Adaptation of Rural Livelihoods to Structural and Climatic Changes in Western Mongolia

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Adaptation of Rural Livelihoods to Structural and Climatic Changes in Western Mongolia SLE 2020 SLE BERLIN Centre for Rural Development (SLE) Berlin SLE PUBLICATION SERIES - S282 Adaptation of rural livelihoods to structural and climatic changes in Western Mongolia An analysis of the development potentials of horticultural production and tourism as income sources in Khovd and Uvs Province Camilo Vargas Koch, Wiebke Beushausen, Mengina Gilli, Simon Schoening, Lukas Schreiner, Jana Zotschew Income diversification in Western Mongolia Western in Income diversification 2020 ISSN: 1433-4585 ISBN: 978-3-947621-13-2 S282 Adaptation of rural livelihoods to struc- tural and climatic changes in Western Mongolia An analysis of the development potentials of horticultural production and tourism as income sources in Khovd and Uvs Province Seminar für Ländliche Entwicklung | Centre for Rural Development SLE has been offering practice-oriented vocational education and training for fu- ture experts and managers in the field of international development cooperation since 1962. The courses range from Postgraduate Studies to Training Courses for international experts in Berlin to practice-oriented research and Consultancy for Organizations and Universities active in the field of development cooperation. Camilo Vargas Koch Teamleader, Economics (Diploma) E-Mail: [email protected] Wiebke Beushausen M.Sc. Agricultural Science E-Mail: [email protected] Mengina Gilli M.Sc. Geography E-Mail: [email protected] Simon Schoening M.A. East European Studies E-Mail: [email protected] Lukas Schreiner M.Sc. Energy and Environmental Engineering E-Mail: [email protected] Jana Zotschew M.Sc. Geography E-Mail: [email protected] SLE Postgraduate Studies on International Cooperation for Sustainable Development PUBLICATION SERIES S282 Study in cooperation with Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH Adaptation of rural livelihoods to struc- tural and climatic changes in Western Mongolia An analysis of the development potentials of horticultural production and tourism as income sources in Khovd and Uvs Province Camilo Vargas Koch Wiebke Beushausen Mengina Gilli Simon Schoening Lukas Schreiner Jana Zotschew Berlin, April 2020 Supported by SLE PUBLICATION SERIES S282 Editor Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin SLE Postgraduate Studies on International Cooperation for Sustainable Development Hessische Str. 1-2 10115 Berlin Germany Phone: +49 30 2093-46890 FAX: +49 30 2093-46891 E-Mail: [email protected] Website: www.sle-berlin.de Backstopper Dr. Susanne Neubert Buch- und Offsetdruckerei Print H. Heenemann GmbH & Co. KG Bessemerstraße 83-91 12103 Berlin Distribution SLE Hessische Str. 1-2 10115 Berlin Germany Cover photos Simon Schoening Copyright 2020 by SLE st 1 Edition 2020 (1-100) ISSN 1433-4585 ISBN 978-3-947621-13-2 Preface i Preface For 58 years, the Centre for Rural Development (SLE, Seminar für Ländliche Entwicklung), Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, has trained young professionals in the field of German and international development cooperation. Three-month empirical and application-oriented research projects conducted on behalf of German or international development agencies form an integrated part of the one-year postgraduate course. In interdisciplinary teams and with the guidance of experienced team leaders, young professionals carry out assignments on innovative topics, providing consultancy support to the commissioning organi- sations while involving a diverse range of actors from household to national levels in the process. The outputs of this applied research directly contribute to solving specific development problems. The studies are mostly linked to rural development themes and have a socio- economic focus, such as improvement of agricultural livelihoods or regimes for sustainable management of natural resources. The host countries are mainly de- veloping or transforming countries, but also fragile states. In the latter, themes such as disaster prevention, peace building, and relief are examined. Some studies develop new methodologies, published in handbooks or guidelines. Further priori- ties are evaluations, impact analysis and participatory planning. In the future, however, studies may also take place in the Global North, since the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are a global concern. SLE has carried out more than two hundred consulting projects in more than ninety countries and regularly publishes project results in this series. In 2019, SLE teams completed studies in Togo, Benin, SADC, Rwanda, Uganda and Mongolia. The present study analyses the potential benefits and challenges of advancing the tourism and horticultural sectors in Uvs and Khovd