Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
Box 11.1
(continued)
technology for measuring forage quantity to local conditions; (ii) conducting
detailed field measurements of forage quality; (iii) information outreach
(extension); and (iv) linking information with herder alliances. The way [the
technology] was applied in Mongolia was truly seminal, and the impact on
the ground was dramatic. Many of the herders, provincial administrators,
and technical specialists that were originally sceptical about the feasibility
of obtaining accurate forage prediction maps are now impressed by the high
quality predictive capacity of project technology and efficient information
dissemination protocols. An increasing number of government officials are
using Gobi Forage radio broadcasts (part of the outreach effort) to obtain
information about pasture conditions and to guide their recommendations
on livestock movements. Some 93 % of government officials who use Gobi
Forage products now indicate that those products are “very useful” for their
work. One provincial governor described how the system helped him manage
the influx of some 50,000 herders and their families from a neighboring
drought-stricken province and prevent conflict with local herders. While
perceptions of the accuracy of the forage information vary widely among
herders themselves, use of the technology is increasing, with almost 50 %
of herders claiming that the data had informed their decision-making. It
isn't only the livestock raisers who benefited here. Use of GOBI Forage
technologies by soum (county) and aimag (province) officials has proved
fundamental in the management of human populations and livestock across
political boundaries during times of drought and harsh winter conditions.
As virtually all significant short term movements of human populations
are related to forage conditions, the map resources generated by the GOBI
technology suite assist in pastoral migration management, greatly enhancing
the capacity for improved natural resource management and institutional
operation. The technology and its application has also transformed how some
of the main government institutions responsible for agriculture - including,
but not restricted to forage monitoring - operate and, more importantly, how
well they operate.
References
Bedunah DJ, Schmidt SM (2004) Pastoralism and protected area management in Mongolia's Gobi
Gurvansaikhan National Park. Dev Change 35:167-191
Land Inventory Report (2005) Agency of Land Affairs, Geodesy and Cartography, Ulaanbatur, 47p
Leisher C, Hess S, Boucher TM, van Beukering P, Sanjayan M (2012) Measuring the impacts
of community-based grasslands management in Mongolia's Gobi. PLoS ONE 7(2):e30991.
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