Country presentation of Mongolia

ADRC Visiting researcher programme FY 2022
ARIUNTUNGALAG Batjargal
2023, Kobe, JapanDisclaimer
This report was compiled by an ADRC visiting researcher (VR) from ADRC member countries.
The views expressed in the report do not necessarily reflect the views of the ADRC. The boundaries
and names shown and the designations used on the maps in the report also do not imply official
endorsement or acceptance by the ADRC.

CONTENTS
1. GENERAL INFORMATION: MONGOLIA
2. HAZARDS IN MONGOLIA
3. DISASTER MANAGEMENT SYSTEM
4. DISASTER RISK REDUCTION EFFORTS
5. IMPLEMENTATION OF THE SENDAI FRAMEWORK FOR DISASTER RISK REDUCTION
6. RESEARCH PLAN/THEME1. GENERAL INFORMATION

Location: Mongolia is located in central Asia andit is a landlocked country bordered by theRussian in the north and China in thesouth.
Landscape: The Mongolian heartland consists ofrelatively flat steppes. The southern
portion of the country is taken up by theGobi Desert, while the northern andwestern portions are mountainous
Area: 1564.1 thousand square kilometers /7thlargest country in the Asia/Weather: Extremely continental climate.
There are four seasons: winter, spring, summer andautumn.
The highest winds occur in April and May. January is
the coldest and July is the hottest.
January and February averages of −20 °C (−4 °F) arecommon, with winter nights of −40 °C (−40 °F)
occurring most years. Summer extremes reach as hihg as 38 °C (100.4 °F) in the southern Gobi region
and 33 °C (91.4 °F) in Ulaanbaatar.
Population: Mongolia's population is 3,409,939, of which 45
percent live in Ulaanbaatar, the capital city.
The rest of the population lives in the centers of 21
aimags /provinces/ and in rural areas, engaged inlivestock.
Life style: Mongolia’s population is 66% settled and 34%
nomadic.
Type of state: Parliamentary Democratic RepublicAdministrative
units,
territory:
Mongolia
wasadministratively divided into 21 aimags and thecapital city;
Capital city: Ulaanbaatar (Coldest capital city (-36-40ºC)
in the world)
Economic activity: Based on livestock, agriculture andmining.
Natural resources: Mineral-coal, copper, fluorite, gold,
silver, iron, lead, molybdenum and oil
Livestock: In our country, the main producers of animalhusbandry are herdsmen's family farms. They liveby herding horse, camel, cow, sheep, and goat.
Agriculture: In Mongolia, crops, potatoes, vegetables andfodder plants are grown, harvested and used forfood.
Traditional house: Ger2. OVERVIEW OF DISASTERS AND ACCIDENTS IN MONGOLIA
drought
epidemic 3%
9%

landslide
3%
storm
34%

wildfire
9%

dzud
14%

flood
28%

DZUD
The dzud is a weather-related phenomenon unique to Mongolia due to thecountry’s unusual environment that is landlocked, semi-arid, and given to swings intemperature and precipitation.
In Mongolia, the following types of dzud are recognized:• White dzud results from high snowfall that prevents livestock from reaching thegrass. It is a frequent and serious disaster that has caused a great number ofdeaths.
• Black dzud results from a lack of snowfall in grazing areas, leading to both livestockand humans lacking water. this type of dzud does not occur every year, nor does it
affect large areas. it mostly happens in the Gobi desert region.
• Iron dzud results from a short wintertime warming, followed by a return to subfreezing temperatures. the snow melts and then freezes again, producing an
impenetrable ice-cover that prevents livestock from grazing.
• Cold dzud occurs when the temperature drops to very low levels for several days.
the cold temperature and the strong winds prevent livestock from grazing; theanimals have to use most of their energy to keep warm.
• Combined dzud is a combination of at least two of the above types of dzud.

Dzud is caused by multiple factors — some climate related and others human made.
In the 2000s, ten million livestock died and with the most severe mortality occurring in the 2000-2002 and 20092010 winters.

FLOOD
Mongolia’s exposure to risk of flooding is considered high. The majority of Mongolia’s floods
stem from rainfall
The country typically sees three types of floods:- Spring or snow melt flood wherein river levels slowly rise and overflow their banks over a
relatively longer period of time;- Rainfall flood wherein a quick rise of water levels from heavy rainfall leads to overflowing banks;- Flash flood wherein heavy rainfall over steep riverbeds causes turbulent flows of water along withrocks, sediment, and other surface materials.
Flooding affects both rural and urban areas, and in the capital old bridges, roads, and avenues
built without sewage systems have been severely affected. In June and July 2021, flash flooding
negatively impacted six districts in Ulaanbaatar and affected over 234 households.

