Mongolia: Country Features, the Main Causes of Desertification and Remediation Efforts - Combating Desertification in Asia, Africa and the Middle East - page 214

5.2 Legal and Regulatory Environment to Combat

Desertification

The main legal documents related to combat desertification are the National Action
Plan to combat desertification (NAP CD2) and the Pasture Law. NAP CD 2 was
approved by the Government of Mongolia in 2011. Different regulations regarding
pastureland management exist in the “Land Law”, “Nature Conservation Law”
and “Law on Natural Plant”. A new “Pasture Law” was developed by Ministry of
Agriculture and Light industry, but in 2011 it is was not yet approved.

5.2.1 National Action Plan to Combat Desertification (NAP CD2)

The reason for formulating a new National Action Plan to Combat Desertification
(NAP CD 2010-2020) is the limited impact of the two former NAPs. Considering
the gravity of the problem, there is a need to address desertification in a different
and much more resolute way.
The new National Action Plan has the following five components:

• Institutional strengthening;

• Policy and legal framework reform;

• Science, technology and knowledge integration;

• Advocacy, awareness raising and education promotion;

• Implementation of concrete actions at the grassroots level;

Every component has an operational objective and actions in order to reach
objectives of each component.

6 Formulating Adaptation Measures

Many of the adaptation measures that have been formulated in the past, were
often characterized by their generic approach and in many cases little thought
went into how they can be financed and implemented. Furthermore, adaptation
measures are often formulated without taking into consideration other drivers of
change. The debate about climate change vulnerability, for instance, has caused
a lot of discussions in Mongolia about whether or not the government should
stimulate a shift from traditional livestock activities towards an economy based
on farming. However, traditional livestock activities are not only under pressure
from climate change but are also influenced by other socio-economic developments,
such as the increased demand for cashmere. Without understanding these broader
developments, it is hard to develop appropriate policies for dealing with the
problems that people are facing (Bedunah and Schmidt 2004 ).