Mongolia
Country Report
1999

Ministry of Nature and Environment

Contents
Ⅰ．Geographical Considerations
Ⅱ．Potentially Natural Disaster in Mongolia
Ⅲ．Disaster Monitoring and Prevention System
1. Sub-system for observation and information collection
2. Sub-system for data transmission and processing
3. Forecasting and warning sub-system
4. Geological and wildfire sub-system
5. Telecommunications.
Ⅳ．Institutional Background
1. State Civil Defence board
2. Ministries
3. Focal Point for International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction.
Ⅴ．Legislative Background
1. Article 22 Areas of Natural Disasters and Emergencies.
2. Article 23. Environmental Protection in State of Emergency
Ⅵ．Disaster Mitigation Measures
1. Disaster reduction plan
2. Construction
3. Public awareness
4. Research and development of Disaster-reduction technology
5. Emergency Scenarios and En sting Responses
1) Blizzards
2) Heavy Snow Fall
3) Earthquake
Ⅶ．International Cooperation
Ⅷ．Conclusions

Ⅰ．Geographical Considerations
Mongolia is situated in Central Asia, 1600 km from the Pacific, 3000 km from the Arctic ocean and 5000 km from
the Mediterranean. It experiences a continental climate, with hot summers (temperatures up to 41 ℃ ) and cold
winters(temperatures down to –53 ℃ ). Diurnal temperature changes too can be very large. Rainfall is relatively
low ,varying from 5cm in the southern desert region, to 40 cm in mountain areas. 80 to 96 % of precipitation falls
in the warm period from April to October. In the south, significant rainfall begins in July.

About 40 % of the country is mountainous, 40 % hills(1000-1500m) , and the remainder denotation plain. The
landscape includes alpine, mountain taiga, forest steppe ,steppe, Gobi , and desert regions. Rivers draining to thesouth and west terminate in inland lakes/salt lakes.
Crop growing season is short, 70 to 130 days , depending on location and altitude Unseasonal frosts can destroy up
to 30 % of crops. Crops are mainly root crops, wheat, garden vegetables,(including greenhouse vegetables near
Ulaanbaatar) and hay fodder. The main agricultural production is animal husbandry, with herds of cattle, sheep,
horses, camels, and goats.
Wind speeds are often high, with dust and sand storms 40 days per year over a large part of the country, and insome regions over 100 days per year.
The population of Mongolia was estimated to be 2.3 million in 1994,with about 27% of the population in thecapital. The most densely populated rural areas are the river valleys in the forest steppe zone. The least populated
are the semi desert, desert and mountain taiga zones. Rural population is 34% of the total, urban population 57%.
Disaster losses must be seen in relation to the gross national produst. Per capita income is at present 100 to 110
US$. Althrough there is undoubtedly a significant natural economy which is non monetary(animal production andgrowth of vegetables for own consumption etc.). 510 000 persons or 23% of the total population are recorded asliving below the government established poverty line.
Agriculture is a dominant part of the economy, and livestock breeding is a dominant part of agriculture. The totalhead of livestock is 25 million, mostly sheep and goats with 22%being horses, cattle and camels. Livestock density
is close to the carrying capacity of available pasture, and in some seasons exceeds carrying capacity Livestock.
losses per year have varied between 500 000 and 1 million head since 1986, with the average loss between 1986
and 1992 being 800 000, Between 50 and 93% of the losses are due to disasters. Note that the losses represent 5%of the herd and 6 to 10% of the Gross National Product.

Ⅱ．Potentially Natural Disaster in Mongolia
Mongolia is a country where the following natural disasters occur frequently: meteorological such as blizzard;
heavy snow; dust storm “zud”; rain water flood; dibaish flow;snow melt flow; and others such as earthquake;wildfire; drought; and desertification.
Natural disasters which have occurred in Mongolia are presented in Table 1.

