“Ready for Winter and Spring? – Educate, Empower, Ensure: Understanding and preventing dzud disaster” Meeting
Group photo of the meeting
The Mongolian National Commission for UNESCO in collaboration with the Sustainable Development Journalists Club, with the support of UNESCO, held an information session with journalists titled "Ready for Winter and Spring? – Educate, Empower, Ensure: Understanding and preventing dzud disaster" The meeting mostly focused on preparations for the upcoming winter.
Professor Shahbaz Khan, Director and Representative of UNESCO Regional office for East Asia, delivered a video greeting. In his remarks, he emphasized that "Journalists and policy makers play a crucial role in raising awareness about the need and preparedness to ensure the continuity of learning during the upcoming June in Mongolia. By providing timely, accurate information through various media channels, they can highlight practical measures for schools, for parents, and for communities to be able to safeguard education during severe winters. Our shared goal is to ensure that every learner in Mongolia, whether child, youth or adult, receives quality education, education that can equip them with the skills needed for a sustainable future for Mongolia.”
Natural disasters over the years have taught us to improve our preparedness.
Mr. Brigadier-General B. Uuganbayar, Deputy Director of the National Emergency Management Agency, presented "Lessons learned and Winter Preparations." He noted, "When managing emergency situations, our priority is to clear roads. Last winter, we cleared 138,000 kilometers of roads, which allowed children to attend school, ensured medical services could be provided, and facilitated fodder delivery. We've learned many lessons from past disasters. For instance, between 1999 and 2002, the dzud impacted 13 provinces, resulting in the loss of 3.5 million livestock, a tragedy that deeply affected herding communities. During the 2000–2001 drought, 4.8 million animals were lost, affecting 20 provinces. These disasters, and many others, have had devastating impacts, including a loss of 526 billion MNT in 2009–2010 when 9.7 million animals perished." He also added that, based on a 77-year analysis, 55 percent of the years have been marked by harsh winters, while 45 percent were affected by drought. Last year alone, 7.4 million livestock were lost across 19 provinces, incurring an economic loss of 1.36 trillion MNT. Emergency services worked tirelessly, but the scale of the disasters calls for advanced preparations. We encourage early winter preparations, including keeping livestock numbers in line with pasture capacity, ensuring animal health, increasing water well numbers, reinforcing enclosures, and stockpiling fodder. He also emphasized the importance of uninterrupted education, stating that "Even if your child's schooling isn't directly affected, it requires close attention."
Mr. Shahidul Islam, Associate Project Officer of UNESCO Regional office for East Asia, highlighted the UNESCO’s support to the Government of Mongolia in dzud disaster to ensure the continuous education. He stressed that the Ministry of Education and relevant professional organizations must prioritize maintaining access to education during natural disasters. He recommended translating guidelines on emergency education into Mongolian and emphasized and preparing a handbook for teachers and the need for training psychosocial counselors and empowering educators in such situations. In addition, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and UNESCOdistributed textbooks to children from herding families affected by drought, allowing them to study at home with parental support. A total of 28,000 children received educational packages through a $200,000 initiative.
Mr. Shahidul Islam, Associate Project Officer of UNESCO Regional office for East Asia
For the first time, the MNIER conducted a study on the dzud effect on children, on education, and the researcher presented their study reports. The study analyzed the legal regulations on disasters and emergencies, tried to clarify secondary schools’ preparedness to the risks such as, drastic drop in attendance of students during natural disasters, failure of the heating system of school buildings and dormitories, cold classrooms, shortage of drinking water, etc.
During the meeting, Mr. G. Naranchuluun, Head of the Animal Husbandry Policy Implementation Coordination Department at the Ministry of Food, Agriculture, and Light Industry, discussed preparations within the livestock sector. He noted, "Herders who lose their livestock to drought often have no choice but to move to urban areas. As a result, urban migration has increased, with 728,000 people moving to Ulaanbaatar over the past 30 years due to dzud, equivalent to the population of eight provinces. Most of the migrants are young families, with 25 percent of them relocating due to livestock losses. This trend is contributing to the declining number of young herders."
The National Agency Meteorology and Environmental Monitoring predicts that this winter will be colder than the historical average. By 2050, natural disasters are expected to occur more frequently, increasing the risk to livelihoods.
Speakers and participants at the meeting
