Millions of hides to become available in livestock burial scheme
26/02/2010
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is offering rural communities in Mongolia cash incentives to bury livestock, which will mean the hides and skins of millions of goats, sheep, horses, camels, cows and yaks will come onto the market.
Millions of livestock scattered around the country have died or are close to perishing after 60% of Mongolia was covered by up to 40centimetres of snow this winter. Grazing areas are out of reach for most of Mongolia’s livestock and many are malnourished. More than 2.7 million livestock have already perished from the cold, and their carcasses remain in the fields. Once the snow starts to melt, this poses threats to the spread of diseases, infections and soil pollution.
To prevent this from happening The UNDP has offered to pay herders to clean and bury the carcasses. The aim is to reach 60,000 herders, with special emphasis on those with fewer than 200 animals who have been particularly adversely affected. Already one-third of the population lives below the poverty line in Mongolia, a figure that is expected to rise owing to the massive livestock loss.
While Mongolians are used to frigid winter conditions, this year is particularly harsh because of a phenomenon called Dzud, which occurs when severely cold winters (with the temperature at times going below 50 degrees Celsius) are preceded by dry summers that make it hard for people in agricultural communities to store sufficient grazing. Fodder supplies in Mongolia have now run out, resulting in the loss of the millions of livestock in a country where one-third of the population relies on herding and agriculture.
The Mongolian government has estimated that by the end of the cold season in June another three million livestock will die. For burial of more than five million animals, the government of Mongolia requested $4 million for clearing the carcasses. UNDP has already allocated $300,000 and is working on raising further resources for this. The National plan to remove all carcasses will need $4 million.
“While immediate needs of food, shelter, heating and health care must be met, this approach would prevent the spread of diseases and also help herders to feed their families during the Dzud,” said Akbar Usmani, UNDP resident representative in Mongolia. “Livestock is the cornerstone of existence for so many Mongolians and many people have lost all their direct income and food source.”
The UNDP's programme officer for biodiversity conservation, Onno van den Heuvel, told leatherbiz.com that preserving as many of the hides and skins of the livestock as possible was an important part of what the organisation was seeking to do in the face of Dzud in Mongolia. The UNDP accepts that the value of the hids represents an important source of income for the herders. He said: "The point is very important and I would like to clarify that only the hides that are no longer usable would be buried."
Mr van den Heuvel went on to explain that most herders in Mongolia sell hides in small volumes to traders. "According to the information we have received about the last months, many herders are keeping the hides inside their gers [the local word for yurt, or portable dwelling] along with live animals for their survival," he said.
He went on to say that the UNDP support will be in two steps. The immediate response will help to clear out animal remains to reduce health risks, while providing some additional income to the herders to get through this harsh period. But in the following stage the organisation will try to support initiatives that will help herders improve their livelihoods. "We are looking at ways that their livelihoods can be made less vulnerable to disasters and climate change," he said. "We can look into the issue of the hides further to see if support can be provided to buy up the hides collectively."
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