Table 1. Types of natural hazards in Mongolia
Major hazards
Blizzard
Heavy snow
Dust storm
Zud
Flood (three types)
Cold rain
Hail
Earthquake
Wildfire
Drought
Desertification

Minor hazards
Lightning
Locust infestations.
PlagueEpidemic disease
Ecological hazards
Industrial hazards
Toxic Chemical
Radiation
Accident (road/air)

Ⅲ．Disaster Monitoring and Prevention System
Measures to create a combined system on natural disaster information transmitting and processing, observing,
forecasting and warning have been in operation since 1940. Today this system is based on the telecommunication
systems of the hydrometeorological service of Mongolia. This system consists of the following subsystems:●- Sub-system for observation and information collection●- Sub-system for data transmission and processing●- Forecasting and warning sub-system●- Geological and wildfire sub-system

1. Sub-system for observation and information collection
The National Hydrometeorological Service (NHS) is responsible for observing, forecasting, and warning ofhydrometeorological disasters such as drought, zud*, heavy snow, and dust storms, strong wind, blizzard, cold
rain, flood, dibaish flow, and weather conditions for wildfire occurrence.. NHS has more than 400 gauging points,
including meteorological, hydrometeorological and agrometeorological stations, BAPMON and greenhouse gas
stations. Meteorological stations measure 8-11 elements _ a day agrometeorological stations measure 4-7 elements
3 times a day, hydrometeorological station measures three elements per day.
In addition, there are a number of stations for air, water and soil pollution monitoring.

2. Sub-system for data transmission and processing
Hydrometeorological observation data are collected from 18 provinces and three cities by telephone Channel andtransmitted to the information and Computer Center (ICC) of the Ministry of Nature and Environment where
they are processed. Data on earthquakes , and wildfire occurrence are also collected by the same telephonechannels. ICC also receives AVHRR digital data from NOAA satellites of the USA. ICC contains Mongolia’s
national center for hydrometeorological communication. This center is connected to Beijing and Novosibirsk and
V/MO regional centers, and it receives meteorological maps from Habarovsk, Tokyo and Beijing.
All incoming data are processed by VAX computing equipment. Although data are processed, no natural disasterdata-base system was created until now.

3. Forecasting and warning sub-system
The Hydrometeorological Research Institute of the Ministry of Nature and Environment has responsibility forforecasting and warning of imminent hydrometeorological disaster: blizzard, dust storm, heavy snow, flood, zud,drought.
The forecasting and warning criteria have been adopted under Government Resolution No.68 of 1993.

4. Geological and wildfire sub-system
The Academy of Sciences of Mongolia conducts research studies on earthquake phenomenon. It has 10 study
locations within the territory of Mongolia. The first earthquake observation station was opened at Ulaanbaatar,
the capital city in 1957.
There are no special locations for wildfire observation. Information on wildfire occurrence is obtained by from local
government offices and people.

5. Telecommunications.
Since the 1920s, Mongolia has established a national postal and telecommunications network as well as a limited
international communications network. The development of telecommunications reflects the spatial distribution ofMongolia’s population and the vastness of the country. The urban areas have the basic infrastructure.
In spite of the difficulties posed by geography and a small population thinly scattered over 18 provinces, a large
proportion of the population has access to telephone services. There were 4 lines per 100 people in 1990 for thecountry as a whole. The density is higher in cities: for instance, 6 lines per 100 persons in Ulaanbaatar 33 500
lines) which accounts for one fourth of the population.
Mongolia has a motorized inter-city mail delivery service and a reasonably well-developed postal system.
There are 16 radio transmitters operating in VHF, short, medium and long wave ranges. Almost every famil2y hasa radio, an estimated 16 radios per 100 persons, 450,000 in all. There are 4 TV programs.

(*Zud-is severe winter with heavy snow, very low air temperatures and strong wind.

