PRESS CONFERENCE BY MONGOLIA

Press Briefing

PRESS CONFERENCE BY MONGOLIA

Film clips documenting the profound impact of the massive loss of livestock to the nomadic Mongolians as a result of the drought were presented this morning at a Headquarters press conference on the relief efforts under way.

The press conference was attended by: Jargalsaikhany Enkhsaikhan, the Permanent Representative of Mongolia; Douglas Gardner, the United Nations Resident Coordinator for Mongolia; Susan Markham from the Public Affairs Division of the Department of Public Information (DPI); and Steve Whitehouse from the Department’s Video Section. Ms. Markham said the recent DPI footage on the disaster was available from Margaret Riddell at 963-7653.

Mr. Enkhsaikhan said in Mongolia, a country of nomads because of its climate and geography, animal husbandry played a vital role in the economy and was responsible for over 30 per cent of its gross domestic product. Pastoral grazing depended to a great extent on climate conditions. One of every three Mongolians was directly dependent on livestock grazing. Last winter, Mongolia had had a severe drought. The word "drought" covered a variety of natural disasters in Mongolia. For example, a "white drought" when so much snow fell that livestock could not reach the grass beneath it; an "iron drought" when an impenetrable layer of ice formed; or a "black drought" from lack of precipitation. Mongolia was feeling the effects of the global climate change, he said.

The current tinder-dry weather was causing many forest and field fires, he continued. In one year alone, 25 per cent of forests in Mongolia were affected. Winters and summer were becoming less predictable. Last winter, there were multiple droughts that caused an ecological, economic and social disaster. Over 20 per cent of the population and 13 of the 21 provinces were affected. Mongolia had had the coldest winter in the past 30 years, with a temperature in some places of -46 degrees centigrade. Lives had been lost, people had been displaced and 3 million livestock had died, 10 per cent of the total.

He added that there was a further threat from the decaying livestock, which contaminated not just the immediate environment, but also the water resources, including underground water flows. Moreover, the likelihood of disease outbreaks was high. For most people in the affected areas, their livestock was their only source of food, transport, heating material and purchasing power, as well as their means of access to medical service and places of education.

The government had taken many measures to cope and was devoting much human and financial resources, he said. The international community was also sending aid, with the United Nations being among the first to respond to the appeal.

Mr. Gardner, who had spent the past four years in Mongolia, said it was hard for some to grasp the extent of the human drama for people in the affected areas in Mongolia. When people lost their livestock, they lost everything. "I remember a thirteen-year old girl who had spent the night out looking for her

Mongolia Press Conference - 2 - 27 June 2000

animals in the kind of cold the Ambassador was talking about. There was a windstorm and she was stuck behind a rock all night. In the morning, she couldn't move her arm. Fortunately, though, we were traveling with a doctor. Every home you stopped in had a human drama along that line", he said.

The livestock disaster was not simply a short-term issue, but now a development matter as well, he continued. The United Nations was focusing on building up such structures as the winter shelter and veterinarian systems and pastureland management, as Mongolia made its transition to a market economy and democracy. The Government and the United Nations were examining how future disasters of the same nature could be prevented.

Part of the answer, he said, lay with widening the economic base and helping herders transfer to other forms of income generation, such as vegetable gardening, and helping people in the city move into knowledge-based income generation. Stating that Mongolia had a very high literacy rate, he said the challenge was to figure out how that "brainpower" could be exported.

He added that there was an extraordinary team effort in Mongolia, under the leadership of the government and the State emergency commission in coordination with the entire United Nations system and many non-governmental organization (NGOs) and multilateral organizations. They were now moving from emergency response to rehabilitation.

In response to a question on how many people had died as a result of the drought, Mr. Enkhsaikhan said that fortunately people had been able to adapt in time to the cold and organize themselves in such a way as to minimize the loss of life. But, the loss of livestock was another matter.

Mr.Gardner said 500,000 people were directly affected by the loss of livestock. Many children had not been able to return to school, which would have an impact in the future, and there was a threat to their nutrition. Economic development might suffer, as well.

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