Land degradation and climate change are altering traditional livelihood patterns in Mongolia. In addition, lack of job opportunities and inadequate living conditions in rural areas of origin have contributed to the massive urbanization of Ulaanbaatar. Approximately 48 percent of Mongolia’s population of 3.2 million people live in Ulaanbaatar with an estimated 20,000 people targeting Ulaanbaatar each year, putting the capital at the center of socio-economic and environmental development challenges.  

The increased migration from rural areas to Ulaanbaatar, other urban centres as well as some indications of recent reverse (urban to rural) trends poses many challenges in regard to wellbeing of internal migrants, host communities and local and national authorities. These challenges are particularly linked to the issue of land allocation, possession and ownership. While the central and local government have instituted some measures to improve the land allocation and overall migration management procedures in the country, these measures are neither fully adequate for addressing the needs and rights of the migrants, nor fully efficient and effective to facilitate the workload of the responsible authorities. 

For these reasons and as part of a multi-year migration management project, the IOM has conducted several activities between December 2021 and May 2022 with the objective to conduct further analysis of the situation, produce a report describing its findings, provide recommendations and assist all stakeholders to come up with viable and effective roadmap for addressing the existing policy, procedural and capacity challenges. The activities include desk review of existing legislation, procedures and reports pertaining to the migration/land management nexus, ten Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) with migrants in six different locations, and on-site assessments with local and national authorities in Bulgan, Khuvsgul and Darkhan-Uul provinces. 

To discuss and validate the results of the activities, IOM, in cooperation with the Agency for Land Management, Geodesy and Cartography,  held a validation workshop with the heads and key personnel from land agencies in all 21 aimags and nine districts of Ulaanbaatar city on April 21, 2022. In addition, Minister of Construction and Urban Development Mr. Munkhbaatar Begzjav and Deputy Minister of Labour and Social Protection Mr. Zulpkhar Sarkhad have attended the workshop and delivered speeches to the participants, highlighting the importance of the workshop as well as IOM activities. During the second half of the workshop, IOM experts have shared international experiences and practices related to land management, ownership, and possession. 

As a result of the workshop, IOM will:
1.    Implement an information campaign on the Application process 
2.    Amend the current policy of the land allocation process 
3.    Release Video content on the land allocation process and online system