Ⅳ．Institutional Background
The Government of Mongolia is responsible for all activities (planning and implementation) related to prevention
and mitigation of all types of natural disaster. In 1990,the Government of Mongolia established the State
Permanent Emergency Commission (SPEC) in order to coordinate activities among the government agencies
against any type of natural disaster.
SPEC has the following functions:●Preparation of a National Disaster and Calamities Preparedness Plan
●Organization of disaster coordinating down to the ministerial and local government level●Coordination of relief activities and measures to reduce consequences●Organization of reconstruction or rehabilitation measures (SPEC has a branch in each aimag and in the large
cities).

1. State Civil Defence board
The State Civil Defence Board operates under SPEC in emergency and has the following flmctions:●duties of civil defence in peace-time●quick dissemination of information on natural disaster warning and alarm operations●civil defence education and Training:
The Civil Defence Board has a central organization u~ Ulaanbaatar, with units at the aimag (province) and sum(district) levels.

2. Ministries
Ministries have duties and responsibilities in accordance with their functions to prevent, mitigate and relieve
natural hazards, and to educate and build national capacity to combat them. Ministry of Nature and Environment:
natural disaster-related data collection and processing, forecasting and warning; dissemination of otheroperational information to public community, investigation of pollution levels after nuclear and chemical accident.
Ministry of Development disaster-resistance measures; reconstruction or rehabilitation of transport supply.
Ministry of Finance: financing reconstruction and relief measures.
Ministry of Fuel and Energy: fuel and energy supply in emergency.
Ministry of Food and Agriculture: food reserve to meet natural hazards.
Ministry of Health: medical equipment supply; organization of medical service and aid.

3. Focal Point for International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction.
The International Cooperation Department of the Ministry of Nature and Environment is the National Focal Point for theInternational Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction.
The Focal Point has the following functions:●comprehensive national assessment of risks from natural hazards;●mitigation plans at national level, involving long term prevention and preparedness, and community awareness;●ready access to global, regional, national, and local warning systems.
●international cooperation;●policy and strategy for natural disaster reduction.

Ⅴ．Legislative BackgroundIn 1990 the Government established the State Permanent Emergency Commission and approved its regulations.
In 1993 the Government adopted a resolution on natural disaster prevention measures, coordinating the duties
and activities of Central and a local government agencies, and approving the system of transmission formeteorological warnings.
The legislative basis for environmental protection in Mongolia including, emergency and disaster actions, is the
MONGOLIAN LAW ON ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION, approved on March 30 1995. The following
paragraphs are most directly related to emergencies and disasters:

1. Article 22 Areas of Natural Disasters and Emergencies.
1. The term “areas of natural disasters and emergencies” means an area which is affected by adverse impacts or
hazardous changes of the environment resulting from human activities or natural evolution, which may havedetrimental impacts on the environment, human, animals, wildlife, plants, and their genefunds.
2. The Government shall establish boundaries for areas of natural disaster and emergencies upon consultation
with the Central State Administrative Organization in charge of nature and environment.
3. The Central State Administrative Organization in charge of nature and environment, Civil Defence Board,
Governors of all levels and other concerned organizations shall jointly take measures on prevention and mitigationof natural disasters and emergency, elimination of adverse impacts, rehabilitation of nature and environment, andrestoration of natural resources.
4. All costs for mitigating natural disasters and emergencies shall be allocated from the State budget. After theinvestigation of real cause the guilty party or citizens shall be assessed for the full compensation of any damages
and losses.

2. Article 23. Environmental Protection in State of Emergency
Any measures with respect to mitigation of natural disaster, elimination of adverse impacts, and preservation of
the environment and its natural resources undertaken within an area affected by State emergency shall be carriedout pursuant to the rationale for, and procedures stipulated by the State Emergency Laws as provided by theConstitution of Mongolia.

The Civil Defence Law, approved in May 1995, officially included set of measures aimed at preventing, andsafeguarding the people from natural disaster, eradicating the damage hitherto incurred by the population, andtraining in these aspects.

