<p>The Sustainable Pasture Management and Adaptation with Resilient Technologies for Herders in Mongolia (SMART-Herders) project is designed with a comprehensive approach to foster climate-resilient and sustainable livestock and pasture management systems. Given Mongolia’s vulnerability to climate related disasters, such as dzuds, droughts, and land degradation exacerbated by extreme weather events, this project aims to build a foundation for resilience and long-term adaptability within the herder communities. Beyond the tangible impacts, such as the devastating loss of up to 30% of their livelihood, the project acknowledges the profound emotional and psychological toll that climate change can inflict on herder families.The overall objective of the project is to establish and implement a scalable climate adaptation model within Mongolia’s livestock sector, enhancing the resilience, productivity, and livelihood security of herder communities across targeted regions. This objective will be realized through a set of strategic interventions focusing on sustainable water resource management, climate-resilient infrastructure, and participatory knowledge-sharing mechanisms. Specifically, the project will introduce solar-powered water pumping systems, establish climate-resilient grazing and fodder production practices, and develop a robust knowledge management framework to facilitate the dissemination of best practices and assist in policy refinement. Aligned with Mongolia's National Adaptation Plan (NAP) 2024 and its climate resilience goals, the project has outlined six key objectives:1. Climate-Resilient Infrastructure: The addition of 2 solar-powered water stations and 4 White Gold Collection Centers strengthens the water and food security infrastructure for herder communities. More watering points allow livestock to spread out on pastures and lower grazing intensity around relatively few wells.2. Water Management: Integration of 40 water recharge berms supports drought resilience and aligns with sustainable water management goals.3. Sustainable Grazing Practices: Herders' Field Schools (HFS) to train 4,000 beneficiaries on adaptive pasture and livestock management, ensuring practical implementation. Sustainable pasture management practices and group pasture planning are key aspects for men and women.4. Knowledge and Technical Capacities: Expanding the National Adaptation Stakeholders Database to 1,000+ entities and linking it to early warning systems for dzud and drought prediction. Sharing experiences will be key to rapid adaptation.5. Knowledge Sharing  Policy Support: Documentaries and publications ensure knowledge dissemination, scaling up best practices and public support for rural communities.6. Empowering Vulnerable Groups: 40% of training participants and 30% of academic authors to be women, ensuring inclusivity in adaptation efforts.</p>

Mongolia: Sustainable pasture management and adaptation with resilient technologies for herders in Mongolia (SMART-Herders)

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An aim to achieve a quantifiable outcome within a given time-frame, set by an institution such as a national government.

Policy instruments are techniques or tools used by governing authorities to promote certain policies in order to achieve predetermined goals. Put simply, instruments are how a government tries to achieve its goals, with this taxonomy being focused on national policy instruments.

Risk is the potential for adverse consequences resulting from the dynamic interplay between (climate-related) hazards, exposure, and vulnerability of affected human or ecological systems.

Groups  of people who are adversely affected by climate change or the response to it

A set of principles, processes, and practices that build economic and political power to shift from an extractive economy to a regenerative economy.

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Area of the economy in which actors engage in identical or related activities.

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Financial support to help individuals manage the effects of unexpected events, securing their livelihoods and increasing the resilience of people and businesses to the changing climate. It’s especially vital in developing regions where everyday risks, climate-related weather extremes, or crop failures can push people into poverty. Without insurance, people may have to resort to selling assets or cutting consumption to cope with losses.

Tradable permits are market-based tools that grant permission for specific activities, frequently used to regulate emissions. These permits can be issued within a trading system to manage environmental impacts.

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Financial actors and resources that are primarily directed towards climate change mitigation, adaptation and compensation.

Dedicated pool of financial resources for climate-related projects.

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Aligning the skills of the workforce with the requirements of the just transition.

Either money or something of monetary value is transferred between two or more organisations, people or countries.

Conditions that enhance the feasibility of adaptation options. Enabling conditions include finance, technological innovation, strengthening policy instruments, institutional capacity, multi-level governance and changes in human behaviour and lifestyles.

Actions or measures to adapt terrestrial systems to climate change.

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Production of electricity and heat from solar irradiation.

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People with different national or cultural traditions from the dominant population

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People whose health, both mental and physical, makes them more vulnerable to the effects of climate change

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People who have left their homes, whether through force, voluntarily, or a mixture of both

woman and genders outside of the gender binary

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the fair distribution of risks and opportunities of climate change and the transition to a regenerative economy, cognisant in particular of disproportionate impacts on vulnerable communities and the working class

Procedural justice means ensuring that decision making is safe, transparent and inclusive, emphasizing the agency and influence of vulnerable groups and those most impacted.

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Climate change impacts our society by disrupting the natural, economic and social systems we depend on. Physical hazards and underlying vulnerabilities can lead to increased resource competition for food and water, which can heighten the risk of conflict.

Slow onset events evolve gradually from incremental changes over many years or from increased frequency or intensity of recurring events. As defined in the Cancun Adaptation Framework (2010), slow onset events include risks and impacts from rising temperatures, desertification, biodiversity loss, land and forest degradation, glacial retreat, ocean acidification, sea level rise, and salinization.

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Project Document

Target

Policy instrument

Risk

Impacted group

Just transition

Climate justice

Renewable energy

Fossil fuel

Greenhouse gas

Economic sector

Adaptation/resilience

Finance

Adaptation Fund

Climate Investment Funds

Green Climate Fund

Global Environment Facility