Mongolia’s General Emergency Authority indicated today that around 5.9 million animals died due to adverse weather conditions during the winter, which corresponds to 9.2% of the country’s total livestock.
The situation is particularly serious in provinces where the phenomenon known as “dzud” – a strong wave of cold and snow that prevents livestock from accessing pastures – has caused damage, the authority said on its official Facebook account.
The institution’s general secretary reported that around 12,500 shepherd families are trying to keep 5.2 million animals alive in the 20 districts – out of a total of 330 into which the country is divided – that are in an emergency situation.
In response to the crisis, 3.5 billion tugriks (around 950 thousand euros) in cash and 888 million tugriks (240 thousand euros) in goods and materials were raised, he said.
Efforts are underway to distribute these resources to affected people, although the “allocation of the funds raised has not yet begun”, he said.
Livestock farming is one of the pillars of Mongolia’s economy, which seeks to multiply its exports of animal products in the short term to countries such as China or Russia, in order to reduce its dependence on income from mining operations.