Ⅵ．Disaster Mitigation Measures
1. Disaster reduction plan
The international Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction (IDNDR, 1990-2000) was launched by United Nations
General Assembly Resolution 44/236, adopted in December 1989, with the objective of reducing, through concerted
international action especially in developing countries, the loss of life, property damage, and economic and social
disruption caused by natural disasters. Natural disasters, such as earthquakes windstorms, floods, wildfires,
heavy snow fall, drought and desertification continue to strike and increase. Therefore a Program of actions waslaunched in order to implement the target activities of the Decade at the national level and to prevent as well as toreduce the effects of natural disasters.
The National Program on Natural Disaster Reduction will be considered an integral aspect of the social andeconomic development policy of country, and activities for the implementation of this program will be undertaken
to the year 2000.
The objective of the Program is to provide follow-up activities in Mongolia in order to achieve agreed targets of theDecade, namely, the development and strengthening national capacities and capabilities for natural disasterprevention, mitigation and preparedness.
In order to fulfill objectives the following measures will be undertaken:
1. Disaster assessment, analysis and evaluation
a/ Disaster assessmentb/Vulnerability analysis
II. Short and long-term prevention measures
III. Collection and dissemination of documentation and information to improve public awareness of natural
disasters and how best to deal with them

2. Construction
Mongolia still does not have reliable earthquake-resistant construction technology. In Mongolia, there are very few
buildings equipped with earthquake-resistant facilities and means. However, gers (national houses) are moreresistant to earthquake they can be damaged, but to a lesser extent than conventional buildings.
Since 1990, a decentralization policy for people and industry has been effected in urban development planning andregional development.
a) Flood protection, River flood protection dams have been constructed in Ulaanbaatar, Darhan and other cities.
Dibaish flow protection dams also were constructed in mountainous area of Ulaanbaatar city.
b) Housing: Due to accelerated urbanization in the last three decades, the demand for house building has
increased greatly. In this connection, a large number of 5-9 storey apartments have been built in the cities. Schools
and kindergartens are also in these apartments which can be more vulnerable to earthquake than other ones.
Since the 1990s, government housing policy has basically changed. Citizens are now encouraged to construct theirown individual small houses. In Mongolia roofs of small houses are easily damaged by strong wind and dust storm.
There is no project on wind-resistant roof design so far.

3. Public awareness
There are insufficient activities organized for public awareness of natural hazards. Warnings and alarms for all
types of natural disaster are transmitted through radio and television over the entire territory of the country. But,
there is no activity for increasing public, awareness among the peop1e in non-disaster times. Unfortunately, radio,
television and newspapers provide special programs only after a natural disaster has already occurred. No
propaganda is provided on natural disaster-related problems. No books and brochures for public awareness havebeen produced. Warning and alarm systems can effectively work in big cities and settlement areas, but due toscarce population density and inadequate communication systems, people in the countryside sometimes cannot be
informed in time.

4. Research and development of Disaster-reduction technology

Since the 1970s, there have been attempts to study, evaluate and forecast some hydrometeorological disasters.
Today research studies on frequency and regime of snow and dust storms, and their forecasting are being
conducted successfully. Meteorological conditions for heavy snow fall have been identified. Methodological
guidelines for flood forecasting are being prepared.
A part of the future work of the ministry involves refining the analyses, adding more detail, and evaluating themat the province level. An attempt has been made to make the values given here as accurate as possible, but further
data collection in the field is required before values can be used for decision making.
The effectiveness of prediction and warning depends both on the quality and lead time of prediction, and oncommunications channels. Prediction of blizzards, dust storms, and heavy snow can now be made in Mongoliawith a lead time of 2 to 3 days, and a reliability of about 90%.
High reliability is a necessity. Unreliable warnings are unlikely to be believed, reducing their effectiveness.
Dissemination of information to herders is the least reliable aspect of the warning chain, because of the lack oftelephones, radios, and TV in herder communities, It is estimated that only about 35 % have working radio. Notethat a supply of batteries or access to electrical power is also needed.

5. Emergency Scenarios and En sting Responses
The following examples show some technological approaches for mitigation measures for blizzards, heavy snow
and earthquake.