STRONG SNOW AND DUST STORMS

Due to global climate change, strong wind storms have occurred in Mongolia
in recent years. As a result of strong winds and storms, herding families living inrural areas suffer a lot. They get lost from their homes and their houses collapse
and their animals disappear. If the strong winds and storms last for several days, it
is impossible for herders to reach for help and communication is lost.
As an example of the most recent storm, in 2021, severe snow and dust
storms occurred in the whole territory of Mongolia. A total of 706 people went
missing in 12 aimags due to the weather related hazards, of which 696 people wererescued. Unfortunately, a total of 10 people were killed due to storms including 2
children and 9 adults.
In addition, 531 gers and 2244 fences collapsed, 140,347 livestock died andelectricity was temporarily cut in 10 aimags.

FOREST AND STEPPE FIRE
In Mongolia, forest and steppe fires usually occur in spring and autumn.
Forest and steppe fires occur due to dry weather and the accidental actions of people travelingin the countryside.
In 2020, fires accounted for 79.3% of all disasters.
Mongolian winters are usually very cold and dry. Typically, the majority of wildfires in Mongolia
occur in the grasslands or grass understory of the steppe and mountain steppezones.
Forest and steppe fires cause a lot of damage to the environment, animals and plants.

ANIMAL DISEASES

3.4 million Mongolians have 71 million livestock. Livestock includes cow, sheep, horse,camel, and goat. About 200,000 families raise livestock in Mongolia. So, there are about 3001000 animals in 1 herding family. Because there are so many animals in one place, there aremany infectious diseases in animals.
Mongolian people consume the meat, milk, and skin of their livestock, so animal
infectious diseases are very damaging to Mongolian people’s life and Mongolia's economy.

EARTHQUAKE
Mongolia has a high risk ofearthquake hazard and experienced
four magnitude 8 earthquakes
during the last century. Smaller
magnitude earthquakes occur veryfrequently, with more than 200
earthquakes of magnitude above
3.5 in every years.
Mongolia has suffered nocatastrophic damages so far,partiallyduetoearthquakes
heretofore
strikingsparsely
populated areas outside the capitalwhere the rural population live ingers, whose flexible construction
make them less prone to damage.

MAN-MADE ACCIDENT - BUILDING FIRE
Among the disasters and accidents that occur in Mongolia, building fire amount for a large
percentage.
According to a study of the causes of building fires:-

Due to fault electrical installation;-

Due to wrong use of electrical appliances;-

Due to wrong use of traditional stoves;-Welding and soldering;-Due to poor quality electrical equipment.

3. DISASTER MANAGEMENT SYSTEMDisaster management in Mongolia is led by the National Emergency
Management Agency (NEMA). The Law on Disaster Protection was approvedby the Parliament of Mongolia on 20 June, 2003.
According to the Law on Disaster Protection, NEMA is responsible for
implementation of the State disaster protection policy and legislation, as well as
for the professional organization of nation wide activities.

VISION: The vision of Emergency Management Organization of Mongolia will be a leadingorganization that is trustworthy and capable at region national and international level.
DUTY: Our duty is to implement laws, regulations and state policies on disaster protection, toorganize and manage disaster protection activities both at national and local level and to provide
professional management.
During a disaster response, NEMA is responsible for coordinating the activities of different
stakeholders who are involved in disaster response including non-governmental and governmentalorganizations, the private sector, community groups, and international organizations.
In addition, all 21 provinces and the capital city have a NEMA emergency management divisionand department.

