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This report describes the results of a household survey conducted in September 2009 in a selected peri-urban subdistrict (bag) in Darkhan city. A total number of 139 randomly selected households were surveyed about the current status of environmental sanitation, including water supply, sanitation, stormwater management and solid waste management. Special focus was placed on socio-economic issues, the environmental sanitation practices and perceptions of the ger residents, and their attitudes towards and demand for improved environmental sanitation services. The results of the household survey are embedded in further research work assessing the water and sanitation sector in Darkhan city, Darkhan-Uul aimag and Mongolia, specifically in regard to peri-urban ger areas. The results reveal a problematic situation: Due to improved access to safe drinking water, water consumption and the corresponding wastewater have increased, leading to environmental degradation and potential health risks. Greywater is discharged untreated into greywater holes, open drainage channels or on open fields. Self-built unsealed pit latrines without cleanouts are used on every household's compound. Thus urine and faeces leak into the ground. Stormwater is collected in a perfunctory manner which can lead to stormwater flooding in the rainy season. Most of the interviewees were quite aware of these problems and were willing to contribute towards improvements. From the point of view of the ger residents, sanitation is the most pressing issue they face, followed by water supply, solid waste management and stormwater management. -- Mongolia ; environmental sanitation ; peri-urban ; ger areas ; household survey ; current status ; practices ; perceptions

Includes bibliographical references. ; Presented at the Building resilience of Mongolian rangelands: a trans-disciplinary research conference held on June 9-10, 2015 in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. ; In Mongolia, partners from national and aimag governments, academia and NGOs have developed regional conservation plans that balance the government commitment to protection of natural habitats with planned development of mineral resources and related infrastructure. A key input is a mapped classification of major habitat types, or ecosystems, to represent the range of natural habitats and function as a surrogate for biodiversity. We developed a GIS model to map ecosystems across the Mongolian Gobi Desert region by comparing the distribution of plant communities and major vegetation types, taken from field surveys and national maps, with patterns of above-ground biomass, elevation, climate and topography derived from remote sensing. The resulting mapped classification is organized as a hierarchy of 1) biogeographic regions, 2) terrestrial ecosystem types based on vegetation, elevation and geomorphology, and 3) landforms. This provides a first-iteration map to support landscape-level conservation planning and a model framework that can support field surveys and future model revisions, with other applications to land use planning, research, surveys and monitoring. To facilitate that, the GIS results are publicly available either for download or to view and query in a web-based GIS available at: http://s3.amazonaws.com/DevByDesign-Web/MappingAppsVer2/Gobi/index.html

Includes bibliographical references. ; Presented at the Building resilience of Mongolian rangelands: a trans-disciplinary research conference held on June 9-10, 2015 in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. ; This study tested the effect of institutional design principles on social outcomes of evolving pastoral institutions in post-socialist Mongolia. Using data from 77 community-based rangeland management (CBRM) groups and 392 member households, we examined the effect of donor facilitation on institutional design. We found that donor facilitation approach significantly influenced group attributes and their external environment, but not institutional arrangements. The study confirmed that small group size, homogeneous interests, and heterogeneity of well-being are important group characteristics that predict higher levels of information diversity, leadership, and income diversity. Institutional arrangements such as the presence of sanctions, group-devised rules, frequent meetings, and recording documents increased cooperation, rules, and information diversity. Similarly, access to training and local government support provided a favorable external environment for increasing social outcomes. Furthermore, group characteristics such as dependence on livestock, homogeneity of interests, and leader legitimacy were critical for increasing social capital, livelihoods, sustainable rangeland practices, and proactive behavior of members. More frequent meetings of leaders were the most influential for these outcomes. Local government support and available donor support were associated with increased trust and norms of reciprocity, sustainable rangeland management practices, proactiveness, and livestock holdings. Lastly, group attributes and external environment influenced social outcomes of pastoral CBRMs in Mongolia more than institutional arrangements.

Includes bibliographical references. ; Presented at the Building resilience of Mongolian rangelands: a trans-disciplinary research conference held on June 9-10, 2015 in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. ; In 2014 the Mongolian parliament approved the Green Development Policy. Out of 21 aimags, Khovd, Arkhangai, Uvurkhangai, Khentii and Bulgan aimags set an objective of prioritizing green development on their local level. This paper is based on the project "Conducting environmental and social vulnerability research of soums in five aimags leading in green development and developing strategy recommendation" and it is written using Khovd aimag as a case study. Here, in Khovd aimag's 17 soums, we evaluated eight variables including drought-dzud index, vegetation index, preventable livestock loss, prepared hay and fodder, pasture use index, degree of desertification, land degradation and surface water loss, allowing us to make an integrated assessment of ecological vulnerability. According to our analysis, the Gobi desert steppe region was defined as most vulnerable among environmental zones, and out of a total of 17 soums Altai, Uyench, Zereg, Chandmani and Duut soums were defined as most vulnerable, followed by Must, Darvi, Munkhhairkhan, Mankhan and Myangad soums. There is a need to give top priority to the planning and implementation of green policy in these ecologically more vulnerable soums by increasing their "green" budget. This will allow them to develop their capacity to adapt to climate change, decrease their vulnerability, to conduct optimal management of pasture use and have targeted preparation of hay and fodder.

Study on Mongolian sacred sites and related sutras in Mongolian and Tibetan

Collection of articles on the 1913 Tibeto-Mongol Treaty, including the Tibetan and Mongolian versions of the treaty, and their respective translations into English