1) Blizzards
Blizzards occur in Mongolia generally between September and May. Duration may be short, just a few hours, or up
to 10 days. Number of blizzard days varies between less than two days in the west of the country (except for
mountains) to between 2 and 8 days in the eastern part of the country and 8-10 days in some mountainous areas.
Blizzards can be extremely dangerous with heavy snow and up to 35 m/s wind. Table 2 gives a listing of recent
blizzard disasters.
Table 2.Recent Blizzard disaster in Mongolia

Year
Consequences
Sept.
1995
May
1993
Sept.
1993
Oct.
1992
1988

Place

Fatalities

Livestock lost

Eastern Mongolia

848,000Central Mongolia

17

100,000

Central and East

11

5,000

Central and West4500,000

Dornod, Hentii,
Sukhbaatar,Domogobi

810,000Other

20% potato crop lost

Property damage

Heavy snowfall can often prevent by preventing livestock from reaching pasture. It is hard to distinguish theconsequences of blizzard (due to chilling) and heavy snow (due to exhaustion and starvation of livestock).
The following safety barrier diagram (Figure 1) shows the structure of emergencies involving blizzards, and theemergency measures which may be used to reduce risk. The sequence of events in a blizzard disaster begins withthe weather turning bad and terminates with harmful events to persons, livestock and crops. The first barrier todisastrous consequences is prediction and warning. This can allow persons to seek shelter and, given sufficient
time can also allow herdsmen to gather stock and take them to shelter.

2) Heavy Snow Fall
Heavy snow fall disasters differ from blizzards in that persons are not so much at risk. Damage is primarily
caused by livestock being immobilized on the range or in shelters (pens, cow shed, etc.) and unable to reachgrazing. Figure 2 shows a safety barrier diagram for this situation.
The problems of warning and stock collection in the case of heavy snow fall are similar to those described above forblizzards. The consequences are less direct however. There are two major aspects of the problem, that of people
obtaining supplies if snow lasts a long time, and that of providing fodder for animals which cannot reach pasture
due to snow.
On farms there is unlikely to be a large shortage of food. The primary problem is in villages, where direct access tofood may not be available if transport is halted for a long time. This is a question of the amount of snow falling,
and the length of time it remains. The mean depth for heavy snow falls is typically 10-15 cm, in mountain areas
20-25 cm. Extreme snow falls are up to 1.5 m in mountain areas. Transport becomes difficult with snow falls
greater than 40 cm.

A problem is communication. Communication of snow warning to farmers can be made by radio, to the limit ofaccess to radio receivers. Communications from farmers, requesting aid, generally have to be made on foot orhorseback.
When snow is heavy and the snow remains for longer periods, animals begin to weaken and die. Delays in feedingof one day are unlikely to cause significant damage. But following two days without fodder, mortality begins toincrease.

3) Earthquake
Earthquakes are quite frequent in some parts of Mongolia. The consequences in villages are generally destructionof housing, roads and bridges. On farms the traditional gers houses are very resistant to earthquake damage. A
safety barrier diagram for earthquake disasters is shown in Figure 3.
Earthquake prediction is difficult, but can be made in a percentage of incidents, particularly with a 1 to 2 day
warning. But here again, there are the same difficulties in communication out to rural areas as described above
for floods and blizzard warnings. Prediction can be used for increased awareness and possibly for evacuation ofcollapse-prone buildings, at least in summer. Earthquake preparedness training is an important aspect of thiskind of disaster mitigation (Table 3).
Rescue, rehousing and rebuilding are important aspects of disaster mitigation for earthquakes, particularly in
winter. There are two major problems in Mongolia which limit the speed of response at present. One is thedifficulty of communicating from rural areas. The other is the difficulty of access, particularly during winter.

