Ulaanbaatar - IOM Mongolia dispatched a field mission to Khuvsgul and Zavkhan provinces of Mongolia from November 24 to November 30, 2024. Two consultants of IOM Mongolia, Mongoljin E. and Munkhtuya D., met with local partners including government authorities, herder and local community members to develop partnerships and ensure the effective implementation and sustainability of the IOM Development Fund project, "Addressing the climate change-induced human mobility in Mongolia".

IOM Mongolia and its contracted research institute Public Lab Mongolia worked in Murun Soum of Khuvsgul province on November 25, 2024. In Murun, the team had a meeting with various stakeholders to introduce IOM’s strategic framework and cooperation, as well as its new project on addressing climate change-induced human mobility. The Public Lab Mongolia research institute organized a focus group meeting with herders, women and children to study the impact of climate change on migration.

IOM Mongolia, in collaboration with the research institute, had a group discussion with high school students to address youth engagement in climate change and human mobility and their aspirations for sustainable solutions.

A special discussion session with the herders from Shine-Ider Soum and Tunel Soum, remote regions of Khuvsgul province, was organized. The main topic of the discussion was the herder communities' alarming issues caused by climate change with a particular focus on several challenges: pasture and environmental degradation as well as resource depletion, an excessive increase in the number of animals/livestock and a decrease in the profit per animal, and psychosocial and economic problems of herder families.

The final activity conducted in Khuvsgul province was a meeting with Tumurbaatar L., the governor of Khuvsgul province. Representatives of local authorities in Khuvsgul province, including the department of health, environment and climate change, general authority for state registration, local emergency management agency, and department of family and youth development were also in place. IOM Mongolia and the public stakeholders of Khuvsgul province discussed the future collaborations to enhance resilience of the people on the move including current operations in emergency settings in rural Mongolia, particularly for those who are in vulnerable situations.

IOM Mongolia visited Uliastai Soum of Zavkhan province from November 27 to 28, 2024. As in Khuvsgul province, IOM Mongolia had discussions with multiple relevant personnel in Zavkhan province. First, IOM Mongolia had a meeting with the Deputy Governor of Zavkhan province, Ulam-Orgikh Ts. and the Governor of Uliastai soum, Naranbat Ch. to discuss the strategy and framework of cooperation implemented by the IOM and exchanged opinions on further partnership.

Furthermore, IOM Mongolia and the research institute organized a hearing session for youth, in order to incorporate the youth perspective on climate change and migration issues into the research of the project "Addressing the climate change-induced human mobility in Mongolia." Ten students from the second school of Zavkhan Aimag participated in the session and shared their opinions on the topic.

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For more information, please contact Daniel Sam at IOM Mongolia, Email: dsam@iom.int