CHINA/INNER MONGOLIA: BLIZZARDS 9 March 2001

appeal no. 03/01 situation report no. 2; special focus on the situation in Chifeng Prefecture period covered: 22 February - 5 March 2001

The situation among herders in Inner Mongolia has reached a critical stage as supplies of food and animal fodder are depleted. Aid provided to certain beneficiaries by the government before the Spring Festival has now been exhausted, and the poorest herders are resorting to eating carcasses of their dead animals. Animals continue to die in large numbers as a result of the extreme weather conditions and lack of fodder and grass. Information gathered during the latest field mission to one of the worst affected counties in the prefecture of Chifeng, confirms that there is an urgent need for action. Donors are encouraged to provide support to the Red Cross Society of China (RCSC) / Federation appeal in order to provide vulnerable herders with essential food staples as the spectre of malnutrition and disease looms large.

The context

On 31 December 2000, a freak blizzard hit a number of rural prefectures in the Chinese Autonomous Region of Inner Mongolia causing the death of 39 people and of over 220,000 head of livestock - the mainstay of the rural economy and the principal source of food for herders and their families. According to government reports, the number of dead animals may have risen to 300,000 towards the end of February. The blizzard, which is thought to be the worst in 50 years, combined snow and sand from the Gobi Desert and engulfed large parts of the Autonomous Region. It lasted up to 75 hours in some areas, and covered six of the twelve Leagues (prefectures) with snow of up to 50 cm in depth. As much as 23.2 million hectares of grassland have been affected by the snowfall. The blizzard is the second disaster to hit this region in the past six months. A drought in much of northern China during the appeal no. 03/01 situation report no. 2

summer of 2000 seriously affected the growth of grass, thereby preventing the herds of cattle in Inner Mongolia from building up reserves for the winter.

The current disaster is very similar in nature to that which hit Mongolia in 2000 and 2001, where an extensive and prolonged drought during the summer was followed by early, heavy snowfalls. A joint assessment mission carried out by the RCSC and the Federation in Inner Mongolia found that the nomadic herders in the region were struggling to preserve their depleted herds of cattle as a result of the combination of freezing conditions and lack of access to the main towns caused by the heavy snowfalls. The number of people affected as a direct result of the snowstorm is estimated at 2.194 million. Food and fuel reserves for the nomadic people who rely heavily on bartering their animals to provide supplementary food and fodder are rapidly running out. It is reported that as many as 400,000 of those affected are suffering from food shortages in the immediate term. Latest events

During the latest field trip by the Federation’s field delegate to the Chifeng prefecture, between 20 and 24 February, a number of the herders who were interviewed had been directly affected by the snow disaster. Interviews were carried out with families living in the traditional yurts (tents) and in mud brick houses in small villages. During the field mission, the delegate held several meetings with representatives from the Inner Mongolian Red Cross, the Chifeng prefecture branch, the Alukerqin county branch and officials from the local government.

The southern part of Chifeng prefecture lies considerably lower than the northern part. It is also much drier and warmer, so consequently it is the northernmost part of Chifeng prefecture that has been affected by the snow. However, when driving through the prefecture it is obvious that the whole area has been greatly affected by drought and overgrazing. The overgrazing has also led to desertification in many of the areas visited. The present disaster is limited to the northern parts of the five counties of Chifeng that border on Xilingol prefecture, which are situated up to 800 m above sea level.

Road communications are still limited in many areas as a result of the heavy snow. Whilst there are asphalted roads connecting the prefecture capital with the main county towns, many of the secondary roads are mostly gravel. Outside the main asphalted roads, the routes are little more than tracks through the grassland, making driving extremely difficult. Even four wheel drive trucks have difficulties accessing many of the areas due to the thick snow drifts. The assessment teams’ vehicles were frequently stuck in the snow, especially as they drove up into the hills.

At the lower elevations, most of the herders live in simple houses made of mud bricks. However, as the team drove towards the higher elevations, the standard form of shelter was yurts. It seems that only the more wealthy herders live in mud brick houses, whilst the poorer families live in the more simple traditional yurts or tents. Some of the richer families own some kind of three wheel transport vehicles or motorcycles. The herders who keep to the traditional way of life in yurts are more independent, flexible and mobile and therefore many of them cope with the present disaster by taking their herds to new areas. Horses are widely used in the area for transport, as are donkey carriages.

In general, people appeared not to have good warm clothes and traditional clothes seem to have almost disappeared. Many people wore simple rubber boots and thin cotton jackets despite the cold. Fuel did not appear to be a major problem in this prefecture and none of the herders interviewed complained of lack of fuel. Traditionally, herders heat their houses or yurts with animal dung that they gather from the grassland. Most of the herders are able to gather dung where the snow has cleared, even if it will take many weeks for the snow to melt away where the drifts are thickest.

Most of the families that were interviewed had already cut down their food rations by 1/3, which seriously affects their health as well as their ability to perform hard labour necessary under these circumstances. The people have little resistance to respiratory tract infections, influenza, stomach 2 appeal no. 03/01 situation report no. 2

infections and other problems that generally would not affect them to this extent in average winter conditions. Moreover, large numbers of people are suffering from frostbite after being exposed to the abnormally low temperatures. In order to assist the herders with the provision of medical assistance, the Hong Kong branch of the Red Cross Society of China is assisting the Inner Mongolian branch with funding to allow a number of Red Cross medical teams to operate in some of the worst affected areas.

The field delegate interviewed representatives of 9 families. From the information gathered, it became clear that most of those living in the villages had received some aid from the government before the spring festival. This assistance consisted mostly of wheat flour and rice and one family had received buckwheat or millet. The largest amount of assistance, reported by two families in the village of Talinghu, was of 70 kg per person. Others interviewed had received considerably less assistance; in one case 75 kg for a family of 4, and one family in Sarabatou village had received 25 kg.

