THE FIRST SESSION OF THE CRIC 1122 NOVEMBER, 2002 ROME, ITALY

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THE FIRST SESSION OF THE CRIC 11-22 NOVEMBER,
2002ROME, ITALY

• Case study presentation on
• Participatory Processes in Combating
  Desertification
• By Dr.N. Sarantuya,
• Ministry of Nature and Environment
• MONGOLIA

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CCD as well as National Plan of Action to Combat
Desertification in Mongolia /1996/ stresses the
need for effective bottom-up participatory
approach in combating desertification
Project Integrated Prevention of
Desertification in Mongolians South Gobi
4 Soums (districts) of Bayankhongor Aimag
(province) 2 Soums in Ovorkhangai Aimag 6 Soums
in Southgobi Aimag Total area 48,6 thousand km2
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Objectives To Prevent Desertification and
contribute to the sustainable natural resource
management
Approach
Participatory People centered Process
oriented

• Strategy
• Empowering local communities to build sustainable
  livelihoods
• Developing stakeholder consensus on sustainable
  collaborative management of natural resources

Projects Role Process Facilitation
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Desertification in the Project Region
Challenges and Opportunities Limited Government
resources Large areas with few resources for
management and governance Grassland ecosystem
highly variable and can be planned best locally
Decentralization in natural resource
management Government commitment to local action
Pastureland degradation Sand movement Lake
levels dropping Streams drying up Change in
local weather patterns
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Project Partners, Main Actors Organizational
Structure

• Mongolian-German Cooperation
• Ministry for Nature and Environment
• Aimag Governments
• Sum Governments
• GTZ German Technical Cooperation
• Local Communities of
• Herders
• Sum Center Citizens

A network to encourage and support local action
by communities and government
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Natural Resources Analysis

• Participatory Learning and Actionfor Project
  Design and Implementation
• Facilitating analysis of problems and
  opportunities
• Understanding local livelihoods and local
  peoples perceptions
• Training workshops involving all stakeholders
• Building linkages

Socio-Economic Analysis

• Households well being ranking
• Livelihood analysis
• Access to credit
• Mens/womens
• Workload
• Institutions/Conflicts

• Resource Use Patterns
• Changes and Trends
• Mapping, Transects

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Community Planning and Action for Sustainable
Livelihoods and Conservation
Empowered Community Institutions
Self help groups of herders and sum center
citizens

• Community Leader and Council
• Community Objectives and Norms
• Community Fund
• Community Center

More than 50 active groups including more than
800 households in the project region
Process !
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Local Community ActionResponding to local needs
and opportunities
Location specific problems and opportunities of
resource use, and of livelihood and social
development . Local models for Mongolian concepts
of Community Based Natural Resource Management
and Collaborative Management of Natural Resources
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Ireedui Herders CommunityCollaborative
Management of Natural Resources

• Resource Rights Contract
• Agreements on Pasture Management Norms
• Protection of Bushes
• Information/Training Center
• Public Awareness
• Social development/ vulnerable households

Activities started with a mobile community center
founded by local women in 1999. Since then, the
Ireedui community center has attracted many
local people, groups, students and childrens
nature clubs. Ireeduis drama group has won
awards for their conservation message. The group
of 35 families has committed to not using bushes
for fuel wood. Their social achievements of
supporting and involving the most vulnerable and
poor community members are remarkable. After
initially focusing on conservation and social
activities, the group has only recently increased
their income generating activities.
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Community Action and Local Collaboration to
Combat Desertification
Uran Dosh of Khuren Khad Protect Khuren Khad
Valley, Visitor management and services, Tree
planting Pasture protection
Taats of Sum Center Vegetable Growing, Waste
Management Protection of medicinal plants
Kharz of Sum Center Small enterprise development
(felt making, restaurant, vegetable growing)
Andai Pasture and well protection and
management Planting trees
Water Management Unit of Sum Center Water and
well management, Repair and maintenance service
for winter shelters, fences etc
Sustainable Pasture Management Community
agreements on preserving winter pasture,
seasonal grazing, moving dates Protecting
Bushes Restoring Wetlands
Protecting Water Sources Grazing Reserves and
Watershed Protection
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Appropriate TechnologyDevelopment and
Dissemination
Solar energy
Briquettes and presses
Fuel efficient dung stoves
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The Social, Economic and Environmental Impacts of
Empowered Community Groupslocal peoples
feedback (evaluation)

• Communities can influence the government
• Other organizations are interested to cooperate
  with us
• Equality (of rural women) with men and city
  women has increased
• Education of community members has improved
• We respect each other, we help and support each
  other

• Pasture land is used properly
• Use of trees and bushes as fuel wood has
  decreased
• Illegal taking of falcons by foreign hunters has
  decreased
•  

• Living standard of families has improved
• Jobs were created for unemployed women

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Community Training Center Innovative Capacity
Building InstitutionCommunity Apex Organization
Grassroots rural development organization?
Community Center Ireedui trained all South gobi
soum governors, numerous community groups, local
people, students

• Monitoring and assessing planned activities
  through community meetings and discussions
• Community newsletter
• Addressing poverty-environment issue

• Community Apex Organization
• Community groups perceived the need for
• Community Exchanges and Experience Sharing
• Collaboration among groups
• Umbrella organization of community groups

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Outcomes

• Policy national and international
• Local models for national policy development on
  community based and collaborative management of
  natural resources (grasslands, protected areas,
  wildlife, water resources)

• Sustainable Natural Resource Management
• Right to resource use and improving resource
  management locally

• Rural Finance remote rural households
• Community funds for micro-credits to households,
  group credits (from Community and Sum Nature
  Conservation Funds) to community -improved
  livelihoods of community

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Outcomes

• Capacity Development project area and beyond
• Foundation of human capacity for self-help
• Community Organizations, based on customary
  institutions, adapting to socio-economic and
  political to change
• Equitable decision-making processes and
  perceptions of ownership of the process
• Changed attitudes and behaviors of policy makers
• Strengthening local awareness of issues and
  options
• Creating linkages between stakeholder groups
• Empowerment and social transformation

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Lessons Learned and Challenges

• Self-determined process of community organization
  takes time Continuous efforts are required,
• Recognizing the legal status of the community
  groups and empowering them to promote effective
  natural resource management,
• Community exchanges are effective mechanisms to
  share experiences and initiate community actions
  in new areas
• Incentive mechanisms for community development
  are needed tax exemption/reduction, lower
  tariff, award
• Institutional and financial support (of national
  and donors) for participatory approaches is
  extremely important!
• Building human and institutional capacities is
  essential
• Linking and integrating it with local
  development strategies/programmes is crucial as a
  basis for rural development and poverty
  eradication
• A need for developing criteria/indicators on the
  participatory process/social dimensions
  co-relation with field achievements/impacts

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Thank you for your attention
TELL ME AND ILL FORGET SHOW ME AND I MAY
REMEMBER INVOLVE ME AND ILL
UNDERSTAND (A.Campbell, 1994)