REPORTING. In Mongolia, the distress of nomadic herders due to climate change

The Mongolian steppes are hit more and more often by a phenomenon typical of Mongolia, the dzud, which results in very dry summers and very harsh winters. Livestock are not resisting: nearly seven million animals have been lost this year, victims of the cold and snow.

Mongolian nomads have a legendary tradition of hospitality. It is with a broad smile that Sukhbaatar, 44 years old, welcomes us in his yurt, lost in the middle of the steppe. But a smile that hides the worst difficulties this man has ever known after 30 years of breeding. The winter was dramatic, with temperatures of -45°C and snow depths of up to two meters.

“This winter has been tough, with extreme cold and frequent snowfall. It lasted four to five months. Of the 1 500 animals that I owned, I lost 700, mainly cows, sheep and goats”says Sukhbataar. “They died of starvation, because the grass was covered by snow and ice, and we had no more fodder to give them. It’s a natural disaster. What can we do? “asks the breeder.

A concern which has increased in recent years, as the Mongolian steppes are hit more and more regularly by a phenomenon typical of Mongolia, the dzud. The latter results in very dry summers and increasingly harsh winters.

“I was shocked to see our animals dead”

Previously, such episodes of dzud occurred every ten years. Now it’s almost every year. It snowed so much in late autumn that in a single night, part of Sukhbaatar’s herd was completely buried by snow. “As early as November, we understood that we were going to have a difficult dzud”confides his wife Gandolgor. “It was very sudden. After a first night of storm, we already couldn’t open the door of the yurt. I was shocked to see our animals dead. Really, I don’t know the reasons for all this. Maybe -maybe because people treat nature badly”she continues.

In the steppe, the spectacle is terrifying. Our driver Tumur, also a nomad, has difficulty hiding his emotion : “This dzud has been like a butcher. All the fields are covered with dead animals. People are shocked, there have been a lot of tears shed”. Many dead horses and sheep in particular, which poses a health risk. But breeders are having difficulty coping.

“The government has sent means to remove all the animal corpses, but there are still many in the pastures because as the snow melts, new corpses appearlaments Munkhbat, a breeder. It’s very difficult to deal with this ourselves. Horses, for example, cannot be removed alone. We need several people to help us.”

“It’s a tragic scenario for breeders”

About ten kilometers from the Munkhbat yurt, we come across the main village of the district where the Mongolian administration is doing what it can to help the nomads. But the means are lacking. Fodder stocks were not sufficient this winter. Delgertsetseg, the representative of the local citizens’ committee, is reduced to a sad observation. “Here we don’t have tsunamis, earthquakes don’t happen often, but we have dzud. Imagine, it snowed 16 times. It’s a tragic scenario for the breedersshe laments. The snow turns into a very hard layer of ice. Beasts cannot break it. Even with machines, it’s difficult.”

“The animals cannot access the grass below and they die of starvation or are frozen. In this sector of Kharaat, we lost 31,338 head of cattle. That represents 44.5% of the livestock.”

Delgertsetseg, representative of the local citizens committee

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With the arrival of spring, the drama continues for Mongolian breeders. There is even a peak in mortality at the moment. “Now it’s spring, and the new grass is starting to grow back. Smaller animals like sheep can start feeding again after winter. But, with less than an inch of grass, larger ones like the horses still have difficulty grazing and they continue to die”explains Bazarsad, the village agricultural advisor.

Nomadic livestock farming on borrowed time?

This climate change calls into question nomadic livestock farming, an ancestral activity in Mongolia. Indeed, after this deadly winter, many breeders find themselves destitute. Enkhtuvshin lost 250 animals on a breeding of 350. “It will take at least three or four years to rebuild our herd and reach 350 animals again. It is a huge financial shock for us. We are now lacking everything. We no longer have goats to comb for sale of cashmere. We no longer have money. The state is trying to help us, but it is not enough. We are not going to be able to survive as breeders.confides the breeder, distraught.

With these repeated dzuds, some nomads prefer to give up, even if it hurts a lot. This is the case of Bat-Ochir, 50 years old, now unemployed. “The job of breeder was becoming more and more difficult because of the climate. So I decided to hand over my animals to my younger brother, but I miss my life as a breeder. I had links with my animals. J ‘try to go see my brother as often as possible’he testifies.

Bat-Ochir remained in the village, but other nomads who abandoned livestock farming decided to leave for the city and came swell the slums of the Mongolian capital Ulaanbaatar. “Nature here has become the enemy of breeders! That’s how it is”one of them bitterly confided to us.