The poorest families have depleted their food stocks, including those provided by the government, and are now forced to feed on the carcasses of their dead animals. This meat will, however, not last long as most were young animals, already weakened before the snow covered the dried grasslands. The carcasses weigh a fraction of a healthy animal and consist mainly of skin, bones and sinew. Traditionally, herders will only eat animals that die during the winter under extreme circumstances. Before the end of February, representatives of Chifeng Red Cross branch estimated that, on average, herders had not more than about one week’s ration of hay and fodder in reserve.

The chart below provides statistics on the situation throughout Inner Mongolia. It is important to note that the area targeted by the International Federation’s assistance are the Inner Mongolian prefectures of Xilingol, Tongliao and Chifeng. Statistics on these three prefectures are presented in a chart issued in situation report no.1 published on 27 February.

Please note that the numbers of dead animals, economic losses and affected population are expected to rise further until sufficient grazing for the animals is available in the summer.

This update reflects the situation as of 10 February; as a result, statistics relating to numbers of dead animals and economic losses will have risen considerably and will continue to rise over the next 2 months Total Geographic Prefectures 6 area Banners affected Sumo/townships 443

Total population of Inner Mongolia 23,620,000 Total population of affected banners 6,684,934 Affected Population 2,496,773 Injured, frostbite 78,098 Deaths 49 Animals dead 780,413 Affected grassland (hectares) 45,697,400 Damaged Animal shelters 27,630 houses homes 31,009 Collapsed Animal shelters 8,228 houses homes 9,216 Economic loss in 1,000 RMB 121,316

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Red Cross/Red Crescent action

On 1 March, the RCSC started a distribution of food purchased using funds provided by the Hong Kong branch of the RCSC. The assistance consisted of wheat flour (approximately 22.5 kg per person, estimated to last for 1.5 months). The amount of wheat flour presented in the chart below is an estimation, using the price of 1,600 yuan (CHF 323) per ton. The calculation of the number of recipients is based on this estimate and is consequently approximate.

Prefecture Amount (RMB) MT of flour (est.) No of recipients (est.) Xilingol 300,022 188 8,356 Xingan 929,993 581 25,822 Chifeng 699,970 437 19,422 Total 1,929,985 1,206 53,600

Outstanding needs

During the field mission to the Inner Mongolian prefecture of Chifeng, it became clear that the situation is reaching a critical stage for many herders. There is an acute shortage of both food and animal fodder, but in the immediate term it is most important to provide the most vulnerable population groups with basic food.

It has now been agreed with the RCSC that, due to the availability of traditional fuel and the limited funding available to date from the appeal, the Federation will give precedence to the provision of food under the appeal. As a result, a budget revision is currently being prepared and will be issued with the next situation report.

Nevertheless, further funding is vital if the Federation is to be in a position to provide food to the target population of 60,000 vulnerable herders for a four month period.

External relations - Government/UN/NGOs/Media

During the field mission, a considerable amount of video material was recorded, and a large number of photographs were taken during interviews with disaster victims. Detailed recordings were made and this material was presented to APTN which included an interview with the field delegate that was distributed to subscribers. The material was also made available to Reuters. Other print and wire service media were given updates on the latest situation in Inner Mongolia which was generally well received and widely distributed by wire services.

Many news agencies have shown strong interest in receiving more material from the Federation’s regional office following any future field trips. The regional office will continue to maintain close contacts with the international media based in Beijing to ensure that attention is focused on the grave situation amongst the herders in Inner Mongolia. Contributions

The appeal coverage currently stands at 20.0 %.

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Conclusion

The number of affected people and dying animals in the worst-affected prefectures continue to rise. An increasing number of families have little or no food, and many people suffer from health problems as a consequence of the severe winter and the lack of adequate sustenance. Additional support for the appeal is urgently sought in order to bring vital, prompt assistance to the vulnerable herder population.

Peter Rees-Gildea Hiroshi Higashiura Head a.i. Head Relationship Management Department Asia & Pacific Department

This and other reports on Federation operations are available on the Federation's website: http://www.ifrc.org

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China - Inner Mongolia ANNEX 1

APPEAL No. 03/2001 PLEDGES RECEIVED 03/09/01

DONORCATEGORYQUANTITYUNITVALUE CHFDATECOMMENTPLEDGE

CASH TOTAL COVERAGE REQUESTED IN APPEAL CHF ------> 3,056,180 20.0%

CASH CARRIED FORWARD

AMERICAN - GOVT100,000 USD 162,800 02.02.01 EARMRK. 516 MT WHEAT FLOUR CANADIAN - RC50,000 CAD 54,125 05.02.01 0102066

DANISH - RC95,000 DKK 19,570 07.02.01 0102065

DANISH - GOVT30,000 USD 48,840 16.02.01 WHEAT FLOUR & OPERATIONAL COSTS

JAPANESE - RC153,000 06.03.01 0103032

SWEDISH - GOVT1,000,000 SEK 173,700 30.01.01 RELIEF AND OPERATIONAL NEEDS

SUB/TOTAL RECEIVED IN CASH 612,035 CHF 20.0%

KIND AND SERVICES (INCLUDING PERSONNEL)

DONORCATEGORYQUANTITYUNITVALUE CHFDATECOMMENT

SUB/TOTAL RECEIVED IN KIND/SERVICES 0 CHF 0.0%

ADDITIONAL TO APPEAL BUDGET

DONORCATEGORYQUANTITYUNITVALUE CHFDATECOMMENT

SUB/TOTAL RECEIVED 0 CHF

THE FOLLOWING PROJECTS ARE LINKED TO THIS APPEAL:

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