13 Community forestry in Mongolia - Lamjav Dorjtseden^[17]

ABSTRACT

Only 8.1 percent of Mongolia is covered with forests mainly of conifers and deciduous trees. The major tree species are larch, spruce and Siberian pine. Mongolia for the first time in history adopted a National Forestry Programme in 1998, which was reviewed later in 2001, in response to the growing need for better forest management in a market economy. Poverty has increased dramatically in the last 10 years due to the collapse of the state-subsidized entities, droughts and harsh winters. Mongolia has also implemented a Poverty Alleviation Programme to help finance small-scale production projects that can employ local communities. The government has also initiated programmes to encourage the local people in the protection and restoration of nature, and to support them in developing sustainable resource-based business.

INTRODUCTION

Mongolia has a territory of 1.567 million km², larger than the combined area of Great Britain, Germany, France and Italy. It lies in a transitional zone between the boreal forests of Siberia and the Gobi Desert, spanning the southernmost border of the permafrost and the northernmost deserts of Central Asia. Mongolia is separated from the oceans by large distances and high mountain chains, and has an extreme continental climate with very low rainfall. Most rainfall occurs in summer, between June and August. Mean monthly temperatures for the last thirty years range from -25.8°C (January) to 20.2°C (July). The average elevation is 1380 m above sea-level.

Mongolia has a population of 2407 500 people with 786 500 people living in the capital city of Ulaanbaatar and 1621 000 thousand people living in the rural areas (2000 census). The annual rate of GDP of Mongolia is 1.1 percent. Mongolia has not yet experienced the high level of industrialization as the other areas of Asia. The main economic sector is agriculture (primarily livestock raising). About 34 percent of the population are directly dependent on extensive livestock production with another 26 percent indirectly dependent.

FOREST RESOURCES AND THEIR MANAGEMENT

The forests are mainly located in the northern part of the country, basically within Khangai and Khentii Ranges and near Khovsgol Lake. Mongolian forests are located on the transition zone of Siberian Taiga and the Central Asian Steppe zones. Forests in Mongolia, due to their Central Asian hard continental origin, have low capacity for natural regeneration and fast growth and are very sensitive to forest fire, insects and anthropological activities.

The total forest land area of the country equals 18 291 800 ha and covers only 8.1 percent of the total territory, so that by global scale, Mongolia is considered a country with poor forest reserves. Mongolian forests consist of 140 species of trees, shrubs and woody plants, of which coniferous and deciduous forests constitute 84.0 percent, and saxaul (Haloxylon ammodendron) forests 16.0 percent. The forests are composed primarily of coniferous trees such as larch, spruce and Siberian pine. The country’s forest area is distributed by forest species as follows:

The new Law on Forests establishes three forest categories: strict zone, protected zone and utilization zone. In the strict zones all activities are prohibited, apart from gathering dead wood and other approved forest resources (i.e. mushrooms, berries, pine nuts, etc.). Also conservation measures are allowed to maintain the ecological balance. In the protected zones allowed measures include actions against fire, diseases and insects, and general forest maintenance to ensure normal growth. It is prohibited to cut any young trees as well as certain named species of rare trees and shrubs, and cutting of cedar, spruce or elm requires a permit from the Ministry of Nature and Environment. Provision is also made in the law to ban hay-making and stock grazing in certain forests or where seedlings are planted. Timber contracts are required to stipulate reforestation arrangements, and clear cutting is banned under the law.

Mongolia for the first time in history has adopted a National Forestry Programme in 1998 in response to the growing need for better forest management in a market economy. The programme was reviewed later in 2001. This programme provided the framework for the state policy on forestry and identified major objectives toward sustainable forest resource management.

CURRENT SITUATION OF THE FOREST

There are considerable human influences on forest ecosystems, including timber cutting, livestock grazing and burning. Mongolians traditionally used wood for making ger frames, furniture, fences and sheds for animals. But due to the industrial development during the last several decades, the wood consumption has been changed or expanded including a large amount for export.

During the last 30 to 40 years, timber logging was carried out in an unsustainable way and 250 000 ha of forest were improperly cut. A large amount of forest is burnt by forest fire every year. According to recent data, particularly during 1996-1997 over 5 million ha of forest were damaged with 500 000 ha of forest completely lost. During the last 60 years only about 30 percent were reforested with poor quality forests. In the last 10 years illegal logging has been a serious problem and threat to the forest resources in response to the increase in unemployment rate and poverty.

At present annual logging in the country ranges 600-700 thousand m³ to supply domestic needs only. The Ministry of Nature and Environment has put a ban on log export. In 1989, prior to the transition to market economy the percentage of the forest products sector in the gross domestic products was 4.7 percent; however, this rate had decreased to 0.25 percent by 1998. Recent statistics indicate that there is a tendency of an increase in forest products in the last few years, although this sector has been developing in Mongolia since 1924, being one of the oldest industrial sectors with a continuous operation over the past 80 years.

POVERTY AND FOREST

Poverty has increased dramatically in the last 10 years due to the collapse of the state subsidized entities. Many people who lost their jobs depend on natural resources to live. Another reason for the poverty is associated with the last few years of drought and harsh winter (we call it "dzud"). Many herdsmen have lost their livestock in recent years because of this natural disaster.

Recently the Government of Mongolia implemented the Poverty Alleviation Programme with financial assistance from the World Bank. One of the major goals of this programme was to help finance small-scale production projects that can employ local communities. Also as part of this programme the herdsmen who had lost many livestock in recent years were assisted in restocking.

The Government of Mongolia has issued a provision in 2002 to retrain and support the people who lost their jobs in forestry. In 2002, the government adopted a "National Action Plan on Employment Encouragement". There are many important issues on how to encourage the local people in the protection and restoration of nature, and to support them in developing sustainable resource-based business. For instance, last year over 1000 local people were involved in forest clean-up, restoration of damaged landscape, reforestation and activities to protect the forest from fire and insects. This number was increased to 1700 people this year.

COMMUNITY FORESTRY

According to the Forest Law of 1995, every citizen of Mongolia has the right to possess the forest land. However, it has not been practised widely yet. The community forestry concept was introduced recently in Mongolia. A number of projects have provided the necessary technical assistance to community forestry development in Mongolia.

It is important to encourage the active participation and efforts of state and local administrative bodies, NGOs and individuals in the conservation of forest resources. There is a great need to change the people’s mentality towards the community-based natural resource management. In this regard the Ministry of Nature and Environment has adopted "Recommendations for Forming Forest Groups". To date, 25 entities and forest groups possess the forest resource on contract basis covering 270 000 ha. Again the community forest concept is in the early stage of development.