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Economic Growth in Mongolia Not Benefiting the Poor
Mongolian women laying out milk curds | By Steven Burt from Portland, USA | Wikimedia Commons
“While some parts of the country are being transformed, poverty remains very high and is becoming entrenched not only in rural areas but also in urban centres as the income gap widens and inequality increases” said the Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, Magdalena Sepúlveda.
High Poverty Levels, Increasing Inequalities
She added, “The fact that poverty levels remain high and there are increasing inequalities is a clear demonstration that the benefits of economic growth have not trickled down to the poor.”
Sepúlveda expressed concern about the challenges faced by vulnerable groups affected by poverty and social exclusion in Mongolia, such as women, children, persons with disabilities, older persons, migrants, herders and nomadic communities; ethnic minorities; lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people; persons living with HIV/AIDS, and stateless persons.
During her five-day visit, Sepúlveda met with senior Government officials, donor agencies, international organizations, financial institutions, civil society and communities living in poverty both within the capital, Ulaanbaatar, and surrounding districts, as well as Erden soum in the Tuv province, the UN reports.
Address Critical Needs of the Poorest… Immediately
The Special Rapporteur urged the Government to immediately address the critical needs of the poorest and most marginalized, ensuring that their rights are protected and they are provided with adequate resources and access to basic services, according to UN release.
“I have found that, for the most part, Mongolia has established a robust legal framework, recognizing that everyone must enjoy the rights to education, health, housing, food, etc. –however, the laws do not necessarily translate into the everyday reality for many Mongolians,” she said, stressing that “there are severe implementation gaps in almost all social policies, ranging from domestic violence to trafficking.”
Accountability mechanisms to monitor the implementation and progress of poverty reduction strategies will be necessary, Sepúlveda noted.
The Poor Can Wait No Longer
“Mongolia must foresee the necessary budgetary implications and ensure sustainability in the long term and implement the strategy with strong cross-sectorial coordination through the leadership of a designated ministry,” she said. “Those living in poverty in Mongolia can wait no longer.”
Independent experts, or special rapporteurs, are appointed by the Geneva-based Council to examine and report back on a country situation or a specific human rights theme. The positions are honorary and the experts are not UN staff, nor are they paid for their work.
Urgent Need to Protect Herders from Unregulated Mining, Logging, Water Pollution
Urgent action is needed to support Mongolia’s reindeer herders and protect them from unregulated mining, logging, water pollution and climate change, among other threats, according to a report by the UN environment agency, released on 26 March 2012.
The report by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), “Changing Taiga: Challenges for Mongolia’s Reindeer Herders,” assesses the current living situation of Mongolia’s reindeer herder community, the Dukha, of which only some 200 members remain, and explores ways to guarantee their livelihoods, as well as of preserving the ecosystem in which they live in.
“The taiga – the Dukha homeland – is a hotspot for biodiversity and is rich in natural resources, but it is also one of the regions of Mongolia which could suffer the greatest impacts of climate change over the coming decades,” said UNEP’s Executive Director, Achim Steiner.
Mining of Gold, Jade
Many herders, the report found, have abandoned pastures because of damage caused by unregulated, small-scale artisanal mining of gold and jade, which leads to deforestation, forest fires, chemical contamination and poisoning of water sources, according to UN release.
Steiner stressed that the challenges faced by the herders reflect challenges faced by communities across the world which are seeking to transition to a sustainable future that generates jobs and livelihoods while still protecting the environment.
In the case of Mongolia, its transition to a market economy in the 1990s resulted in eight million livestock being added to its pastures, significantly affecting traditional herding practices,
In addition, certain measures to conserve biodiversity in the region, such as the creation of national parks and stricter hunting laws, have limited access to pastures and affected herding communities negatively since their subsistence depends on trapping wild animals.
Droughts, Extreme Winters
Droughts and extreme winters in the past decade have also posed a threat to herders as they have led to widespread livestock deaths.
“As a culture tightly-coupled with the taiga environment, Dukha reindeer husbandry has played a significant role in shaping the environment and conserving the unique biodiversity surrounding them,” said the report’s Chief Editor, Kathrine I. Johnsen.
“It is important that any protected area regulations or community partnerships take full account of the Dukha’s needs and rights to access to their traditional pasture grounds and migration routes.”
Other activities such as tourism have been both beneficial and detrimental for the Dukha community, the report states, as it provides herders with incomes and alternative ways to participate in the market economy.
However, herders have altered reindeer migration routes to accommodate tourists, forcing animals to graze on pastures of poorer quality and limiting their ability to increase the herd size.
*Image: Mongolian women laying out milk curds | By Steven Burt from Portland, USA | Wikimedia Commons.
2012 Human Wrongs Watch
Filed under: Asia, Market Lords, Mother Earth, Others-USA-Europe-etc., The Peoples 
2012-12-09 03:08:36
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