Aimag (province) in West- ern Mongolia, and was conducted in cooperation with the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH. The report is also downloadable from www.sle-berlin.de. We wish you a stimulating read. Prof. Dr. Bernhard Grimm Prof. Dr. Markus Hanisch Dean Director Faculty of Life Sciences Centre for Rural Development (SLE) Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin ii Acknowledgements Acknowledgements First and foremost, we want to thank Dr. Karin Reinprecht and Michael Trockenbrodt from the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) for initiating and enabling this study. Your outstanding support and cooper- ation accompanied us in Mongolia as well as in Germany and paved our road for the successful implementation of this research project. We furthermore want to express our gratitude to all GIZ staff members and as- sociates of the Supporting Protected Areas for the Conservation of Ecosystem Services (SPACES) programme and the Integrated Mineral Resources Initiative (IMRI) who offered their support during our stay despite having other pressing demands. Special thanks go to Sakin Kenjbai, Tsendjav Dalantsagaan, Enkhbat Okhinoo and Markus Pesch for their direction and support rendered throughout the planning and conduction of the research. This research project would not have been possible without the support from our assistants Oyunchimeg Mandakh, Altaa Lkhagvasuren, Gantsetseg Dashaa, Rizagul Nurgaz and Enkhbayar Batsukh who facilitated the data collection and acted as linguistic and cultural translators in Khovd and Uvs Aimag. Thank you for your time and kindness. Likewise, we thank the various drivers that enabled us to safely travel through Western Mongolia. Our warmest thank you goes to the many people of the local population that invited us into their homes and were willing to kindly answer all our questions which enabled the accomplishment of this study. The same holds true for the oth- er interviewees from government ministries, academic institutions, the private sector and public organisations across Mongolia. Баярлалаа. Furthermore, we cordially thank Dr. Kathi Kränert from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) for sharing her expertise and relevant docu- ments with us. We hope to return this favor by providing some aspects in this study which are of interest to your work, too. We would also like to thank Dr. Ganchimeg Altangerel from the Department of Asian and African Studies at the Humboldt University for her patience in teaching us our first Mongolian words and introducing us to this fascinating country. Many thanks also go to the editor(s) of our study who took the effort to enrich the final document with their finishing touches. Acknowledgements iii We convey our sincere thanks to the Freunde und Förderer des Seminars für Ländliche Entwicklung (SLE) for granting financial support to one of our members. Your engagement made it possible for us to travel together as a team. Moreover, we express our heart-felt gratitude to the SLE staff at the Humboldt University in Berlin. Your guidance and advice on how to implement our project was indispensable for our work. Finally, we feel deeply grateful for the excellent support we received from Dr. Susanne Neubert who accompanied our working process in a wonderful manner. Thank you to everyone how helped us achieving this project. Executive summary v Executive summary Context This study analysed the potential benefits and challenges of advancing the tourism and horticultural sectors in Uvs and Khovd Aimag (province), in Western Mongolia. The evaluation of both sectors was based on the analysis of the rural populations' livelihoods in both provinces. Western Mongolia has a low population density and (semi-)mobile pastoralism is one of the main livelihood activities. The region is further characterised by low rainfall, short summers and harsh winters. Climate change, manifested as chang- ing rainfall patterns, an increase in the mean temperature as well as the frequency of extreme weather events – such as harsh winter conditions referred to as dzuds – could present additional challenges for people living in the region’s rural areas. The structural changes brought by the country’s transition to a market econo- my in the 1990s had an enduring effect on socio-economic conditions at the na- tional level, and remain significant to this day. For our purposes, the defining phe- nomenon of the transformation was the high rate of rural to urban migration per- sistent over the past two decades. The problem statement of the study is: Interlinked and multidimensional struc- tural and climatic changes threaten the quality of life and resilience of rural liveli- hood systems in Western Mongolia. Horticulture and Tourism were analysed as additional income opportunities for the rural
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