THE STRUCTURE OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT ORGANIZATION OF MONGOLIADISASTER MANAGEMENT PARTNERS
A number of partners and stakeholders have played an important role in protecting Mongolia’s
people from disasters and supporting the government after large-scale disasters.
Bilateral and multilateral cooperation organizations:- The Ministry of the Russian Federation for Affairs for Civil Defense, Emergencies and Elimination ofConsequences of Natural Disasters- Federal Agency for State Reserve, Russian Federation- Ministry of Emergency Management, People’s Republic of China- China Earthquake Administration- State Forestry Administration, People’s Republic of China- United States Army Pacific- Alaska National Guard, United States- United States Indo-Pacific Command- United States Forestry Service- Ministry of Interior and Safety, Republic of Korea- National Fire Agency, Republic of Korea- State Committee of Emergency and Disaster Management of Democratic People’s Republic of Korea- General Directorate for Civil Defense and Crises Management, French Republic- Directorate for Disaster Management, Republic of Hungary- Ministry of Emergency Situation, Republic of Kyrgyzstan- Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of KazakhstanInternational organizations- UN Agencies- International Civil Defense Organization (ICDO)- Asian Disaster Reduction Center (ADRC)- Asian Disaster Preparedness Center (ADPC)- International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)- International Fire Chiefs’ Association of Asia (IFCAA)- World Bank (WB)
- Asian Development Bank (ADB)- International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC)- Mongolian Red Cross (MRC)- Mercy Corps- World Vision (WV)
- Save the Children- Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA)- Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA)- Turkish International Cooperation Agency (TICA)- Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC)- United States Agency for International Development (USAID)

4. Disaster Risk Reduction Efforts- Amendments are made to relevant legal documents for the mobilization and evacuation ofdisaster protection forces and the regulation of improving the social security of emergency
service personnel in order to prevent disasters, eliminate the consequences of disasters, andpromptly respond to disasters.
- Trainings:- Joint training and exercises “Khangai”,‘’Desert wolf’’……., ;- Training and practice on radiation accident
preparedness and response;- First aid training;- Training for technicians of firefighter’s selfcontained breathing apparatus;- Disaster risk assessment trainings;- Training for fire and rescue trucks drivers- Water rescue training;- Training on high mountain search andrescue ….………………….

The following activities were organized in order to prevent potential emergencies andaccidents, enhance citizens’ participation and contribution to disaster risk reduction, and increase
their duties, responsibilities, knowledge and information.
-- Press conferences; - Posters of ‘’Throw away-cause fire’’ and ‘’Don’t forget’’.
- Promo videos of ‘’Let’s overcome the pandemic together’’ and ‘’Let’s under-stand and love’’- Facebook page; - Content emergency Time through MNB channel …………….

5. IMPLEMENTATION OF THE SENDAI FRAMEWORK FOR DISASTER RISK REDUCTION
In 2017, Mongolia’s Prime Minister pledged that his country was ready to support greater
implementation of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction across Asia by sharing its
experience of managing extreme hazards.
Mongolia subsequently hosted the 2018 Asian Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk
Reduction in UB. In 2020, Mongolia was praised for its effort toward fulfillment of the SendaiFramework.
The Strategy for the Implementation of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction in
Mongolia was approved and is being implemented in three phases.
- I phase: 2017-2020; - II phase: 2021-2025; - III phase: 2026-2030.
In the first phase, it was successfully implemented based on the cooperation and partnership of
public and local organizations, science, civil society organizations, the private sector, citizens, thepublic and international organizations.
The second phase action plan, disaster risk reduction activities will be intensified at the nationallevel, the capacity of disaster protection forces will be enhanced, a disaster risk database will beestablished, and public awareness on disaster prevention and risk reduction will be increased.
The action plan of the Phase II of the “Med-Term Strategy for the Implementation of the Sendai
Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction in Mongolia” plans to implement 56 measures under the 4priority areas and the 7 targets, and includes disaster risk reduction issues for women, children,people with disabilities and gender.

6. RESEARCH PLAN/THEME
Topic: Innovative Emergency/temperary shelter for disaster
Aims and objectives of the research work:
The purpose of this research work is to determine the basic requirements for temporary sheltersfor citizens during disasters.
Within the scope of the above objectives of the research work, the following objectives havebeen put forward. It includes:
1. To analyze the basic requirements for the organization of temporary shelter for citizens during
disasters
2. Study the norms and standards in place in Japan regarding temporary shelter for citizens intimes of disaster and compare them with the standard rules in place in Mongolia.
3. Determine the general requirements for temporary shelter for citizens in times of disaster inaccordance with the characteristics of their country, and develop suggestions andrecommendations
Importance of research work:
It is believed to be important in forming the scientific basis for the work "drafting a legal document
defining the basic requirements for temporary shelters and evacuation centers in times of disaster." It
is also believed that it will make a certain contribution to the issue of the terminology of the place
where citizens will be relocated.

Thank you for your attention
Arigato gozaimasu