Table 3. Effectiveness of disaster mitigation measures for earthquake
SafetyResponse
Reliability of
Effectiveness of Effectiveness Rehousiug
measurestime
prediction
warningof rescue
effectivenesseffectiveness
Earthquake
days, hours
30%<30%
prediction+
evacuation
Rescuedays
Depends onhumanslocation
Rehousingdays
Depends onlocation

Overall<10%
Depends onlocation
Depends onlocation

Ⅶ．International Cooperation
Mongolia has joined the International Conventions on Climate Change, Biodiversity, Desertification and Ozonelayer protection. Its representatives have actively participated in conferences, regular meetings and other
undertakings of the parties to the International Conventions concerned. It has explained its position and policy inrelation to those aspects, and has taken measures to carry out its commitment in respect of the international
community.
Mongolia actively participates in the International Decade Natural of Disaster Reduction, and collaborates withsome countries in the held of information exchange, studies of new technology and personnel training. Its
representative has prepared Mongolia’s National Report, and took part in the Yokohama Conference at 1993.
Over the last two to three years, joint venture projects have been implemented with some developed countries. For
example, together with the US Environment Protection Agency work has been done on a Country Study
Programme on climate change, inventory of “greenhouse” gas, vulnerability assessment and mitigation policies.
We have successfully completed an initial stage of this work, and have now started a second stage.
The Ministry of Nature and Environment of Mongolia in collaboration with some Japanese organizations havedeveloped project proposals for natural disaster reduction and have presented them to potential donors.
Currently, we are cooperating with the Tsukuba University of Japan to implement a project on Global warningand climate change, and studies of the changing mechanisms of the Central Asian climate.
With the help of the Asian Development Bank, we have started realization of a Project on Environment
Management Capacity. Within the framework of this project, we have organized workshops on disaster2anagement and early warning systems, “primit” system for tens of Mongolian specialists. These are the firststeps designed to build national capacity. On the basis of the output of the workshops, we are now preparing anaction plan for development and training for disaster analysis, prediction and emergency planning support.
With the assistance of UNEP and UNDP, a National Action Plan to combat desertification has been elaborated
and a National Workshop on the combating of desertification has been held in Mongolia.

Mongolia is concluding agreements with its neighbors on natural disaster reduction. Recently, Mongolia and theRussian Federation signed an agreement on cooperation in case of industrial accidents, natural disasters and theeradication of their consequences.
Because of the economic situation, we are now experiencing some difficulties sending our representatives tointernational scientific conferences and workshops, and for training abroad.
In future, Mongolia is interested in cooperation with its neighbors in the Subregion and International
Organisations on the subjects of measures for natural disaster reduction, prevention and management.

Ⅷ．Conclusions
1. Natural disasters are very sensitive issues for Mongolia, especially from the economic point of view. Losses toherds, flocks and crops annually affect a very significant part of the country.
2. The high frequency of natural disasters and their extent presents a serious constraint which delays
development of the country.
3. Natural disasters cause significant loss of life, and of property.
4. The sheep flocks, cattle and horse herds of Mongolia represent a large portion of the wealth of the nation, andare an essential part of the livelihood of most mongolians. In the most extreme disasters in the past, over half ofthe national herd has been lost. Even larger disasters are possible.
5 .The disasters contributing to losses of herds and flocks are heavy snow, blizzards, dust storms, drought, andfloods.
6. Disaster response outside Ulaanbaatar is hampered by difficulties of communication, very long distances, andlimited resources.
7. There is a weather monitoring and weather forecasting service which has a well functioning network of weather
observation stations, and a well functioning forecasting capability. Effective use of this service will help to aestablish well functioning disaster prevention system.
8. There is a weak link in transmitting natural disaster information to herders in remote parts of the country who
especially need it. That is the final link in communications. Only a fraction of herder families have radios. The
supply of batteries is also a problem. Those herder families who do have radios tend to use them sparingly, andthey reserve battery power for weather forecasts and other disaster warning information.
9. Civil Defence activities could benefit from the use of modern risk assessment and emergency response.effectiveness assessment methods, in order to optimize the use of limited resources.
10. The action plan should involve a programme of training in risk assessment, computer programming for risk
analysis and emergency response communications, and disaster mitigation planning assessment.
11 The action plan also should involve development of pilot projects in risk assessment, disaster communications,and emergency planning.