in re-stocking.
It has been reported (UB Post) that the Asian Development Bank loan could be used to pay 3 million MNT (approx. US$220) to families who lost all their animals. According to the UN representative, if the government started making this payment, it is only going to help people in the short term and won't address the issue of rehabilitation and generating income.
But for very many, the writing is truly on the wall. The 'boom and bust' cycle that for long has dominated their lifestyle, whether brought about by dzuds, climate change or the economincal effects of globalisation, needs a serious change to their long-term outlook, especially for the younger generations. Whether they move to the cities or remain in the countryside, they at last are facing the stark reality that leaving their fortunes to the elements is no longer an option. Across the land nomads are now talking of starting herders’ cooperatives, of reducing herd numbers to focus on healthier animals that produce more, better quality meat and cashmere wool, or settling down to growing vegetables.
It really is a time of great change for herding communities, and CAMDA will continue in its small way to help those in need wherever possible.
