Pastoral community organization, livelihoods and biodiversity conservation in Mongolia's Southern Gobi Region

Abstract

In this paper I describe processes and impacts of collective action by mobile pastoralist communities, and of external support strategies to strengthen local institutions and cooperation in Mongolia’s southern Gobi. The need for pastoral mobility triggered the processes leading to community organization, and the emergence, or re-emergence, of local informal institutions. Their growing role in natural resource management, conservation, rural self-governance and service delivery, and the onset of self-organization and scaling-up without external input may suggest success in terms of developing institutional capacity, and of strong local ownership of donor supported activities. With the development of a participatory monitoring system, evidence is mounting of positive social, economic and environmental impacts of collective action facilitated by community institutions, both for pastoral and non-pastoral rural livelihoods in the Gobi region.

Parent Publication

• Rangelands of Central Asia: Proceedings of the Conference on Transformations, Issues, and Future Challenges

Citation

Schmidt, Sabine M. 2006. Pastoral community organization, livelihoods and biodiversity conservation in Mongolia''s Southern Gobi Region. In: Bedunah, Donald J., McArthur, E. Durant, and Fernandez-Gimenez, Maria, comps. 2006. Rangelands of Central Asia: Proceedings of the Conference on Transformations, Issues, and Future Challenges. 2004 January 27; Salt Lake City, UT. Proceeding RMRS-P-39. Fort Collins, CO: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station. p. 18-29